DIR- GUE Doubles Primer

[SpeedyJ]

You're moving into the realm of technical training as opposed to certification courses, so there is a bit of a mindset shift that needs to be applied.

Tech instructors are much more responsive to student needs/requirements in terms of course progression as true skill mastery vs. pushing students through a certification class is the goal. Echoing others, talking to the instructor will allow them to gauge what you need as a student and adjust accordingly.

I've not found instructors holding me back to extract an extra $2-300 from my wallet, but because I needed an extra day or two (or five) to get to the point I needed to be at. Good tech instructors usually have a full calendar of classes and enjoy the unexpected day off - and they're not worried about getting that $200 this go-round as you'll be back with $2500 next class

 

[the_one_who_waits]

Yep this makes more sense now; I appreciate the feedback.
I'm guessing most people in this sub are deep in the DIR system, and recognize the value in these courses. But for those like myself who've had zero exposure or experience with it, we can only take what is posted on these agency's websites at face value, all while our experience with any sort of underwater education to-date has just been speedrunning through a bunch of concepts and going through a checklist of tasks.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Yep this makes more sense now; I appreciate the feedback.
I'm guessing most people in this sub are deep in the DIR system, and recognize the value in these courses. But for those like myself who've had zero exposure or experience with it, we can only take what is posted on these agency's websites at face value, all while our experience with any sort of underwater education to-date has just been speedrunning through a bunch of concepts and going through a checklist of tasks.

It was a fair question. And some good answers, if I say so myself.

Now, please let us know how your Doubles Primer course worked out for you. If you have a chance, post a course report. There is a thread somewhere in this sub-forum with links to various DIR course reports, but we don't often see reports on doubles or drysuit primers, which would have been helpful to someone like you. There are many (mostly older) reports on Fundies classes.

 

[rjack321]

So you're saying it is instructor-dependent, and the course duration comes down to their individual preference?

It's not the "same token". For it to be the "same" there would have to be some instructors holding T1 5 consecutive days and others holding it 10 consecutive days. Similarly, instructors teaching Doubles Primer in a full day and others 2 half-days with a few days/weeks break in-between.


The $200 difference is the minimum, and doesn't account for travel and hotel expenses. For me personally, the cost is inconsequential. But this statement comes off as pretentious in the context of your explanation. T1 costs about $2.5k USD? So in the same token, if an instructor decides to double the course time just because they feel like, the you'd then be obligated to pay at least an additional $2.5k USD in instructor fees.

The standards state the minimum duration and dives. Some instructors may choose to only offer more than that cause they want to teach differently or more than the minimum. And yes some courses are structured in such a way that with travel and breaks it's potentially double the price of another instructor with a different course structure. They are all independent and set their own prices.

If $2.5k is significant then perhaps GUE is not for you.

There are plenty of other agencies. I already have GUE-F, T1, C1, and C2 all predating the doubles primer's existence as a course. They were all worthwhile to me, but I've moved on from GUE. You're starting out with a pretty bad attitude about a 1-day difference in advertised duration for a non-certification course. Good luck on your doubles journey, you're going to need it.

 

[KevinNM]

When I did a doubles primer it was two days. First day was basically drills in his backyard pool. Second day we went to Long Beach and got on a boat and went diving with doubles.

 

[mariosx]

The GUE instructor you come in contact would know infinitely better to give you recommendations for your case and answer your questions.
In the case you are considering a doubles primer as a step to go for fundamentals and not so that you will dive doubles and that's all, I would advocate (with my limited experience) against taking that class, and preparing straight for the Fundamentals class.

I dove doubles for the first time in my Fundies class with only 35 dives under my (weight) belt. I spent only 10-20 seconds to familiarize myself with this new configuration, and I even preferred it due to stability etc. I assume that the same skills you will learn in the primer's class would be taught also in GUE-F.

 

[the_one_who_waits]

Update; I've returned from my (training) trip.

A few takes and responses in this thread but after the past week, I find that there's truth to all that was said.

The quality of GUE system, materials, training, and instruction is nothing short of stellar. Again, I previously had no direct experience with it and I am a skeptic by nature (as my profession necessitates it). Especially moreso when testimonials are skewed towards the extreme end like 'best this, best that'.

While I was only aware of the strict standards and protocols, for some reason I was expecting the justifications to be militant along the lines of "because that's just the way we do it". However, my instructor was incredibly patient and explained in great detail why everything was done a certain way. After a while, I didn't need further convincing and stopped asking 'why'. Which ironically concerned him; he'd sometimes pause and then ask "why aren't you asking why?".

I can only echo what has been said many times before: I wish I took this (GUE-F/DP) sooner. Even though I haven't logged more 100 dives yet

As for my original query, I do see how DP can be done all in a single day. We covered the setup, balancing considerations, valve drill, and two dives in the first day. But it just makes sense to have the second day to reinforce the muscle memory and get accustomed to difference in mobility.