I have read several of the first section of this thread, then skipped around a bit (don't have time for it all). One question was asked very early, and it dealt with seeing a photo of a "slick" diver, one who was uncluttered. I have decided to show what it used to be like, before DIR, before NASDS, before the arguments about equipment when just being underwater was thrilling.
This photo was taken in Clear Lake, Oregon sometime in the about 1974. It shows me in a pull-ove 1/4" wet suit with attached hood (White Stag wet suit, Portland, Oregon), single 72 steel tank with a "J" valve, and a weight belt with 16 pounds of lead on it. As you can see, it was possible in those times (depth here was 40-50 feet) to have buoyancy control without a BC! I know this is a sacrilege with the DIR types, but it still is possible. The regulator has two hoses, but they are both breathing tubes (Dacor Dial-a-Breath, upgraded to a better-performing Dacor by buying the parts and putting it together). The tank harness was by USD, and had yellow plastic top straps that kept slipping off my shoulders, and a crotch strap to keep the regulator lower on my back for easier breathing (pretty critical for double-hose regs).
What was the feeling? Total freedom of motion, unrestricted by equipment except for the wet suit (and this was the days of powder, and ripped suits if you weren't careful, as there was no nylon lining). Today's BCs have quite a bit of drag, and you will never know about that unless you dive without the BC (not a recommendation, just a statement about how the water feels when swimming underwater).
It was days when we were thrilled to pick up an RC Cola a fisherman had lost (and when it was $0.25 to buy one!). Diving was really fun, because very simply we were breathing underwater! Imagine that, breathing underwater! It sounds so archane, but it was true.
This thread seems mostly a waste of time, and an ego trip by many. I offer this photo simply to stimulate you to think of why diving is such a thrill, and communicate that rather than this babble about DIR.
SeaRat
