Who do you trust with your gear?

[scubadobadoo]

You know, I let folks set up my gear. Then I check every single part of it to make sure it's set up the way I want it and everything is working properly.

Yeah, me too. I used to be a stickler about this but then I went to Coz last month and dove with a great op that not only sets up your gear but also packs it up, puts it in a bag with your name on it, and cleans it every day for you, and then brings it back to the boat for you. THAT WAS REALLY NICE FOR A CHANGE! SO now, I will let them do the work while I am on vacation and just double check everything before I dive with it. That's what pre-dive and buddy checks are for. I see no problem with this, assuming you can trust the op to do its job and in this case, I know I can.

 

[mxracer19]

The mans got a point...there's not much to the process of assembling a tank regs and bc vs. assembling a regulator after maintainance. Valves, seats, springs, and pins are a bit more tempermental per assembly in the context of correct function than say...screwing down the yoke on a fresh tank and opening the valve slowly. We "trust" qualified technicians to work on our regs...why don't we trust qualified crewmembers or DMs to put together the pieces of our rig?


...Id still check.

-Matt

 

[almitywife]

The mans got a point...there's not much to the process of assembling a tank regs and bc ....................
-Matt

Theres also not much to the process of putting on a bra each morning either but im not about to contract that job out either

for me... putting my gear together is a personal thing...its about me and my life and my trust and i trust myself to put it together

if im so rushed that i need someone else to do it then i need to slow down and if i am so lazy to let someone else do it then i need to smack myself around the head and get interested in what im doing

at the end of the day - if something was to go wrong or is damaged who would i blame? diving is about accepting a level of responsibility and that should include putting your gear together

cheers

 

[captain]

The mans got a point...there's not much to the process of assembling a tank regs and bc vs. assembling a regulator after maintainance. Valves, seats, springs, and pins are a bit more tempermental per assembly in the context of correct function than say...screwing down the yoke on a fresh tank and opening the valve slowly. We "trust" qualified technicians to work on our regs...why don't we trust qualified crewmembers or DMs to put together the pieces of our rig?


...Id still check.

-Matt

I just love the word "qualified". By whom, to what standard. Does everybody who graduates with a BS degree in the same subject have the same degree of knowledge. If they all did than everyone would be at the head of the class and GPA,s would be meaningless. Which doctor would you prefer slicing you open, the one who graduated with the 4.0 or the 1.5.

 

[TSandM]

There just isn't that much to putting a singles rig together, although some of them CAN be confusing. The day I came out and discovered the staff had put the tank on the wrong side of my backplate was amusing. I really scratched my head over how they thought I was going to wear it. But it was the matter of two minutes to disassemble it and fix the problem. And that's the only time I've ever had to fix anything more significant than where the tank was put in the cambands.

I do my full head-to-toe equipment check before every dive, after I've looked the rig over to make sure the long hose doesn't have a knot in it and the secondary hasn't lost its necklace. So far, that's kept me alive.

 

[Nemrod]

Mossman says referring to my post:
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"Geez, is it so hard to let the air back out? Maybe you need some of them bungie thingies."
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Well, Mossman, it is like this, the OP asked for opinions--I gave mine--you give yours and leave it at that. Since you have a problem with mine--here is the deal--mind to your own buisness.

No, I don't want them dragging my equipment around, no I don't want them squirting a few blips of air into my BC which I might not notice and unlike you guys that like to hang around on the surface and make feet first crash descents into the reef--I like to roll in and descend immediantly head first. I do it my way and your welcome to do your thing your way--thank you. Mine is not negotiable and I don't care if it is a poor third world country--what I have I got by blood, sweat and tears and I don't want it damaged.

N

 

[scubamickey]

After a red-eye when I'm hungover and haven't had my coffee? Not me. I'm the quiet guy snoozing in the corner while they set everything up, with orders to wake me when it's time to jump in. I'll do my final gear check on the way down, thank you.

On a day like this I would say that the question of having the gear set up by a deck hand/DM is academic. The real question is 'Why are you diving if you are so hung over that you can not set up your own gear and check it, as well as your buddy's before entering the water?'

 

[Walter]

Theres also not much to the process of putting on a bra each morning either but im not about to contract that job out either

If you change your mind, I have very reasonable rates.

On a liveaboard in Thailand once, I made a DM lose face by refusing to dive with him, after he had merely almost gotten my wife killed by trying to get her to follow him well below her MOD. I grabbed her, to save her life, she got pissed at me, and when I made my point clear and loud back on the boat to the guy in charge, the poor now faceless DM was almost in tears. I felt horrible.

That's not the way to deal with people unless the guy was intentionally trying to kill your wife. You should feel horrible. You lost face, more so than the DM. The difference is, he realized it, you apparently did not.

But my pangs of guilt weren't enough. The gods further punished me by inflicting a tsunami upon our boat, making us miss an entire day of diving at the end of our trip and killing hundreds of thousands of people. How do you think I felt then?

I don't "think", I know. It's a hard burden to bear, but I can handle it. I doubt your doctor Frued will be necessary, but thanks for the offer.

I agree, a doctor won't help.

Actually, there have been plenty of mornings I've been physically unable to. Hangovers in a hot tropical morning sun can be murder.

Perhaps instead of having the DM set up your gear, you should wait to dive until you are no longer hung over. Drinking and diving are a pretty bad combination.

Au contraire. Humans are very predictable. Sharks attack at whim.

You really don't know much about either sharks or people.

 

[Rick Murchison]

... You really don't know much about either sharks or people ...

Indeed...

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

Rick

 

[Mr. Sunday]

I would not want anyone to set up my gear for me. I prefer to set up start to finish. I dont know the DM's or the boat crew and have no idea what experience they might have. It's just peace of mind to know I did it myself and have checked my rig from top to bottom. If there is any issue I only have myself to blame. This is life support after all....