I'm your instabuddy!

[Splitlip]

I don't instabuddy. Made up word I suppose. Now, mind you, I've hooked with many a new face, but not before some sort of vetting process.
No offense intended, but my pony and I might dive same ocean with ya.

 

[TSandM]

If your gear fits and you know how to use it, and you are willing to go through a dive plan and a buddy check, I'll dive with you. I don't particularly like the standard hose/Air2 type configuration (I would prefer you had a longer hose) but I don't plan to run out of, or even low on gas anyway. I don't like the split fins, but if you can hover and you don't kick up the bottom, I don't really care what you have on your feet.

If we're doing a shore dive in familiar territory, I don't care about very much except a responsible attitude and a desire to improve. Off a charter boat, I might be a little pickier, because after all, I've paid money for the dive, too . . .

 

[Frosty]

Willy--ONE time I'd dive with you. Frankly I couldn't give a rats petutie what gear you dive.
I wanna know how to breath from your gear and how to dump some of your weight in case.
BUT as we say racing --the B$$$$$T stops when the flag drops.
Or in dive dogma--"Yea man you Talk the talk but do ya walk the walk??"
THAT is the controlling factor as far as I'm concerned--HOW YOU DIVE.


UM actually --other than no tables and the splits you describe my rig. I carry an analog gauge set,tables and an octi in my gear bag in case of failure.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'd dive with you. I'd just hand you my extra arm slate for any communication that may be necessary and go beyond hand signals (which I would go over with you).

 

[Agility]

It's the mind set not the equipment that makes a good buddy. I always travel alone so I would be happy to dive with you.

 

[victor]

I would dive with you, no worries. I like the AIR2, had one until it broke on vacation, had to hire a reg and BC, I used a longer primary just to make air share more comfortable if required. Above 100ft is fine with me and I will be using rental fins so your split fins will be in good company.
I go slow and have a camera, so a buddy that does not wander off with the crowd is greatly appreciated as would be a couple of beers after the dive.

 

[dkktsunami]

Good to go with me.......

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

This thread is inspired by a number of different threads. One was about diving with an inexperienced dive buddy. Another about computers. And to add extra fuel for discussion I'm renewing the Air2 debate as well. I also have jury duty tomorrow and need something to read while sitting at the courthouse!

First, I'm a simple recreational diver. Nothing fancy. I still look at backplate w/ wings and borderline tech diving (I know this isn't the case but old stereotypes are still there). Almost half of the dives I do are on vacation. The other half are local shore dives. For vacation dives I'm almost always on a boat or a location that requires the use of a guide. Not necessarily my choice but when booking in Hawaii or the Caribbean those are the rules. For local dives in California even off a boat there are no guides. I then rely on my compass to get out and back. I have been to 100 ft. twice for training and have never exceeded that depth. I have no interest in diving doubles or cave diving or penetrating wrecks.

My gear is out of a PADI training manual. I have a back inflate BC, standard regulator but use an Atomic SS1 as my alternate air source. To further decrease the hoses I have now gone to an air integrated wireless dive computer that take the place of my SPG. And, I dive split fins!!

I don't have a back up SPG on my rig. I don't even have a back up dive computer in case the AI one fails. I gave the other one to my daughter so she can dive it. If the computer fails I end my dive and will probably end the day of diving until the next day. But on a two tank dive not a big deal especially if the failure happens on the last dive. I'm of the opinion that I spent good money on a piece of dive gear and I trust that it will perform almost all the time. I don't see the logic in buying a piece of gear for almost $1000 then spending more money to a second computer to back up the first computer.

So here I am on a dive boat. Sometimes I won't have my daughter with me for a dive buddy. I'm geared up in my fancy schmancy dive gear. I've read post that because I have the equivalent of an Air 2 some have said they won't want to dive with someone who does. I don't have a back up SPG. Some have indicated that I must be an inferiorly trained diver because I also didn't pack my dive tables. And I'm diving split fins. Now I need an instabuddy.

I'm a bit of a gear agnostic ... comes from teaching students who show up with all sorts of dive gear configurations. I'm not there to sell them gear ... I'm there to help them learn how to make best use of what they already have. So bring whatever you're using. As long as it fits properly and doesn't hamper what you're trying to do underwater, we're good.

