Gear or training? what makes the diver?

[Bob DBF]

Experience.



Bob
-----------------------------------
“One thing is for sure you can't lie about your skills when you get in the water. The water tells everything!!! “ Mayor

I honestly feel I'm a better diver now. I learned to respect the ocean the hard way. One swallow at a time. Mark Derail

 

[Tigerman]

Comfort in the water is THE most important by far. Ive seen divers with hundreds of dives and all the fanciest flashy gear make complete fools of themselves in several different ways, including bolting to the surface...
Gear and "experience" don't make you a better diver. Comfort in the water and practice does. Some people wont be comfortable regardless of how much "experience" they get and that is a serious issue as they think theire hot **** with their 300 dives, but when an issue arise they freak out.

Yes, theres wrong gear choices for certain dives, but that tend to be a result of lack of ability to make an informed choice.
One example of such is the asshats who decided to dive to 60 meters on single al80s without even knowing their gas consumption and then trying to tell the two guides who are not only instructors but also tech divers how its a perfectly sound thing to do when you hold an AOW cert. Yes, they had the wrong gear - because they had no clue what they where doing...

 

[bradells]

Comfort in the water is THE most important by far. Ive seen divers with hundreds of dives and all the fanciest flashy gear make complete fools of themselves in several different ways, including bolting to the surface...
Gear and "experience" don't make you a better diver. Comfort in the water and practice does. Some people wont be comfortable regardless of how much "experience" they get and that is a serious issue as they think theire hot **** with their 300 dives, but when an issue arise they freak out.

Yes, theres wrong gear choices for certain dives, but that tend to be a result of lack of ability to make an informed choice.
One example of such is the asshats who decided to dive to 60 meters on single al80s without even knowing their gas consumption and then trying to tell the two guides who are not only instructors but also tech divers how its a perfectly sound thing to do when you hold an AOW cert. Yes, they had the wrong gear - because they had no clue what they where doing...

Couldn't have said it better.

When I started diving in cold water, I felt like I just started day 1 of confined water OW dives. As it was said to me 'You have moments of sheer brilliance, and then you went and F&#*d it up". Only just last week after a dozen dives in 46/7deg waters (from diving in nice 80+/30 clear water) did I start to feel comfortable, not breathing down an AL80 in minutes (doubled my normal SAC) and really started to have fun.

Gear does play a part, more ergonomics than anything (once you get past functionality), but in the end it comes down to comfort. My newest wings inflator hose had the inflator button on the other side than I'm used to, took me a few dives to realize that was my issue. Now it's replaced with a more appropriate (and ergonomic) inflator.


BRad

 

[BRT]

I don't think diving is any more dangerous or complex than driving yet you never here of these things in that regard. Can you imagine trying to suggest that everyone should drive one kind of car (standardization), or that you should choose one car at the beginning and only drive that same style all your life (law of primacy), that your selection should be based on the most extreme conditions in case you ever find yourself there (beginning with the end in mind), that you should never switch from stick to column, standard to automatic (muscle memory)... Yet that is what is often suggested in some diving circles.

You say we shouldn't all drive have to drive the same design of car. I once saw them trying to get a Model T through the dealers car auction. Nobody could make it go. They finally found an old guy that knew how. The Model T controls were left in the past. They didn't become the standard. I don't want to force anyone to use anything they don't want to but standardized vehicle controls save lives. When I hop in a car or pickup I don't need to know what brand it is to drive it. For my lifetime (58 years) we have had the brake to the left of the gas and if used the clutch is left of the brake. We turn the top of the wheel right to go right. Most cars with automatics have a PRNDL system. I remember when some vehicles started to get the dimmer switch on the column instead of the floor. Hard to remember when someone suddenly approached you at night. No question it is better on the column, but we blinded a lot of drivers going the other way. If you think that isn't important let someone who doesn't know drive an old Chev truck with no park. They will put it in reverse, (RNDL) shut off the key and walk away. Almost all manual transmissions have low on the left and the highest gear on the right. I think vehicles are very standardized. Ford tried putting the horn on the back of the steering wheel for awhile. Probably looking forward to air bags in the center. You could forget about beeping your horn if somebody walked out in front of you. Your hand still hit the center of the steering wheel.

If you learn buoyancy control with a BCD with an up-down lever, I'm good with that. But if I need to dump or add air to your BCD in an emergency, well good luck to you. And if you rent a BCD someplace and have a problem requiring a quick adjustment you will need more good luck.

 

[rhwestfall]

three on the tree (or you aren't Driving It Right)

 

[KeithG]

Gear does not make a diver. Ability, training and experience are what counts.

you do need to have the relevant gear for the diving you are doing. But I see many debates about "which snorkel* is best" * == substitute piece of gear of interest here.

I like to see more discussions about "when" a particular piece of gear is needed as opposed to which brand / style is best.

 

[DaleC]

So.. you appear to have driven a lot of different vehicles. Which configuration was right? Which vehicle was the optimal one that made you stop and say, "no other" for the rest of your life? I don't know about the US but where I live right hand drive vehicles from Japan are quite popular. My buddy owns an old Range Rover (rudimentary to say the least) I own a mini van (auto on the tree, indicator in the dash) and a sedan (auto on the floor, indicator at my right hip). I used to get out of one of those vehicles and drive a 3 ton split axle truck - how do I, and many others, do it? we should be crashing left right and center.

If you are suggesting an inflator is going to stump someone I will say that person is generally just stumpable. There are three things that really don't change about them (except for the elevator thing). An OPV that you can usually dump from, a shoulder pull you can sometimes dump from, a mouthpiece you can dump from. That other button adds air. With that in mind you should be able to don almost any BCD on the market and orient yourself. After that, if you can't dive it you have a basic knowledge problem, not an equipment specific one.

I just don't buy this small detail stumping people argument, other than during initial training when everything is task loading. Someone who claims to have a lot of dives, yet is afraid of variation, troubles me. It seems they have become completely dependent on the gear and not the thinking.

---------- Post added March 22nd, 2014 at 06:24 PM ----------

I like to see more discussions about "when" a particular piece of gear is needed as opposed to which brand / style is best.

Absolutely.

 

[diver 85]

Answer to your post question, IMO neither......You can have/take all the training in the world & if you can't comprehend it, you're sunk---possibly literally.......As far as the equipment, as long as there's 'no holes in the system', you'll be fine.......

 

[BRT]

three on the tree (or you aren't Driving It Right)

My first car. Still the same basic shift pattern.

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

Rightly so, I haven't read anyone defending the "gear makes the better diver" point of view. I've met divers who are like fish. They were very comfortable with the ocean. Not just diving. Most were very good snorkelers, fisherman, windsurfers or surfers. Diving was just a great way to enjoy the water they loved. They would be comfortable with any gear. Others dive with more caution, always being very conservative with the limits. They normally owned quality gear with all the extras. Others dive with a stronger element of fear. They are good divers but the unpredictability of the ocean scares them a bit.

The question was about being the "better" diver with training or gear. Many might think the better diver is the safest diver. Some might think the better diver is the aggressive, adventurous divers that are still with us. Others could say the better divers are the ones that have the most experience.

Which ever "better" you chose, gear, did not make them. Adventure-Ocean