The minimalist movement

[Eric Sedletzky]

I might be crazy, but I have to ask, How many people here are minimalists?

What is a minimalist?

From everything I have gathered and figured out for myself is that a minimalist is one who has stripped all unnecessary gear from their configuration and dives with only the minimal amount of gear needed to pull off the dive being done at that moment.

Less is more.

Minimalism was born from the old school. Not that the old school ever went away, but rather there is a whole new group of divers out there that maybe were not around when diving first started. SO in that regard they can't really be called "old school", but instead they have modernized the gear and have studied and employ the same principles of how diving was done years ago. These divers typically have a few years of experience and have had it with the direction of where diving and dive gear has gone.
I for one have never been happier in my diving life since I have eliminated most all the useless garbage from my configuration. Not only do I think it safer from an entaglement hazard standpoint, but I find that the freedom and the streamlining is fantastic, just like flying around freediving!

I think it's time to officially coin the name and set a definition of what a minimalist is; the gear configuration and the diving protocols.

Let's start a discussion.

 

[Slonda828]

Well, I'm sure Nemrod will be in on this one, but here's my take:

I dive minimalist. I only take what I absolutely need for the dive, and I don't bring a bunch of redundant equipment. Bear in mind that I don't dive caves, and I don't penetrate wrecks. I don't carry an extra mask, an extra knife, or really anything extra at all. On dives where I don't need a BC, I just wear a harness or a tank pack. On dives with chops, like in high seas, I wear a snorkel. In the springs I nix the snorkel. When I dive a computer, it's air integrated to eliminate extra stuff. If it breaks (which it never has) then I'll do a normal ascent. I plan my gas for my dives so that if my mask falls off, my air integrated computer falls into a worm hole, or my (god forbid) BC bladder ruptures then I know I have enough gas to make it topside.

This is the reason that I love diving vintage gear. I can fit everything that I am going to dive with in my backpack minus the cylinder. Most days I dive with a double hose regulator, no octo, a small SPG, a nice oval mask, fins, a knife, a watch, some tables, and a wrist mounted depth gauge. I pick my cylinder so that I don't have to wear a weight belt and I go diving. Everyone dives for different reasons. I dive to have fun. The Army taught me that carrying heavy things on your body is not fun.

I also use minimalism as a sort of challenge. It's just like ultralight backpacking sometimes, how light of a setup can I get? If I use a cotton tank harness, double hose regulator, and full foot fins, can I get my total gear weight (minus lead and cylinder) under ten pounds? Eight pounds? You'll always hear people say things like "You can have all the gear in the dive shop and not be a good diver". If you have a bunch of extra crap in your pockets that you never use in open water dives with no overhead (soft or otherwise), then maybe leave some stuff in your garage.

 

[Magnus.s]

It's just like ultralight backpacking sometimes.

To travel "lighter" is why I'm slowly stripping my gear form everything "unnecessary" and replacing parts for lighter alternatives. Started with a wireless integrated computer so I could remove pressure gauge and hose. Then for warm water diving I replaced my Black Diamond BCD for a "small" Scubapro Knighthawk, still a nice wing, but quite a bit lighter and easier to pack. Next I'm thinking of replacing my "traditional" octopus with an octopus integrated to the inflator...

Maybe not minimalistic, but my kit is getting lighter and that allows me to bring more camera kit within the luggage allowance on flights

// Magnus;

 

[John_B]

Edit: Thanks guys. Even though there is some disagreement between definitions, the thought processes are very interesting.

