Re: Damn... I may be turning into a DIR Nazi ;-)

Lee Bell wrote:

Don wrote

(Important note - I'm at least moderately relaxed
about kit and setup - my steel 100s still have the
boots on them and I've got a D on the right side
of my waist where the reel of my emergency SMB
is attached.

If you were a DIR Nazi, you'd know that you're either DIR or you're
not. You're not.

Years ago, when the DIR discussions were running hot and heavy, I
coined a term DIRL, DIR Like, for those that, at a glance, look DIR
because of all the elements they have adopted, but are not, actually
consistent with the full measure of the configuration, let alone the
philosophy that goes with
it. The term has since morphed to DIR Lite, which has a similar
connotation. You're DIRL.

There they were -- stage bottles on both sides . . .

Balanced, but it doesn't work as well with the long hose.

Exactly the problem from where I was sitting on the other side
of the boat. It looked like there was likely to be a real drama
getting it free if the long hose was needed for its intended
purpose.

. . . one guy with the long hose in his "necklace", a couple of
them with the long hose tangled in and around the
right had stage bottle . . .

Oops

. . . guy with twin consoles criss-crossed over his chest and
clipped to the
chest D-rings,

OK, maybe in a once-off situation -- No, not even then -- the
people I'm doing tech diving wear their computers one to each
wrist so that they are easy to watch on the deco stops. The
SPG sits down at the left waist D ring since that keeps it our
of the way but accessible on demand. I'd have to think back on
it (and I still wouldn't be prepared to swear it in court) but
it seems to me that the guy with crossed consoles had them
crossed over the long hose.



Can actually be a workable configuration depending on other
elements. Personally, when I carry more than one computer, one is on
my wrist, but a console on the chest can be situated to be easily
visible at a glance, requiring no use of the hands at all.

A guy in a "poodle jacket" with twins bolted on --

I'm not sure what to think about this. I don't dive twins often and
I've
never tried them in a jacket style BC. I know the DIR way works and
if it's not broken . . .

the list just went on and on and on. And, as I watched this
unfold, it occurred to me that if one of these guys
wanted a dive with me, it just might be a good weekend
to "wash the cat".

I thought the wars over basic kit setup for Tech diving
were all over and that what could be best described as
"the DIR philosophy"[1] had won. This looked like a
throwback to 10 years ago.

The tech wars certainly reached a truce, but I'm not sure there was
a clear
winner. Back then, DIR was one way and only one way. There's been
considerable reconciliation between those that insisted that anybody
not precisely in sync with the standard, no matter what the diving,
were strokes
and those that took the term "Stroke" as a badge of honor. Both
sides can now smile about it all . . . usually.

The downside of that, however, is that there's already a whole
generation of divers that have not been subjected to the controversy
and, no matter where they fell out in the end, have not spent the
time thinking about their alternatives that those that were involved
with the discussions, sometimes
battles, did. There are a few in this group that are very DIR (who
tend to be frequent tech nical divers), but more here that are DIRL
who are tech
capable. There are a few that are quite non DIR, but still tech
capable. What they all have in common is that their configuration
choices are well thought out and suited to their preferences and the
diving they do.

I'm in the frequent technical diver group at the moment.

Perhaps its time for a new battle of the configurations, but,
personally, I
don't want to play.

Generally, I'd prefer to keep the discussion to the subject
at hand. When it starts to get heated, the useful information
tends to get lost in the personal abuse and other noise.

What I was getting at was my surprise at the strange combinations
of setups that these guys, who were (as far as I could figure)
doing an intro technical diving course had for their kit. OK,
I skimped a bit on the first course by using a Trans-Pac instead
of a backplate -- but that's a far cry from a recreational BCD.
(I'll be polite this time :-) And all of the different variations
on which hose was where and how it attached at the neck, etc was
simply, IMO an accident waiting to happen.

Does anyone know if the DSAT standards are really that far from
what (at least from my observation) the majority of tech divers
are actually doing?

I went through the last one and I'm tired.
Instead, I,
apparently like you, choose to lead by example. My configuration
works for me and the kind of diving I do and it shows in everything
I do, from
carrying my gear onto the boat, to setting it up, to diving it, etc.
Those who know what they are doing and know why they are doing it,
are obvious to others who also know and, usually, to those who are
just learning.

We just wish that those just learning, would learn before the first
dive that will put their gear and configuration choices to the test.

Fair enough Lee -- IMHO the real problem was that their
instructor hadn't sorted some of this before they got
on a boat. And that means that I'll probably be extra
cautious around any diver that this guy trains.


And as I sat there looking -- I realised that I had
become a lot pickier about the details than I had
thought I was. And that I probably won't be diving deep
with anyone who has DSAT certification unless I've had
a chance to watch them in action first.

Does this mean that I'm a "convert"???

No, it means you're a diver.

recommendations with *minor* alterations to meet personal
diving requirements. Leaving a boot on a cylinder (provided
you check for rust on a regular basis) is minor. Putting
the long hose on the right post and/or in the necklace is
a major deviation (IMHO).

I'll leave the definitive statement on this one to somebody more in
tune with the status of DIR according to those that coined the
phrase, but I seem to recall that the standard configuration has
changed and that the long hose
currently does go on the right post. I might be wrong.

Sorry -- a case of thinking one thing and writing another --
meant long hose on left post. One of the "class" had his set
up that way.

-Don
.

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