I found this thread quite interesting. I also liked the general attitude of the DIR folks that posted here. No, I'm not a DIR diver, probably never will be, I've even been called a stroke, I'm quite proud of that. I didn't read every post in it's entirety, but I believe I got the general gist of things. I believe that any training that enhances our skills and adds new ones will make us safer divers. I don't have to be DIR to acknowledge that fact.
I practice some basic OW safety skill nearly every time I dive. I try very hard to have good bouyancy. Is it easy? No, I only get to dive a few times each year, but I know I am better than the majority of divers I see out there. It's still not good enough, but I keep working on it. I nearly always practice a mask removal and replacement. I try many different kicking techniques. After watching the videos on the fifthd web site, I have some more to try out. They look interesting. I've had someone come up to me out of air before. They didn't signal out of air or wait for me to give them my regulator, they just took it out of my mouth. The OOA practice is OK if you are with someone that cares about your safety. Otherwise, let the person you have never seen before in your life have your primary and just use your octopus, you surely aren't getting your primary back.
There are some things I like about my gear and some that I don't. I like my Scubapro BC that I bought 14 years ago. I think I'll keep it for a while. I also like my Scubapro regulators, but I don't like the length of my hose, the hose tends to pull the 2nd stage out of my mouth. One day, I intend to fix that with a different hose. Will a 7 ft hose fix it? Maybe, but it may make it worse. I need to try it out to decide. I use an Air 2, you can say its a terrible reg all you want. I like it and will continue to use it. I love my Jet fins, but I hate the rubber straps. I want to fix that too. I watched the videos on the fifthd web site and they were using something else. I would like to see what those fin straps are to decide if I would like to try them out.
The point is that we can all improve our skills. Lost Yooper was humbled by his experience in a difficult skills class. I am sure I would be as well. I wouldn't stop diving because of it and I am glad he decided to continue. I dive for fun. I will never, never go into any deep dark holes. I also know my limitations and stay well within my own personal limits. To understand that, my friends, takes some maturity. And we can always use a little more maturity when it comes to diving and staying safe.
