DIR for Metrosexual and "Happy" people?
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limeyx
Guest
But... but... I thought ponies weren't DIR.
Incidentally, ever thought of rewebbing your plate with orange webbing? The pink webbing I have on mine is working out nicely. :biggrin: (The day I have a diver in my charge that mistakes someone else for me is the day I start replacing all the pink with *plaid*.
)
I'd LIKE to reweb it in orange, but I haven't been able to find the right kind of webbing in that color. I was admiring my buddy's red harness yesterday, but red clashes with my gloves.
DennisS
Contributor
Some may, I suppose, but I find it completely irrelevant. (In fact, I find it a little annoying when the occasional assumption slips in that would seem to lump all non-rec-standard gear into classifications such as "DIR" or "tech" -- after all, *I* dive a drysuit, BP/W, and such. I don't let it bug me much, obviously. :biggrin
Perhaps some of it may be that some divers are intimidated by non-rec-standard gear. As far as *my* gear goes, that's actually part of the reason I have all the pink (webbing, DSS bungee wrist mounts, etc). When we're out on checkout dives with fresh-from-the-pool students, if they saw a big divemasterly guy diving this strange metal plate with seatbelts on it or something, it might be intimidating to some (although most will be ambivalent at worst or even curious at best).
The pink gear pretty much eliminates any chance that they'll think of me as some uber-diver, and with that misconception out of the way, most students aren't intimidated at all. It leads to a situation where they seem to feel much more comfortable asking questions and talking about why I dive something different. ("Well, if he's wearing all this outlandishly pink stuff, he must not be shy or anything, so I guess it's safe to talk to him.") Of course, it probably scares the macho manly-man divers away, but if they're that insecure in their masculinity, they're likely not receptive to gear suggestions anyway.
The vast majority of the divers I've met who have gone beyond "normal" recreational gear are actually having a blast, and almost all of them would enjoy talking to new divers (usually at too great a length, but at least we don't start showing home videos). Perhaps if more would have colorful gear, it would make everyone else feel more comfortable around us all, but aesthetics are often of almost no concern to a diver at that level. The main thing is that it works, anything else if lagniappe, and there may just not be much time and effort to spare on lagniappe.
(So, since black is perfectly acceptable, it's generally all that's stocked. It's simply less overhead that way. Still, you can always call Tobin and have him make you a camo wing like NetDoc's, or you can re-web your harness with any of a wide variety of webbings, should you find one that fits your personal style.)
Oh, incidentally, 24940, what was used for the yellow on those Jets? I've been pondering how to decorate mine (other than the collection of various colorful zip ties currently adorning them).
ClayJar, you are precisely right . . . Which is the reason I glory in my funky blue and white Mobby's dry suit with the black pockets on the thighs, and my bright orange doubles wing, and my orange gloves. My mission in life is to show people that you can dive the way I do and not be boring or humorless or dressed all in black. Diving's about joy and adventure and exploration and FUN; Cameron Martz put it beautifully when he said, "There are times in diving to be dead serious, but the rest of the time, you should be laughing so hard that it hurts." (And Cameron, btw, is borg central DIR.)
Wear pink! Do hooligan deco! But dive a rational gear configuration, work on your skills, practice emergency procedures, and dive as a team. You can do all those things and have a ton of fun. I know, because I do.
Wear pink! Do hooligan deco! But dive a rational gear configuration, work on your skills, practice emergency procedures, and dive as a team. You can do all those things and have a ton of fun. I know, because I do.
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