Just an FYI for those considering advanced training with me this season.

[Jim Lapenta]

It is understood that for any advanced training the student will own or be able to provide their own gear. This includes tanks and weights. Some items such as reels, spools, and lift bags may be provided for the class by UDM Aquatics but items are limited and you will do much better with your own gear. In the case of stage bottles and regulators these can also be obtained through UDM Aquatics on a very limited basis and are not included in the course cost itself.
Most of the required items for class are not overly expensive and students can obtain them at reasonable cost through UDM Aquatics. The following guidelines for all advanced level training will be observed and the instructor has the right to limit or reject those items and gear configurations that are not suitable. Instructor has the final say in this and while it may be negotiated some items are simply not going to be permitted. Contact me to discuss your options. The class being taken will also have a bearing on this policy.

Note that all classes beyond OW may be taken in single tank backmount, double tank backmount, double tank sidemount, and single tank sidemount provided the student has the equipment and demonstrates the necessary proficiency with their chosen configuration. The following basic guidelines apply to all continuing education classes:

1. Safe and Reliable
2. Comfortable and Well Fitting
3. Provide for adequate redundancy without being excessive.
4. Configured for self-sufficiency and self-rescue
5. Simple and Streamlined
6. All accessories and valves easily reachable
7. Allows for Buddy Assist and Rescue
8. Has a Low Drag Profile- Streamlined
9. Adaptable to the Divers Needs
10. Adaptable to the Diver’s Objective
11. All Equipment Identifiable by Touch and Location
12. Standardized with Fellow Divers Yet Versatile to Meet the Needs of the User
13. Equipment Placement is balanced and Instinctive
14. Any Changes have been made Gradually and with Careful Thought
15. Diver is open to Improvement to his/her Setup
16. All Cylinders are Properly Labeled with the Gas Mixture, MOD, and the Divers Name

Note that while most SEI and SDI Advanced Classes are limited to 2 students, TDI Intro to Tech and any future TDI Classes requiring dives will be limited to 4 students. It is expected that those entering technical training will have higher basic skill levels that make this increase in maximum class size possible.

---------- Post added April 18th, 2014 at 03:59 PM ----------

In addition I am at this moment filling out paperwork for the SDI Solo Instructor rating and will be offering it this season.

 

[Chris12day]

Why post this here?

I do not care what you have your students do or not do concerning their equipment or assemply. You should give it to your students.

I know of only one person who walked on water.........

Safe diving

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I posted this here since I get a fair number of students looking for advanced training from this board. It's why I spend the money to be a supporter.

Doing this and similar posts here and on other social media sites helps people to decide if they wish to take advanced training with me.

I do give it to my students.

It also helps me to weed out those whose attitudes I don't want to deal with.

---------- Post added April 19th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ----------

Walking on Water Scene from Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Movie (1985) | MOVIECLIPS make that two.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... it also helps give some other instructor ideas about how they'd like to approach their own training. As long as it's not overt selling, I don't see a problem with it ... if you don't get any value out of it, move on to a different thread ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TMHeimer]

Yeah, No problem here. If he hadn't yet gotten students from SB I guess you'd consider it an ad. I've read of several who have taken Jim's courses and no doubt enjoyed the sights in Canonsburg.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Tell ya what. Let's go ahead and really make this an open discussion. My equipment requirements are based on my training and experiences up through technical instructor programs. They were developed in response to the type of students I see the most of and their interests. They are taken and adapted from the IANTD Exploration and Mixed Gas Diving Encyclopedia aka The Tao of Survival Underwater by Tom Mount

In that vein if you have taken or are considering training beyond basic open water, what are the gear requirements of the instructor you have chosen?

Do you even know if they have any established guidelines?

If they do how did they develop them?

If you are an instructor what are your own requirements and what is the reasoning behind them? (Because the agency says so is not an answer. It's a cop out)

What is your reasoning based on your own training and experience that you feel has resulted in those guidelines you have developed or adopted?

If you don't have any of your own, why not?

 

[diver 85]

I wasn't considering, but thanks for the heads-up...........

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Jim, my only requirements are that the gear fits properly and is appropriate for the type of diving you hired me to teach you. Everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons. If I think that there's something about the equipment you're using that's going to hold you back from either the class objectives or the diving goals you've told me you're trying to achieve, I'll tell you so, and I'll tell you why. But I won't require you to change your choices ... although I might tell you that you can't achieve the class objectives with that equipment. That would be rare, though ... and I'd more than likely supply you with proper gear for the duration of the class. An example would be a properly sized tank and/or high performance regulator for a class that involves deep diving. A more common example would be someone showing up for a class with a wing that's too big ... for some reason people get this idea that bigger is better when it comes to wings. I'll let you use one of mine, and by the end of class it's rare to have a student decide that they like theirs better. But I prefer to leave that decision to the student, rather than impose it on them.

Diving's a great deal about personal responsibility ... and that starts with the student taking responsibility for their choices. If they settle for less than optimal gear, they'll get less than optimal results. It isn't my job to "require" anything of them except an honest effort in the class they've hired me to teach. Part of my responsibility is to make them aware of any limitations I see being imposed by their choices, and to give them sufficient knowledge to help them make better choices ... but ultimately they're still the student's choices to make. Because once class is over, they're ultimately the ones who are going to have to make them.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Bigd2722]

Jim, I'd be curious if there was a specific experience(s) driving this list. I've never had an instructor list any of those gear or attitude requirements. I have a few advanced classes, but not a lot. The only thing I have seen around here (Orlando) is a requirement for doubles if the class was intro to tech or other technical courses

 

[Npallasi]

It is understood that for any advanced training the student will own or be able to provide their own gear. This includes tanks and weights.

Instructor has the final say in this and while it may be negotiated some items are simply not going to be permitted.

As a noob diver, while I appreciate the fact that tech diving requires specialised equipment, I don't particularly favour the dictatorial tone in the "advert". (I hope it is only tech diving courses that it refers to. PADI encourages budding divemasters to own their own equipment but does not take the same stance as that post.)

It sends the message that it's "my way or the highway", which then begs the (million-dollar, Pandora-box-like) questions, "but is it the right way?" and "is it the only way?".