"Is a BP/W too confusing for new divers?" and related topics...

[RJP]

"BP/W for OW students?" is a topic that comes up frequently here on ScubaBoard. Almost as often as "Can new OW divers be expected to be skilled?" or "Do PADI certified divers drag their knuckles when they kneel on the bottom?"



All kidding aside, thought folks might be interested to see a few newly minted OW students trained by Wayne Fisch (of DiveSeekers.com and The Scuba Connection, in Hillsborough NJ). Here we see students doing some dives the weekend immediately following their OW class, during which they were not only taught buoyancy control, proper trim, and efficient propulsion techniques... but they actually trained in Halcyon BP/W rigs right from Dive 1. (Like all of our OW students.)

To stir the pot even further, apparently these students (and their instructor) have the gall to presume that they are ready to take AOW this coming weekend!

Amazing - though shouldn't be surprising - what the combination of great instruction, proper gear, and motivated students can accomplish!

 

[rhwestfall]

-1 for the dangly SPG...

Its awesome to see what motivated instructors and motivated students can accomplish!

 

[FloridaPhil]

His console is on a retractor which presumably is a fixed length that pivots around the snap attaching the rig to a D ring. On seeing comments such as this -1 comment, I find myself wondering, as a new diver, how else one is expected to attach a console that would meet with approval?

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 8.9 using Tapatalk HD

 

[victorzamora]

Can we also get a -1 for a console AND short hoses?

Honestly, that student looks awesome. I'm glad to see that a new OW student looks like a competent diver, as that's something most instructors are claiming is impossible or too hard/expensive. Any idea how much total time was spent in the water with these students? I would love to know to compare it to the minimum standards.

Edit: Phil, gauges while diving a BPW are normally recommended as a simple "Brass and glass" spg on a much shorter hose. The "traditional" hose length is 6"-9" shorter than what was shown in the picture, and is normally clipped to the left hip d-ring. For most training, people like the normal "recreational"-style reg setup....and what is shown is very similar to what you'll see if you go diving on vacation somewhere. Cozumel, USVI, BVI, Bonaire, Roatan, Belize, etc.....all have practically identical setup. That's why most shops teach that setup, especially for OW.

My comment about MY -1 rankings were mostly a joke. That diver looks fantastic, and I wish I had the chance to train with a proper instructor early in my diving career. It would've made my introduction to Deco and Cave diving much smoother. The reason I mentioned the console as being a negative is the size of it. I like a small, simple SPG tucked away. The DIR method is to clip it to your left hip. I like clipping it to my left chest d-ring, as I don't have to unclip it to read it. Still, it's a tenth the size of a console, which I feel smothered in. My comment about the short hoses is an allusion to short vs long hose that always gets brought up in these discussions (not that console vs brass-and-glass doesn't). Since I started diving long hose, I've only done two short-hose dives and I don't ever want to go back again. My fiancee (very much NOT a Tech diver) said the same thing. With a long hose, your octo is bungeed on a necklace around your neck. Your primary is on a 5' or 7' hose that wraps around your body. When you go to share your air, you: switch to your backup, unwrap your primary, donate your primary. That way, your buddy is a safer and more comfortable distance from you AND you give the person that is panicked a regulator that is known to be working. Also, if you get "mugged" by an Out Of Air (OOA) diver you don't see, you can easily switch to your backup without having to look for one or wrestle the reg away from the other diver.

Let me reiterate, though, that the diver looks GREAT. Much better than a few "Tech" divers I've seen.

 

[RJP]

-1 for the dangly SPG...

Here we see a member of the DM staff "discussing" this issue with the student during the post-dive debrief. Trust me, the student is even more motivated now...

 

[chrpai]

That's pretty good. Trim is off and it looks like there's a little overweighting going on ( a lot of air in the wing ). The octo's and SPG's aren't streamlined as much as they should be. Does PADI standards require the octo in the triangle or can you use the bungeed second and long hose? Also I don't see any snorkels. Is this because O/W is over and they ditched them?

Looking pretty good for dive 5-6ish.

 

[victorzamora]

how else one is expected to attach a console that would meet with approval?

If you're not sure, I'm sure the DM in RJP's Post#5 will be able to explain it to you

---------- Post added August 7th, 2013 at 08:20 AM ----------

Does PADI standards require the octo in the triangle or can you use the bungeed second and long hose?

The triangle is between your chin and the bottom of your ribs...right? Well, a bungeed octo on a necklace fits into that triangle. As far as I'm aware, there's no violation.

 

[RJP]

it looks like there's a little overweighting going on ( a lot of air in the wing ).

????

Even this diver (below) has very little air in his wing. We use 40lb wings in the rental fleet (as they are often paired with heavy steel tanks) so they will taco a bit with very little air in them. Point of fact, if there was "a lot of air in the wing" it wouldn't taco, but would rather spread out more fully...

 

[DevonDiver]

Here we see a member of the DM staff "discussing" this issue with the student during the post-dive debrief. Trust me, the student is even more motivated now...

DM would then get a humiliating cuff on the head by the instructor.... for all those dangly clips off the front of his belt...

 

[RJP]

DM would then get a humiliating cuff on the head by the instructor.... for all those dangly clips off the front of his belt...

Those dangly bits were confiscated from divers earlier in the day. You should see his collection of shrunken heads and split fins! (And yes, the knife in that scabbard is a cheap steak knife with the tip snapped off.)