 

[herman]

I dive a lot like SLONDA most of the time and enjoy the feeling. However comparing HOG or GUE or DIR to the way we dive is way off base. We dive with pretty much no redundant gear, unless it's needed and depend on our skills and those of our buddies, basing our gear requirements on the dive, not some preconceived standard. DIR and similar styles are far from minimalist divers, they simply substitute the rec diver's toys for other items they consider to be needed- double tanks, double regs, extra mask, 2 timing devices ,whatever. This is not to say that the equipment is not needed at times, it is but at other times it's not and to take the gear along because it's the "required" gear to dive X style is silly IMO. Speaking for myself, I use the necessary gear for the dive but don't carry more than I need, one dive I may be in nothing more than a old harness and a single stage reg and the next geared up DIR style- depends on the dive and who I am diving with. Tooling around a warm 30 ft reef or quarry I don't need an octo or a pony or a BC for that matter so why take it, 100ft on a wreck 40 miles off the coast is a totally different dive and I gear up accordingly, redundant air, BC, safety sausage, knife and more. My gear is well maintained (I do it myself), catastrophic gear failure is rare and I can buddy breath or easily do a CESA from 30 ft if I need to. I have the skills needed to do the dive safely, I don't need equipment to cover by lack of skill.
It just occurred to me that the very nature of this diving style suggest what to call us......DIVERS....we have no need for extra titles that serve no purpose.

 

[J.R.]

I dive minimalist. I only take what I absolutely need for the dive, and I don't bring a bunch of redundant equipment. Bear in mind that I don't dive caves, and I don't penetrate wrecks. I don't carry an extra mask, an extra knife, or really anything extra at all. On dives where I don't need a BC, I just wear a harness or a tank pack. On dives with chops, like in high seas, I wear a snorkel. In the springs I nix the snorkel. When I dive a computer, it's air integrated to eliminate extra stuff. If it breaks (which it never has) then I'll do a normal ascent. I plan my gas for my dives so that if my mask falls off, my air integrated computer falls into a worm hole, or my (god forbid) BC bladder ruptures then I know I have enough gas to make it topside.

... as somebody noted in a following post... "minimalist" is often in the eye of the beholder.

I am on of those "old school" (well... at least back to 1970) divers.. Computers??? BC's??? Secondary regs??? Personally, I never leave home without them. Nostalga dives are just that... nostalga. "CAN" you do them... sure. I have an "old school" rig complete with fully functional old school gear. Would I dive it regularly?? Nope.

I would agree that knowing HOW to dive a minimalist rig can provide certain confidence building skills... but I really kinda' like all this newfangled stuff... makes diving a bit easier... quite a bit safer... and if you're properly trimmed... ain't all that heavy once you're underwater... (.. and weight belts, while they look cool... can be a pain...)

... now do I will admit to prefering back inflate to jacket style... and am strongly leaning toward a rig that is as "uncomplicated" as modern technology can be...

my two psi...

 

[wreckchick]

I think that the vintage gear crowd and the Hog crowd are talking about totally different things when speaking of minimalism and therefore the term cannot be used generically to describe any sort of actual 'movement'.

Rachel

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Dive however you want to dive.

One of the small pleasures of the activity is that you can do it any way you'd like.

A friend of mine is a mountaineer, however, (ice climber, technical rock enthusiast, etc.) and he was discussing the 'minimalist' movement in the climbing field. "Minimalist" climbers also avoid any excessive gear, including equipment to respond to contingencies that may not occur.

When the discussion turned to responding to unexpected emergencies, whether these involved weather-related occurrences, unanticipated environmental hazards, or medical emergencies among the climbing party, his answers all fell into the category of "well...if that happens then you die." Somehow I don't find that answer to be terribly satisfactory - but then again, perhaps I'm just too old to hang it all out there at the ragged edge of survivability.

So dive however you want to dive.

But if you sit down with a friend and discuss your dive plans, and your response to any reasonably foreseeable emergency is "well...if that happens then you die", you may want to reconsider at least a few aspects of your minimalist approach.

Or not...some folks prefer to hang it all out there at the ragged edge of survivability. My buddy contends that some folks feel that while gambling for money occasionally becomes boring, gambling with your life never gets old!

If thats your approach, then I hope you always win...

 

[Dtaine]

A friend of mine is a mountaineer, however, (ice climber, technical rock enthusiast, etc.) and he was discussing the 'minimalist' movement in the climbing field. "Minimalist" climbers also avoid any excessive gear, including equipment to respond to contingencies that may not occur.

