Single tank DIR - 5' or 7' long hose

[dbulmer]

Whoops - my apologies - I've posted in the DIR forum

 

[nadwidny]

Hummm...
An interesting discussion as it has made me consider varying POV's.

I had access to a 7' and 5' hose. I could route the 7' but I could route the 5' just as easily. With the 7' I had to figure out what to do with the extra 2'. Stuff it in the waist band, add a pouch, add some shears... not a big deal in the scheme of things but I asked myself why I was doing that for hose I didn't need. Why would I carry 2' of hose there when I worry whether my B/U LP hose is 24" or 22"?

The arguments for team standardization and muscle memory are very convincing however and would put me in the 7' camp if I were heading down the tech road (or if it were ever an issue with a team) but, as it stands, I am just a diver who wants to rec dive but also wants the benefits of DIR gear config/procedures.

To my understanding, While it claims to provide a platform that can allow one to dive from the top down (risk/commiment/technical difficulty wise) the gear configuration is designed to have the highest optimacy at the extreme range of diving but that same configuration can become sub optimal in a strictly OW setting and loses its primacy if there is no flexability. Some gear like 7' hoses, can lights, no computers, manifolded doubles etc... while applicable just aren't as neccisary.

This is where I (and others I suspect) sometimes struggle with the DIR approach. For the purely rec diver, if they adhere to the strictest DIR proticol, will wind up diving most of the time somewhat sub optimally. Most divers who move from rec to tech to rec and back again accept this sub optimacy temporarily because the long term benefits of standardization outweigh the short term negatives (or they don't experience them as such).

I'm sure some old school DIR guys are rolling their eyes at all this but those are just my thoughts. It's 2am and I have to hit the sack. Those who know me know that I voice them with the best of intentions. If DIR stayed in the caves this discussion would never come up but as it moves into mainstream OW I'm sure these issues have/will surface time and again.

I've been diving DIR since 1999. I don't know if that makes me old school or not but I can assure you that there is plenty of flexibility in the system. I dive single tanks, no can light and a 5' hose during the times they are suitable and bring out the big toys when they are suitable. Those who rail about the inflexibility do so from a viewpoint of ignorance.

The most important thing is to learn the system in the real world either by hooking up with DIR buddies (there are some in the Van and Vic areas) or by taking one of the DIRF-like classes (or preferably do both) and go diving. You can't learn this stuff on the internets.

 

[jeckyll]

DaleC: If you're interested in going for a dive (assuming you're in the Vancouver area) PM me.

I am by no means an expert, but I did manage to get through Fundies

Bjorn

 

[DaleC]

I definately agree that real world diving is different than the internet Brian (but I still learn a lot by talking/listening here). I always seem to be fortunate to meet good people in the flesh. I am connecting with a few folks in Van and hope to do Fundies in July. I've even ordered the fundies text and Dan Mackays Dress for Success.

Having said that, reality does have a way of pulling one up by the short hairs a lot of the time. As a rec diver looking at DIR there's a lot of buy in financially that one has to work through (the skills/procedures/planning etc... are far easier to swallow).

BP/W $8-900
Doubles set up $6-800
Canlight $500+
Proper SPG's and hoses $200+
GUE-F $700+

All this and more (probably) to do the dives one is already doing. I see the benefit myself (sometimes more than others) and when I don't I suspend judgement till more info is available. On some issues though, I question the validity of certain aspects as they pertain to the diving I'll do (hence the discussion here). For the most part I just do what I can do at the moment and await developments (and pray I find a money tree somewhere).

Anyways, a bit of a hijack here. Someone probably has something very technical to report about the length of the long hose


Bjorn, thanks for the offer. I am interested. I have an odd work schedule so I'll PM you to see if we can get out.

 

[CompuDude]

Dale, if you're paying $8-900 for a bp/w, you're getting taken.

Just sayin'.

 

[DaleC]

welcome to the wonderful world of Canadian gear prices.

 

[jeckyll]

...Why would I carry 2' of hose there when I worry whether my B/U LP hose is 24" or 22"?...

Would you believe that in this case the 2" will make more of a difference than the 2'?



PM me, I'm pretty much on a 9-5 schedule and try to go diving Wed evenings or Sunday mornings.

B.

 

[TSandM]

Dale, you don't have to have doubles to dive DIR. If you are doing dives for which single tanks are appropriate, single tanks are fine.

An SPG and appropriate hoses can be had for less than $200, if you watch e-bay and the used gear stuff on SB and TDS.

Switching to the BP/W is a big expense, but if you want to start your DIR training without doing that part of it, you CAN take Essentials from Mark Gottfried or Todd Powell. You can begin to learn diving as a team and functioning with the long hose even before you can afford to switch out your BC.

Believe me and nadwidny. DIR is not the intense, doctrinaire thing that it comes across as on the internet. It's a flexible, pragmatic system to do safer, easier dives.