You're doing it WRONG

Reading a post earlier about a diver being told his knife was pointed the WRONG way got me thinking of a DM we had a couple of weeks ago. My wife & I were told we had our weight belts on WRONG because we wear them to open with our left hand.
Now I know that you are taught that all divers should set their gear up so that in an emergency any other diver can strip your weights, but we have our reasons.
1st -we are both left handed so this is easier for us.
2nd- I lost most of my right hand 30 odd yrs ago but that didn't seem to matter.
It was different so it was WRONG.

Sorry, for the rant but it pi**ed me off!

i

I get similar "feedback".

I realize there is a good reason for this, but it still bugs me when people yell at me for putting my mask on my forehead. If I put my mask around my neck, it would rip out all of my hair. All of it. (I know, divers have no place having such long hair, so sue me).
So I wear my mask backward on my forehead while I wait for the boat to come around and pick me up. I'd rather wear it that way than put it on my arm and lose it in a swell. It happens. Almost every time, someone tells me to put my mask on and my reg in my mouth. (remember the seasick thread? Nothing would make me puke faster than that). I can't help but to resent that just a little.
I am sure some well-meaning folks will always give me a hard time for it, even if I am relaxed and flashing the "ok" sign. But there are other ways to identify a panicked diver than a mask on their forehead.

Most of the people I dive with wear their mask backwards on their forehead at the surface.

It's too bad DM's have to spend so much time telling folks how to dive. If more divers could handle things on their own these folks might be able to lighten up a bit.

Some gear rigging falls under the term "convention." Right hand release for a weightbelt is one - it's the "generally accepted practice" but if not using it is "wrong" then most of the integrated weight systems are "wrong" too.
One of the nice things about diving is that it is, in the end, a largely individual activity whose participants are ultimately responsible for their own safety.
It's your weightbelt. I would say that there is some miniscule increase in risk by rigging opposite the convention - but it is indeed tiny.
If I'm DM-ing for you I'd appreciate a heads-up that yours is a left hand release, just in case. Beyond that I have no druthers.
And you needn't "justify" it beyond "that's the way we do it."
Rick

I was told that diving a BP+Wing+Long hose in open water was DANGEROUS and that I could kill myself doing it.

By a "dive professional."

Guess who's boat I don't pay to dive off of any more?

I don't need to be insulted more than once when I'm paying for the party, and they won't get a second chance.

They WILL (and did), however, get a piece of my mind.

Way back when scuba gear was scarce and hard to come by. Still there remained the need to teach people how to deal with panic in another diver. One of the responses is gear rejection. So the instructor is faced with rejecting his/her gear but certainly doesn't want to lose that scarce and hard to come by mask so they create the concept that if I put my mask on my forehead it means I'm in trouble or panicing. The students of this instructor eventually come to be instructors and they teach their students that the mask on the forehead is a sign of panic. For each successive batch of newly minted instructors it becomes more deeply ingrained that the mask on the forehead is the true immutable sign of panic or problems.

Pop quiz what if the person takes their mask off and drops it? Is this a sign of panic? The mask is not on the forehead.

and the yelling about not putting it on our forehead as well.

I pointed out that the two are incongruent - if I have it on my forehead, I have not rejected it, as I still have it AND I made a deliberate decision to keep it there.

That drew scowls from the instructor....

Seadog,

I sympathise with you.
The standardized equipment configuration requires the same set up from diver to diver, much like the DIR approach does. The DIR approach is much more stringent and the system requires complete compliance.
I agree with many of the DIR principles, but I don't follow 100% therefore I AM NOT DIR.
I'm offering some advise , I've had experience teaching students with physical limitations. (I currently have a student with an atrophied right arm due to birth defect), feel free to take my advise or reject it, it's your choice.

The weight belt standard (right hand release) is so we don't confuse the weight belt with the BC belt, which is secured left (opposite) in a emergency, and so the buddy will not confuse the weight belt when assisting in an emergency.
Try this modified technique with the left hand , it can be performed quickly, and smoothly. Leave about 6-12 inches free end of belt sticking out your buckle. Pull the loose end of the belt, forward to lossen the buckle, then release it , grab and pull the buckle out to your left to slide the belt out and off your waist. You'll want to have a weight keeper on the free end to stop any weights from sliding off.

Being left handed is no excuse however, I am left handed also, and your wife can learn do do this right handed. It just takes practice.

By rigging you equipment in standard fashion, especially the weight belt which may need to be ditched in an emergency, you also make it easier for others to assist you. They don't have to pause to find the right strap, belt or release your BC by mistake.

The final decision is yours, however, you need to decide if the benefit and inconvenience of standard configuration and out weighs the possible risk in an emergency situation.

If you choose to dive with a non-standard configuration and are with a new (unfamiliar to your setup) buddy you should point out these differences before a dive. (during your predive buddy check)
Good luck regardless of your decision.

Feel free to PM me if you wish to converse more on this.

MikeD

mddolson once bubbled...
Seadog,

I sympathise with you.
The DIR(whole system) approach is an all or nothing system and allows no deviation, and those who blindly follow will tell you your are doing it wrong! I agree with many of the DIR principles, but I don't follow 100% therefore I AM NOT DIR. So to them I'd say to bad.

Im offering some advise , I've had experience teaching students with physical limitations. (I currently have a student with an atrophied right arm due to birth defect), you can take my advise or leave it, it's your choice.

The weight belt standard (right hand release) is so we don't confuse the weight belt with the BC belt, which is secured left (opposite) in a emergency, and so the buddy will not confuse the weight belt when assisting in an emergency.
Try this modified technique with the left hand , it can be performed quickly, and smoothly. Leave about 6-12 inches free end of belt sticking out your buckle. Pull the loose end of the belt, forward to lossen the buckle, then release it , grab and pull the buckle out to your left to slide the belt out and off your waist. You'll want to have a weight keeper on the free end to stop any weights from sliding off.

Being left handed is no excuse however, I am left handed also, and your wife can learn do do this right handed. It just takes practice.

By rigging you equipment in standard fashion, especially the weight belt which may need to be ditched in an emergency, you also make it easier for others to assist you. They don't have to pause to find the right strap, belt or relase your BC by mistake.

The final decision is yours, however, you need to decide if the benefit and inconvenience of standard configuration and out weighs the possible risk in an emergency situation.

Good luck regardless of your decision.

Fell free to PM me if you wish to converse more on this.

MikeD

Click to expand...

Never mind.

Edited....

yea, who started that 'mask on the forehead means DISTRESS' BS anyway? That is SO dumb...believe me, you'll KNOW someone who is panicked or in distress! He's waving his arms ike a flight deck controller and bobbing up and down in the water like a cork!

Is that dumb or what?

When I have the mask on backwards (like my baseball cap) does that qualify me to say the words "Boy-eeee?"