How to Learn about DIR?

[LiteHedded]

Big ones:
Fastex buckles, padding, loose straps, reliance on stitching/sewn connections to hold itself together, and the biggest one is that its quite floppy and the tanks can shift alot more than you'd think.

I had a transpac for a few yrs once. It dove ok for what I wanted at the time. I eventually sold it on ebay.

A plate with continuous webbing is much more stable and has essentially zero failure points.

mark messersmith told me a story once about his crotch strap coming undone in turner.
that's the only failure of a harness setup I've ever heard of.

 

[lobstah]

You may also want to check out UTD.
Unified Team Diving

 

[Cave Diver]

Big ones:
Fastex buckles, padding, loose straps, reliance on stitching/sewn connections to hold itself together, and the biggest one is that its quite floppy and the tanks can shift alot more than you'd think.

I had a transpac for a few yrs once. It dove ok for what I wanted at the time. I eventually sold it on ebay.

A plate with continuous webbing is much more stable and has essentially zero failure points.

Echoing what Rjack said. I dove a Transpac for a while. The concept is great, but IMO, the execution is lacking. It's hard to adjust, plastic buckles are a failure point, it's nowhere near as stable as a solid backplate and you're pretty much stuck with the D-ring configuration it comes with.

 

[Cave Diver]

mark messersmith told me a story once about his crotch strap coming undone in turner.
that's the only failure of a harness setup I've ever heard of.

Heather (Chickdiver) told us the story of a shoulder buckle breaking in the middle of a cave dive. She swam the entire exit with one hand holding the harness together. After, she poured lighter fluid on it and burnt it at the stake while doing a sacrificial dance around the fire. I wish someone had video of that...

 

[ScubaFeenD]

If you want to learn about DIR then you could also do a little reading about it as well. This is a great place to start: Doing It Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving - PDF | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[ScubaFeenD]

You may also want to check out UTD.
Unified Team Diving

He is in Fla though, and lets be honest, UTD doesnt really exist there, or much of anywhere on the eastern seaboard for that matter.

 

[HenrikBP]

I'll echo the posts about getting in touch with local DIR divers and instructors before spending your hard earned $$ on gear. It's the thought that went into all the little details that makes the system worth it.

As for good buddy discipline - I was surprised how much more is involved in Team Diving. It's really at the heart of DIR diving.

Henrik

 

[LiteHedded]

Heather (Chickdiver) told us the story of a shoulder buckle breaking in the middle of a cave dive. She swam the entire exit with one hand holding the harness together. After, she poured lighter fluid on it and burnt it at the stake while doing a sacrificial dance around the fire. I wish someone had video of that...

shoulder buckle!!
*gasp*

 

[tbone1004]

I dive a Transpac, I love it, I know DIR divers that switched to Transpacs and vice versa. It all depends on you. Nothing about a Transpac is DIR other than it's not a jacket. The D-rings are quite movable, I just readjusted mine last night actually, the padding is removable, and the extra straps can be cut.
I haven't done the last two because I don't see a need. Paratroopers go under a lot more stress with their harnesses than we do and they still use quick releases and harnesses quite similar to the Transpac.

I wouldn't buy any gear until you get through a course or dive with a mentor. You need to walk around in both a Transpac and a DIR harness with tanks and dive with them before you pick one or the other.

If you do fundies, let the instructor know you're more interested in getting the basic diving skills established rather than passing the course. This might change his direction with the course or may recommend just running through a couple private sessions with him/her first.

Chickdiver was mentioned, she's not GUE, but dives with WKPP or at least used to... and still teaches somewhat. She's NAUI though. Any cave instructor will really help you, doesn't have to be GUE, they ONLY do DIR diving, the other cave divers may have different preferences as far as quick releases, allowing you to use transpacs *which as mentioned is NOT allowed in GUE, which is the main reason why I won't take their classes, other is not allowing quick releases which makes some ocean dives dangerous for those of us that can't get out of a HOG harness quickly* and various other things. Just weigh your options. If you aren't interested in cave, fundies may not be for you. Getting a mentor or few private sessions from a GUE instructor then finding a DIR type buddy will be more beneficial for you since it can be worked out over a longer period of time.

for example. Take one day with an instructor. Get your gear figured out and have the breast stroke kick emphasized. Go PRACTICE-you will NEVER get better at buoyancy and trim and propulsion from listening to anyone, you have to go out and do it. After say 10-20 dives *preferably with a cave diver or DIR type*, go back to the instructor and show him your progress and have him evaluate you. He'll give you pointers that you can work on. After another 10-20 dives, do the same thing. After that take fundies or a cavern course with that instructor and get those skills up. Progress as far as desired

 

[TSandM]

Good introductory reading is Jarrod Jablonski's Fundamental of Better Diving. He goes into the equipment configuration, and the reasons for it, in great detail in the book, as well as discussing the other concepts of DIR diving, like standard gases and a team approach.

The basic approach to equipment is to keep things as simple as possible and still allow the functionality that's required. This minimizes failure points and allows massive standardization across a lot of diving environments. (It also makes the gear pretty darned easy to adjust, use, and maintain!)

Reading is great, but the best way to learn about DIR diving is to dive with DIR divers, because the honed situational awareness and team approach are something you really can't understand until you experience them.

For people who already have reasonable dive skills, the Fundamentals class is the entry point to the system (for GUE). It can be taken in a single tank, and it is an extremely good class, even if you don't go on to adopt the system, or take training with other organizations.

GUE and UTD do not use dive computers for either NDL or decompression diving, and Jarrod has a list of reasons why in the book.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions I can help you answer. I am both GUE and UTD trained, so I can talk a little about both agencies (although, as Tim observed, UTD is not really a good option in Florida).

Edited to address some of saxplayer's points: DIR is not the only way to dive with good skills and good trim. You can get those things from good instructors in a variety of places, and certainly in the cave community, which is pretty accessible to anybody in FL. The things that make DIR diving different, and may appeal, are the standardization of equipment, gases, techniques and protocols, and the emphasis on team. Achieving those goals requires commitment and does reduce your personal choices. Many of us have found that that is not really a problem -- AND although you have to meet certain requirements for the classes, there is nothing to say that you can't make other choices afterwards (although they will not be "DIR" choices).