A somewhat sad conversation last night

[JahJahwarrior]

I see DIR as the R&D of the dive world. There is not a diver in the world who would not benefit from the knowledge they are willing to depart. I am not DIR or a technical diver but have adopted some of the great ideas they dive by. It is too bad they get a bad rap.

Yes because they brought us the backplate, can light, sidemount, and CCR...

Dir is more like apple. They take proven technology and add subtle highlights that make the quality and ease of use stand out. They innovated more on the training side if anything, and required high quality from their divers.

 

[peterbj7]

Some DIR divers are jerks, but then a proportion of all divers are jerks. I've dived with many people who I suspected from their gear and their approach to diving with DIR/GUE, but they didn't attempt to ram it down my throat and we had pleasant times together. But at my shop I've also had the other sort, who assert up-front that they're DIR and controls their diving lives. I'm glad to say that that sort now appears quite infrequently.

On the BP/W issue I have several and I use them, but equally I also use other configurations when I think them more appropriate for the circumstances. There are people who assert that BP/W is the only way to dive, and there must be something wrong with you if you don't agree, or at least you haven't yet discoved the joys of using them. But again, that tub-thumping approach seems to be fading, and we're all much better off for it.

As for me, I don't see DIR as the R&D of diving. I know some superb divers and teachers who don't follow the precepts of DIR.

 

[BluewaterSail]

Based on postings I have seen here in the last year, I find it odd that someone would have gotten such a bad image of DIR divers from SB. It is from reading SB as a frustrated newbie that I learn of, and turned to, DIR and GUE.

 

[Adobo]

How do you guys work out who is a DIR diver and who is not?

Do these guys get the same tattoo or something?

 

[fjpatrum]

I just went to a meetup group "dive club" happy hour about week ago and got just the opposite impression. Or rather the inverse impression... that I didn't want to be associated with some of the "non-DIR" divers because all they did was trash talk the DIR divers without any real reasons for doing so (not that reasons would have made it any better).

While I definitely see SB bias I find it interesting that other folks take one side or the other being privy to both sides of the bias. The only bias I've noticed from DIR folks on SB is that they want to make better divers, more than anything else. Sure the comments can sometimes be curt or "overly harsh" from a "thin skinned" perspective, but I see that as necessary sometimes, when we're talking about things that can kill us. Of course, I'm not what anyone would call thin skinned either so I have my own bias.

 

[BDSC]

I've always thought the term "DIR" itself was a put off for many folks. If a DIR diver is "Doing it Right", does that mean if you're not you're doing it wrong?

 

[RonFrank]

DIR is rather a closed philosophy. DIR divers embrace one way of diving. You use a BP/W or your not DIR. If you dive Split fins then you are not DIR. There are DIR divers who refuse to dive with those who are not DIR. No matter how nice someone is, when they refuse to dive with someone because they are not DIR that can lead to problems.

Fortunately most DIR divers are not so strict. However there are some that are by the book DIR divers. In fact if you strictly follow the DIR way, you are by definition standoffish. I was involved with the whole DIR set of problems we as mods had and it was not fun. We basically ended walling the DIR zealots off and that worked. It is still that way to this day. They have opt in areas and if you want to participate there you better be DIR. There is no tolerance for split fins or jacket BC's.

I have close friends who are DIR, but they are also SSI or PADI instructors so while they practice DIR they can change skins. There was a group of DIR divers at the BH a few years back and they were a group of the most arrogant and boring folks I had the displeasure of meeting. So it's not a SB thing, rather a DIR thing as fanatical DIR divers can be very rude and may have no tolerance for non DIR divers. For a DIR purist that can be the way.

Me? I am a MOF diver, and I like Captain Crunch!

 

[BVickery]

I've met a few people who are DIR that put me off, and met them via SB and the way if it's not DIR then its junk. I have also talked extensively with TSandM, and to a lesser extent a lady from the Atlanta area who really got me to see that some aspects of the DIR/GUE would truly benefit my diving, and that the GUE Primer course is very much PERFECT for me. Reading TSandM's post about her dive buddy described to a T the kind of diver I want to be. To do this I know that I need to master some skills to the point of being second nature.

And I am guilty of recommending BP/W and usually state the modular approach, and if your like me, tall and currently 'cushioned' it's geat in that as you drop your cushion, you don't need to get a new BCD, just adjust your webbing. Also, being a tall diver, traditional BCDs didn't set right on me, felt unnatural and uncomfortable.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've always thought the term "DIR" itself was a put off for many folks. If a DIR diver is "Doing it Right", does that mean if you're not you're doing it wrong?

... that's like asking if the term "PADI" stands for "Professional Association of Dive Instructors", does that mean that if you're not a PADI instructor, you're unprofessional?

It's a marketing term ... there are no hidden meanings ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[herman]

Having been on this board since it began, I can tell you the tone of the DIR divers here has changed a lot and it has all been for the better. In the early days after DIR divers started joining the board, a good portion of them were first class horses rears and very vocal, several names instantly come to mind. I saw more than one person (including myself) that was insulted and in general came down hard upon for discussing any number of non-DIR ideas, using a computer for one...they will rot your brain.. or being trashed hard for not using a BP/wing. Stroke was a common word back then, basically used as a derogatory term for any non-DIR diver. All strokes were unsafe and were not to be dove with and we were quickly told so. I am sure the majority of DIR dives don't deserve to be viewed in a negative light but there were a good number of individuals in the past who left a bad taste in a lot of folks mouths. The DIR divers I know personally are first class people and divers, I am happy to have their company any day. I am glad to see the overall tone of DIR divers on the board has changed. Even with the bad attitudes of some of those early DIR board members I looked into DIR to see what it had to offer. I came away with a great respect for the skills of a true DIR diver but did not see the strict gear requirements and procedures, while ideal for the technical diving it was designed for, added any real value to my chosen style of diving. Rejecting the religion was highly frowned upon in the early days...I hold an early DIR-F card (expired)