- Messages
- 94,448
- Reaction score
- 93,504
- Location
- On the Fun Side of Trump's Wall
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
I DM for a NAUI shop ... and I have two reg sets. The one I use in the pool is a "standard" configuration. It's used to demonstrate the basic reg recovery skills and to help students practice standard OOA drills.
During the Open Water dives I wear my backplate with 7' hose. The instructor actually likes it, because it gives her the chance to introduce students to yet another (increasingly) popular configuration that they may come across after they get certified. During the standard OW drills, the students have already been introduced to the skills and I don't need to demonstrate anything ... just watch them to make sure they don't get into trouble while performing them for the instructor. During surface intervals, I'll go through a "dry land" demonstration of how OOA's are done with a hogarthian rig, and will do a "dry land" exchange with the students. On dive 4 or 5 ... after all standard drills are completed, I'll usually do a real OOA drill using the long hose with the students assigned to me.
It's a win-win. The students go through their standard drills plus they get exposure to a different configuration in a supervised fashion.
FWIW - my shop isn't DIR ... but most of the staff wear backplates and long hose configurations when we're fun diving. We feel it's important for students to be familiar with both OOA methods. Particularly since we encourage students to come back and go on fun dives with the staff after they've been certified.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
During the Open Water dives I wear my backplate with 7' hose. The instructor actually likes it, because it gives her the chance to introduce students to yet another (increasingly) popular configuration that they may come across after they get certified. During the standard OW drills, the students have already been introduced to the skills and I don't need to demonstrate anything ... just watch them to make sure they don't get into trouble while performing them for the instructor. During surface intervals, I'll go through a "dry land" demonstration of how OOA's are done with a hogarthian rig, and will do a "dry land" exchange with the students. On dive 4 or 5 ... after all standard drills are completed, I'll usually do a real OOA drill using the long hose with the students assigned to me.
It's a win-win. The students go through their standard drills plus they get exposure to a different configuration in a supervised fashion.
FWIW - my shop isn't DIR ... but most of the staff wear backplates and long hose configurations when we're fun diving. We feel it's important for students to be familiar with both OOA methods. Particularly since we encourage students to come back and go on fun dives with the staff after they've been certified.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)