When the discussion turned to responding to unexpected emergencies, whether these involved weather-related occurrences, unanticipated environmental hazards, or medical emergencies among the climbing party, his answers all fell into the category of "well...if that happens then you die." Somehow I don't find that answer to be terribly satisfactory - but then again, perhaps I'm just too old to hang it all out there at the ragged edge of survivability.

So this is a bit of a hijack - but I'll just put in my two cents as a gym climber looking into basic mountaineering (mt. hood, rainier, etc). There are a LOT of practices in the mountaineering community that I would consider outdated and unsafe, especially given the advancements in gear.

That said, there are multiple perspectives on what minimalist diving is; I agree with saying dive how you wish to, just dive smart.

 

[Nemrod]

I think that the vintage gear crowd and the Hog crowd are talking about totally different things when speaking of minimalism and therefore the term cannot be used generically to describe any sort of actual 'movement'.

Rachel

You are exactly right, Hog rigs as typically done and DIR are not minimalist. Minimalism removes all of the multiple layers of gear, redudundundumbdancy and strips the diver to the, well, bare minimum. I have been at the tip of the spear of minimalism for quite sometime and have made numerous posts about it for several years back. Minimalism is born from vintage but unlike vintage can use modern equipment and even a SIMPLE BC (wing or basic unit).

There are other minimalist divers, The Backpack Divers in California for example. Vintage divers are largely minimalist though some may not know it, lol. I have always been a minimalist usually taking with me only the gear I need and intend to use and configuring my rig to suit the purpose of the dive so therefore my current concept of a Minimalsit Diver is an evolution of what I have always done.

I really got serious about it when I purchased a kayak a few years back and decided I simply had to much crap to be efficient. I got rid of everything down to a single regulator, no octopus, no BC, simple plastic plate (or the Freedom plate or Oxy Ultra Light, a modern bent plate in aluminum or ABS, some of the cut plates like the Mark Meadows etc), spg, depth (or computer), exposure protection as required, knife and really little else.

Yeah, vintage can be minimalist but minimalism can use modern gear. Think of it as a basic configuration, a Hog rig stripped of all the fluff and extras and long hoses and octos and multiple regulators and quadruple cutting instruments and spare masks and spare snorkels etc. And while on the subject no transmitters either. It is a bare bones rig, a stripped Hog rig.

A minimalist rig is a STRIPPED Hog rig but I suppose, if one insisted, something like the Scuba Pro Classic non weight integrated Stabilizing Jacket would be an acceptable base rig also.

Again, let me say, vintage is minimalist, it harkens back to the days of the rugged individualist diver. A minimalist diver differs from a vintage diver in that he/she might use fully modern gear, just not much of it, or mix and match as suits the mission.

Typical Vintage Diver:

Navy harness or contour type pack
twin hose reg, no octo
BC--none, they were not invented yet
Knife--big and only one
oval mask
Snorkel, simple J or none, no spare
surface flotation, inner tube or paddle board
weight belt
J valve or Sea Vue spg
no octopus
Instruments, wear on arm, no computer


Concept Minimalist Diver:

Simple stripped plate, Hog harness
Modern single hose, no octo or octo on 36 inch hose
BC, none, wing or basic jacket
One useful knife
simple basic mask
no snorkel or simple J tube, no spares
surface flotation might be a kayak or none if wearing a BC
weight belt, no integration
spg, metal B&G
no octo or simply rigged octo on a 36 inch hose or shorter
Instruments, basic or arm mounted computer, no consoles

Obviously certain forms of diving might not lend themselves to strict minimalist configurations, cave, cold water (drysuit etc) but still the principles can be applied.

Solo is the ultimate end of minimalism in that the redunddundumdant buddy has also been eliminated. Those are my thoughts on it more or less at this time. As to what the evil PadI or other abc agencies think of minimalism, I don't care, that is part of being a minimalist diver, I have eliminated them as well.

N