I can tell you I will stay by your side. I won't intentionally wander off under water. After a few pleasantries and hand shake I will ask you what you wanted to do for the dive. Which direction are we going to head and what depth and for how long. What is going to be our turn around PSI and who should lead. I will also tell you my alternate is my Atomic and that you will breath off my primary in an OOA/low on air situation. Check you for your BC releases and ask about your air (but won't touch or check the valve). After the dives I would like to get a beer. Now, if you were a good dive buddy to me I'd buy you one too.

Sounds good to me. Choosing a buddy isn't so much about equipment as it is attitude and compatibility. As long as I don't have to spend effort chasing you or looking around to see which way you went, it's all good. Depending on whether or not we're planning another dive later in the day, I might even take you up on the beer.

So, who would dive with me as an instabuddy?

I would ... let's go diving! I've met a bunch of people from ScubaBoard in just that way ... and have enjoyed diving with every single one of them ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Peter69_56]

Don't see a problem. As posted previously, its not how you look, but how you perform that matters to me.

You can have $10,000 gear but a crap diver is a crap diver. You can have old or average gear, and as long as its seaworthy and not faulty, I don't mind, as long as you can dive reasonably well. "Wankers are wankers no matter how pretty they look, and you can't buy ability"

 

[Colliam7]

So here I am on a dive boat. . . . I'm geared up in my fancy schmancy dive gear. I've read post that because I have the equivalent of an Air 2 some have said they won't want to dive with someone who does. I don't have a back up SPG. Some have indicated that I must be an inferiorly trained diver because I also didn't pack my dive tables. And I'm diving split fins. Now I need an instabuddy.

I can tell you I will stay by your side. I won't intentionally wander off under water. After a few pleasantries and hand shake I will ask you what you wanted to do for the dive. Which direction are we going to head and what depth and for how long. What is going to be our turn around PSI and who should lead. I will also tell you my alternate is my Atomic and that you will breath off my primary in an OOA/low on air situation. Check you for your BC releases and ask about your air (but won't touch or check the valve). After the dives I would like to get a beer. Now, if you were a good dive buddy to me I'd buy you one too. So, who would dive with me as an instabuddy?

As others may say, up to the point you included buying the beer, I was skeptical. But, with the post-dive beer thrown in, 'Yes.' On a serious note, the answer is a guarded 'Yes', and here's my thought process. My primary goal as a dive buddy is to not be a burden to the diver I am buddied with. So, although I even said in another recent thread, about new gear, that if the diver showed up with a cheap, low performance octo, I probably wouldn't want to dive with him, I overstated that aversion to make a point to that OP. I plan to be self-reliant on any dive, and I do not plan to have to share my buddy's air, so I honestly don't care whether you have an Air2, or a cheap slimline octo, or no octo. I don't care if you dive split fins, etc. Certainly, you would come across in the pre-dive conversation as someone who is reasonably 'with it' and I would have no particular reservation about diving with you after that conversation.

What MIGHT cause me to say, 'No'? If I happen to be on a boat that REQUIRES I dive with a buddy, and you tell me 'If the computer fails I end my dive . . . ' - I have no desire to lose a dive because you decide to go streamlined / cheap / whatever. The problem for me is that, if I accept responsibility as your dive buddy, I would feel an obligation to end the dive with you. Years ago, my son and I were paired at the last minute with an insta-buddy who turned out to be an air hog (and was diving an AL80, while we were diving HP120s). We were diving a wreck off the NC coast at 115' that is subject to shifting conditions and has a narrow 'window of diveable opportunity'. Not too long after we descended to the wreck, with him having already held us up at the surface to fix a gear issue, he signals that he was down to 800 psi and was going to ascend. I made a (in hindsight, bad) call for my son and I to go up with him, since we were planning to dive the same wreck the next day, and I was a bit concerned about having a buddy, at 115' who was down to 800 psi, going up alone. The ascent was fine, he apologized afterward for having us curtail our dive. The next day we were blown out, and I have never been able to get back on that wreck. Yes, that was really my fault, for the decision I made, not necessarily his for being an air hog. But, it has colored my willingness to dive with insta-buddies ever since.

Similarly, if we are on a boat that REQUIRES buddy teams, I don't want to have you end the dive - for what I consider a completely preventable (i.e. not having a back-up SPG) reason - and then me continue the dive until I was ready to ascend, only to be chewed out by some mate / captain for violating their rules.

So, based on what you said, I would probably say, 'Yes', but my answer would also depend on the rules of the boat, and our mutual understanding of our obligation to each other. Frankly, after talking with me, you might decide that you don't want me as your insta-buddy after all.