I do not believe, nor did I write that it is all about the gear. I noted that in my perception some were too hung up on gear. I encourage you to re-read my offending post. I was not reducing GUE to two items. I wrote that in my opinion some GUE divers are too hung up on these items.
I think gear is something that
all divers are nuts about.....How many times have you read a post from some new diver, that just bought 3 grand worth of new stuff, they want to know what everyone thinks, and then they argue for 100 more posts about why the stuff they just bought is the best. They want the "congratulations...the "you got the best stuff".... YOU made the smart call" kind of feedback.....a lot like a dog walking into the room demanding to be petted.
There is a lot of this in diving, and GUE and DIR is not immune. We have some good reasons for our ideas, but everyone still likes to feel like after all the research they did, they made the "smart" decision in the buy.
On the defensive side for this, we "test" our gear with all the DIR and GUE drilling and types of diving, much more than a typical recreational diver could ever imagine. With all this testing, many of us have actually seen some big differences in various gear performances. I think much of the gear-centric posting can really be borne out, because of this, but what you are picking up on, is the "Joy" of this gear discussion, and maybe that is what you find so irksome
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My posts have thus far been been measured and respectful. I'd like to comment more, but then they would no longer be so carefully considered.
I can't help it that GI3 didn't invent the BP&W, horizontal trim and good buoyancy.
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It might be worthy to recall that George and JJ were really pissed about how bad all the options were back in the mid-90's, by ALL of the gear manufacturers, for bp/wing sytems. They contacted each of the big ones, individually, and even scubapro had zero interest in making what they thought would be only 100 or 200 specialty pieces that did not fit in to "their" vision of dive gear and the future..... Of all in the manufacturing dive world, only one guy stepped forward to fix this..Just one. there is no arguing this. That person was Robert Carmichael. Robert took all the specs that George and JJ were asking for, and used his R& D manufacturing facility at his Brownie Third Lung factory, to create some prototypes.....these prototypes were loved....and much better than taking a stop sign off the road, and cutting it up then putting webbing in it, and all the other nonsense that used to go on for some to create their own bp/wing systems
The Prototypes kept getting improved by Robert, as he made more and more for WKPP team members, and a huge demand for more was created. Carmichael decided to actually produce these in quantity, and he called the new system Halcyon.....
Just saying, dont forget true innovation where it occurred....For all Robert did for WKPP and Diving, with the innovation of Halcyon ( and all the copying by other mfg's today--creating even more access to this gear advantage in diving) , he gets next to no mentions EVER, and next to no thanks by anyone. Why is that ?
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As what I think is an interesting tangent.....The year Halcyon actually "came out", the year Halcyon got it's "debut" at DEMA in New Orleans....there had been HUGE buzz on the internet about the brand new, not like anything else, Halcyon line. This was at a time when Scubpro and Mares and Cressi and the other big mfg's, were not just big, they were GIANTS. Each of the big guys had spaces at DEMA the size of small towns ( only slight exageration
and had several dozens of employees working the floors, fancy models wearing the gear, and on and on. Each expected a flood of divers/shops through their display areas from the moment the Show began.
Robert made the show on a wing and a prayer, and a tiny budget. It was a single or double booth ( don't recall which, but tiny compared to the big guys), and there were about 5 of us to work the booth--I was one of them. Each of us wore Halcyon Black shirts, and we did have a cool and black and imposing look to our Halcyon booth.
As the show prepared to open, close to a thousand people lined up at the get go, to see the new Halcyon booth. the line coming in to us went forever, and the Scubapro and Mares guys became apoplectic, over all of these people going to us, and ignoring their huge show of the critical new colors in a BC, or the "absolutely MUST HAVE new huge pockets, etc.
At the Halcyon booth, we thought we had plenty of sales literature, but after 2 hours of the "onslaught", we were sending our artist Preston to the copy machines, and having him furiously xeroxing the brochures. Bedlam continues the entire day, and each successive day. The other manufacturers realize they have made an enormous mistake, but the bell has rung, and Halcyon has a huge head start on what everyone now knew was a "new" evolution in the kind of dive gear that would need to be made and marketed. Suddenly gear was about FUNCTION, and not about colors. "Halcyon Black" was as big a statement about the stupidity in the big mfg's, and all their "MUST HAVE THE NEW COLOR BC CR*P" as you could possibly imagine. Overnight, the consumers had changed, and the big manufacturers were SHOCKED!
Over the last decade, rampant copying, and perfection of modifications to copying, has put some great gear out there, under many different manufacturers names. Today, there really are some great choices, and Halcyon is NOT the only game in town. They still cost more then most, they still last forever ( the 18 pound wing robert Gave me back in the first year they began making them, is still in great shape, and I still use it today)....and they still are known for FUNCTION and not for fancy colors or frills or monster pockets.
** Just so you know, I did work as Marketing Dir for Halcyon the first few years from inception, but not for the last decade. In other words, I do not work for them now, but I am proud of what Robert did.
