Norberto
The Chief
Registered: 12/20/03
Posts: 893
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Reply with quote | #1 |
There is growing trend in recreational diving to dive equipment which is used in technical diving. When I dive around the world I see more divers using backplates, wings, 7 foot hoses on a regular, shallow reef dives. One of the reason I guess is increased popularity of technical diving which creates the group of Tech wanna be. There are also other reasons more important then just a look. I would like to hear opinions from new and more seasoned divers why would they choose one configuration over another. 
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Andrea
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Registered: 12/20/03
Posts: 948
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Reply with quote | #2 |
For me, I choose so-called tech gear for the simple reason that...well, it's simple. No gadgets or do-hicky's that someone else thinks is a nifty thing to be attached to whatever piece of equipment. I pick and choose just what I need for my diving needs. No more. No less.
I also prefer the zero-danglies approach of tech-oriented gear set up: straps are trimmed to fit without any extra length dangling off, hoses are tucked tightly and neatly close to the body.
People ask me why, as a 5'1" hobbit do I choose to haul around twin tanks. Well, frankly, my steel twin 80s are not that heavy, and they allow me to kill a few birds with one stone, so to speak. First of all, the twins allow me to avoid switching tanks between dives, which is one of my pet peeves. Second, they offer redundancy in equipment and gas supply. Third, if I had a choice, I'll always prefer to do one long dive instead of two shorter ones...well, I guess this circles back to how I dislike switching tanks and for a bonus, I don't have to climb the boat ladder or wade up the shore twice.
The best part is that cold-water diving set-up is entirely portable to warm-water diving needs. The reverse cannot be said.
Ultimately, what I'm after is a set-up that makes my kitting up and my underwater experience more comfortable. And going the way of so-called tech equipment has allowed me to achieve that.
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Sean
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Registered: 02/03/04
Posts: 355
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Reply with quote | #3 |
You are making technical divers a distinct category. I think this is in error, technical divers are still recreational divers in my opinion and are at best a sub-category of recreational divers. The dives they choose to do or are capable of doing are however generally more challenging than outlined in the PADI "recreational" training scheme.
I like backplates because they take some of the negative buoyancy I need and spread it along my back fairly evenly, helping me keep a very horizontal profile in the water. The wing also helps. It is behind me and out of my way and it is shaped so that if I am in a horizontal diving posture it will tend to keep me there. The horizontal diving posture helps me stay in control of my dive. It provides resistance to depth changes and allows me to more easily exert directional control while diving, I can easily go backwards, stop and stay motionless, pivot in place (generally around a pivot point near my belly button), etc.
I do most of my diving in Canada. You will almost always see me diving my doubles up here. My doubles are big and heavy. When I first switched over to doubles I always dived them for two main reasons: 1. I needed to get used to diving them as I had aspirations of seeing some of the local wrecks that were beyond the limit of standard recreational dives and 2. I could not afford to have both single and double configurations. Now that I am further along the path, I still almost always dive doubles because 1. I have gotten used to them and like how they feel in the water and 2. I believe that you dive as you train and therefore should train as you dive and that to some extent every dive is a training dive.
When I am lucky and can dive down south I still dive a backplate and wing but am forced to dive a single tank. Given the choice I think I would still prefer to dive doubles but the types of places I frequent when down south do not really provide that. My wife is a non-diver so the places I can go are typically not catering to divers and it is really only an after thought to the vacation.
For the rest of my gear configutarion, I do not alter it. I dive the same equipment, in the same configuration and location every time. If I am diving steel doubles I am in a dry suit, if I am diving down south with a single tank I can switch to a wet suit. Otherwise no alterations to configuration. That way I know where everything is without having to pause and think about it. |
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Chris80
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Registered: 06/23/09
Posts: 3
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Reply with quote | #4 |
Well for me, I have both sets. A recreational set that I've used since I started diving and fairly often still (depending on the situation), and a tec set-up that I have just recently been able to start diving with. I'm still in the process of "touching up" the gear set-up and little things I will need to advance into tech diving.
However, In my opinion, I believe that if a person has the urge or may want to advance into tech diving in the future then they should really have the gear and use it before actually proceeding. Personally, I feel that a diver should be so familiar with his/her gear so that if an emergency happens, there is no fumbling around trying to locate a piece of dive gear needed to resolve the issue. The more you dive with your gear and keep everything in the same place, the better your instinctive nature will call upon that piece of equipment in an emergency. Lets be honest, an emergency in normal circumstances has a high level of panic and is very stressful, never mind being underwater!
Also, with that being said. A diver should also practice the basics on a fairly regular basis as well. Such as mask removal, sharing air etc. just to make sure that when needed there will be no thinking about it, you will just respond to what needs to be done. Again, using technical gear a diver should practice things such as sharing air (different then with a rec set-up) shutting down the manifolds etc. before they take a tech class.
I feel that if any diver considers the advancement into technical diving, then they should definitely look at getting the basic gear and practice using it before the course starts. Not only for the safety of using it, like I said earlier but also because most tech courses are so in depth that the instructors really don't have the time to deal with students unfamiliar with there gear (eg. being comfortable using doubles).
I also must say that I agree with sean, and that personally I belive that the only differnce between a "recreational" diver and a "technical" diver is the amount of planing required for a dive, and the lack of being able to vary from that plan. After all arnt the dives most of us do recreational! |
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Nizaha
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Registered: 04/27/06
Posts: 8
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Reply with quote | #5 |
Hi everyone
IMHO backplate is easy to travel, Less dragging, low profile, simple and easy to maintain. I'm still have normal jacket BC for teaching classes.
Zi
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Shrek
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Registered: 09/04/07
Posts: 6
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Reply with quote | #6 |
Do you have to use a jacket BCD to teach a PADI class or could you do it in a backplate & wing??
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Norberto
The Chief
Registered: 12/20/03
Posts: 893
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Reply with quote | #7 |
You can teach using back plate and wing, in fact most of Aquasub instructors dive and teach this way. 
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