What do people think of GUE?
I took my GUE Fundamentals part 1 class (theory part) last night, pool session is this weekend, and basically took away all my gear is wrong / not safe / needs to be replaced lol. I'm diving with jacket BC, Atomic SS1 secondary, no octopus - I'm pretty comfortable in the water (~250 dives now), think my buoyancy and trim is decent, and haven't had any issues donating air the one time I had a out of gas buddy. I am trying the rental backplate/wing and long hose for the pool sessions - but it just seems so much clunkier and less streamlined than my current setup with the SS1? I do find my trim is not the best with the frontal weight pockets so am considering buying the backplate/wing if I like it, but I'm just not sold on the long hose. My instructor also said any wing with bungees is really bad because you can't distribute the air yourself, which is relevant when diving side mount / multiple tanks etc.
My reason for signing up for GUE was mostly to get better at the different kicks, I can't do a backward or helicopter kick, and my GUE-obsessed friend insisted that it'll improve my buoyancy and trim massively. But after listening to the theory yesterday it seems a lot of why GUE does things the way they do is to set up you for later tech / cave / wreck diving, which I have no interest in. I get the standardisation point and not having to relearn stuff as you progress, but if I already know I don't like cave / wreck and have no interest in tech, does GUE school of thought still have safety / efficiency benefits for regular recreational scuba?
I took my GUE Fundamentals part 1 class (theory part) last night, pool session is this weekend, and basically took away all my gear is wrong / not safe / needs to be replaced lol. I'm diving with jacket BC, Atomic SS1 secondary, no octopus - I'm pretty comfortable in the water (~250 dives now), think my buoyancy and trim is decent, and haven't had any issues donating air the one time I had a out of gas buddy. I am trying the rental backplate/wing and long hose for the pool sessions - but it just seems so much clunkier and less streamlined than my current setup with the SS1? I do find my trim is not the best with the frontal weight pockets so am considering buying the backplate/wing if I like it, but I'm just not sold on the long hose. My instructor also said any wing with bungees is really bad because you can't distribute the air yourself, which is relevant when diving side mount / multiple tanks etc.
My reason for signing up for GUE was mostly to get better at the different kicks, I can't do a backward or helicopter kick, and my GUE-obsessed friend insisted that it'll improve my buoyancy and trim massively. But after listening to the theory yesterday it seems a lot of why GUE does things the way they do is to set up you for later tech / cave / wreck diving, which I have no interest in. I get the standardisation point and not having to relearn stuff as you progress, but if I already know I don't like cave / wreck and have no interest in tech, does GUE school of thought still have safety / efficiency benefits for regular recreational scuba?