Absolute "Minimalist" Diving.

[maniago]

If you prefer J valve over SPG, you could dive no gauges at all. That wouldn't be my idea of fun, though. It goes a bit too far, like when my flight instructor put his clipboard over all the gauges on downwind and told me to land the damn thing.

I kinda would like to dive a j-valve, shallow dives you know, maybe no more than 60'. After all, all the color and fun fish seem to be in the first 60 anyway...Does anyone still make J's?

Ref a/c, you don't need the gauges if you have wires holding your wings - they sing different tunes at different speeds. Magical that. Just fly the wing.

However, your instructor was a jack@ss if he didn't show you how to do it first...

 

[captain]

I LOL'ed when Steve called you a troll Eric. That was a total funny from the straight guy. I might have to add a troll sticker to my contour BP!

I like this idea, min, especially the pic above that captain posted. That said, I think this kind of stuff you can only do in bath water - once you get wet-suited, it all just seem to snowball from there, it would seem.
Still, I'd sure like to try it in the right location, esp when spearfishing....

@ Nemrod - point of order please. PADI has not ditched the snorkel. In fact, new training rules, they've gone hard over the other way - paraphrasing "when on the surface, your reg or your snorkel in your mouth - no ifs, ands, or buts about it. BS when youre on the boat, not in the water". Just taught it this morning infact...

I did a lot that way with a 3 mill wet suit. It requires proper weighting for the intended depth and in some cases giving up the safety stop. A neutrally buoyant tank at the end of the dive like the old steel 72 was ideal for such conditions.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

A neutrally buoyant tank at the end of the dive like the old steel 72 was ideal for such conditions.

I love my steel 72s. Still have four of them in the garage, with current hydro & VIP. One of the tanks was made before I was born.

 

[Steve_C]

The minimal amount of equipment matches what is needed for a particular dive.

If OP would have used that type of phrasing I would never have posted. But kept folks amused during the winter months.

 

[maniago]

If OP would have used that type of phrasing I would never have posted. But kept folks amused during the winter months.

Laughter is the best medicine. I kinda wish though that Readers Digest hasn't gone the way of the Dodo bird. It was a great read in any drs office, barber shop, anywhere really. But I digress.

 

[Nemrod]

I LOL'ed when Steve called you a troll Eric. That was a total funny from the straight guy. I might have to add a troll sticker to my contour BP!

I like this idea, min, especially the pic above that captain posted. That said, I think this kind of stuff you can only do in bath water - once you get wet-suited, it all just seem to snowball from there, it would seem.
Still, I'd sure like to try it in the right location, esp when spearfishing....

@ Nemrod - point of order please. PADI has not ditched the snorkel. In fact, new training rules, they've gone hard over the other way - paraphrasing "when on the surface, your reg or your snorkel in your mouth - no ifs, ands, or buts about it. BS when youre on the boat, not in the water". Just taught it this morning infact...

Oh, here you go and burst my bubble, just as I thought there was a ray of hope. I thought I had read they were making the snorkel optional since they were to tech courses? Maybe I was wrong, guess I was. I did not mean for their "Basic" level class.

Uh, on the bath water thing, I can , do, have dove without a BC in bare rigs as Captain is wearing in 7mm wetsuits. I find 3/2 suits just dandy. However, going to 5 or 7, well, it is not optimal. It requires, getting off subject, a suit like those made from Rubatex G231, much less buoyancy shift from that no longer produced high quality material. But a good 3/2 is no problem. And the fact is, I can dive a 7mm suit and do fine with no BC.

I am in a 7mm Rubatex G231 "vintage" full suit here and having a nice dive, no BC. That is one of my cameras momentarily clipped to my waist strap:

I do not like that photo because it was in my "fat" era when I got up to a whopping 200 pounds, now at 165 pounds, it would be even easier. Same trip, different day, I am still pretty minimal but meeting the needs of the dive, deeper, current, my wife is along:

Holy cow, it is the Silver Surfer:

Here are a couple of friends in shorties:

It does not matter what the suit is, even when using a wing BC, if I have to put more than a puff or two of air in it, I get upset with myself for not having pegged my weight.

Oh, and that bucket I am wearing for a mask, it is actually throwing my trim off but when I take my camera forward (unclipped), all is well. Weird how such a little thing can cause trim issues.

N

 

[maniago]

Uh, on the bath water thing, I can , do, have dove without a BC in bare rigs as Captain is wearing in 7mm wetsuits. I find 3/2 suits just dandy. However, going to 5 or 7, well, it is not optimal. It requires, getting off subject, a suit like those made from Rubatex G231, much less buoyancy shift from that no longer produced high quality material. But a good 3/2 is no problem. And the fact is, I can dive a 7mm suit and do fine with no BC.

It does not matter what the suit is, even when using a wing BC, if I have to put more than a puff or two of air in it, I get upset with myself for not having pegged my weight.

N

A 3/2? Bath water wear. I never see the north side of a 5 mil...unless its a hot tub! Maybe not even then.

 

[Nemrod]

A 3/2? Bath water wear. I never see the north side of a 5 mil...unless its a hot tub! Maybe not even then.

LOL, true, however, I am wearing a full 7mm suit in the photo above, not a 3/2. I can dive quite well in a 7mm full suit with farmer john sans BC. But, like I said, even wearing a BC I scold myself for actually using it. Let me be clear, let us not confuse vintage (because of some of my photos) with minimalist SCUBA. If a BC is needed for the dive, by all means use one, in that case you are meeting the minimal equipment requirement for your dive. However, sorry, I am not ever going to be convinced that wearing and using a drysuit in August in JP park, Key Largo with twin tanks, three regulators and isolation manifold and a slung deco bottle is in any way minimalist but it may well be the minimal equipment for a cold water adventure on a deep wreck.

N

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I was interested to see what it would cost to outfit someone for scuba bare bones if I they were to start completely over the minimalist way.
These prices are for all BRAND NEW gear, none of it is ebay or used or vintage. It could be less if you wanted to shop around for used deals, or it could be more if you wanted to upgrade to more expensive models.

AL titan reg $225.00
Jet fins $129.00
Bare wetsuit $250.00 (my area)
Hooded vest $100.00 (my area)
Rubber weightbelt with weights $75.00 (my area)
Mask $80.00
Snorkel (optional) $25.00
Booties $70.00
Gloves $45.00
Console $169.00
(including SPG/Depth G./Compass)
Trident plastic backpack complete $66.95
w/ harness and cam strap

Total........................................$1234.95



All this was from Leisure Pro and one other site where I found the backpack.
I'm even giving you an SPG/compass/depth gauge combo as a bonus. You can tuck it in under your waistbelt and it won't bang into stuff.

 

[fjpatrum]

Wow, Eric. You didn't try very hard to come up with cheaper prices, did you? I can cut several hundred dollars off that just by going to WalMart and two other websites. Again, all new, name-brand gear.

I'm glad you started this thread, though. Good read.

As a newb I very rarely dive deep enough to need any air in my BC (~ 60 feet, generally). In fact, I've done several dives now without it. Best dives I've had as far as comfort. Going to steel tanks soon will change that, though as I already don't have any weight (in warm water) with my AL80s. I'll see then how minimal I like it...