rddvet...im not going to say I agree or disagree with your comments, what I am going to say is that it does not sound like your comments are coming from someone who has been in an instructor type role. I agree if something is seen as being incorrect...it should be pointed out, but there is a term called "tact" in how you express these opinions. Its not a matter of saying it in a way because , but more as expressing these opinions in a way that don't discourage the recipient from continuing to better him\herself and enjoy the sport.
We all just want to have fun, but if the only corrective criticism ...then I have to agree...your coming off as an a-hole and are doing more damage then good.
I still feel your comments are still very vague as we are talking about several photos and 4 different people that are not going to dial the gear in all the same way.
As I mentioned in my initial comment to you...please feel free to private message me so that this thread does not run off the rails any more than it already has...as this was not my intention. Private message me so we can discuss items in further detail if you wish to be more of a mentor on this subject to myself or others. We can dissect a particular photo and I can give you my impression of what I see or what you see and we can fix issues from there. I will also be starting a new thread called "FTM - Fix My Trim" to do the same and try to pull this thread back to speaking about the K2 in general and not on bad trim\skills\instruction.
Something else to everyone...If you wish to discuss how the XDeep setup is far superior to the K2 in every way except if you are running a Sidewinder...then I think that should probably go into a separate thread as well, but these are just my opinions.
Sorry if you don't like my lack of tact. You posted photos of yourself diving on the internet and don't look good. This is after an instructor worked with you. Unfortunately people like to pussyfoot around and not be direct. Based on those photos you got hoodwinked by a bad instructor. I'd want someone to be direct and tell me the truth. If that makes me an a-hole in your eyes so be it. We're all adults. Nobody's calling you a stroke or a bad diver and any other sort of internet rudeness. I gave direct commentary and gave some minor suggestions. Good on you for starting a thread and wanting to be better. I'd be happy to give constructive criticism as nicely as I can, but when people post photos of stuff like this on the internet plan on needing thick skin.
I honestly would have a serious talk with my instructor about his quality of teaching if this is how he let you guys out of class. He may be a nice or a great instructor in other areas of diving, but what we're seeing isn't up to snuff. The good sidemount instructors' students usually show better tank trimming than that in their first 5 minutes in the water.