I certainly appreciate the honesty of people who chose to respond to the OP. This, however, is a potentially dangerous thread. I agree that there are some people who can "teach" themselves to dive. Given the potential dangers associated with diving, it can be suicide for people to assume that this should be done. It is a serious gamble to believe that you can teach yourself to dive or that your buddies can do the same. A competent, self taught diver is the exception, not the rule. You place yourself and your dive buddy at serious risk by trying to dive using the "do it yourself kit". Buying a compressor and filling your own tanks without training is like loading the gun and looking into the barrel to see if you can see the bullet. The potential problems that exist from a self taught diver are endless. It is not impossible to be self taught, just far from the norm to do it and be competent and safe. An error in judgment or one due to a lack of training can be fatal. Is it possible to dive without training, yes. Is it advisable to do so, absolutely not. If you want to learn to dive, get trained.
