Posted by Kendall Raine on March 06, 2001 at 11:03:09:
In Reply to: kendall, a q for you... posted by kelphead on March 05, 2001 at 16:43:00:
As I wrote to Frank, extra drag is like not having the tires inflated. The degree to which it impacts you is a function of your conditioning, the magnitude of the drag and the situation you're facing. There seem to be a lot of questions on the issue of relativism-that is, why do I need to be optimally configured if I'm just puttering around. My answer is you don't inasmuch as you may not notice the difference, and even of you do, the magnitude may be small.
My goal, however, and I realize it's personal, is to do things the best way possible on every dive. For the type of diving I do, this can easily mean the difference between making an extreme dive look easy and having a serious problem. For the extreme stuff, I won't tolerate something that is sub-optimal. I just carry that mind set into the easy dives, as well. I guess what I don't understand is why anyone would dive a set-up they knew wasn't the best possible set-up for the dive, even if the impact on the dive at hand was minute. Call me anal. Call me a perfectionist. I'm not ragging on anybody, here. I just don't get it.