Posted by Wayne on December 17, 2002 at 16:02:48:
In Reply to: Re: I suspected as much. A old as dirt posted by JLA on December 17, 2002 at 14:48:52:
JLA said: The best thing I think that could
happen to the industry is purge out
the old blood that are stuck in their
ways. We still whould be diving hard-
packs and H-collers if was up to the
old school.
That is not completely true. I like using BCs. I have used horse collers, back inflation with hardpacks, shot and marble weight integration channel, stab jackets, and now I use a modern Cressi Sub WI BC with most of the flotation in the back until you "overfill" the jacket and it then floats upright for surface visiting. I have used many fins, but prefer my Jet fins because they manuever better at low speed and I rarely need to sprint long distances underwater. I am pleased to wear a computer and like its graphical readout as I keep track of what I am doing at depth.
I have adapted to the practical innovations of diving. And there are some things that have lasted and other than have not. I used USN tables when I started and now I use a PADI Wheel for planning -- because it is so much faster and simpler for me.
As innovations came along, there were always a group of naysayers. BCs were dangerous because they would cause everyone to overweight. LP Inflators were dangerous because they used your air and they could malfunction. SPGs were dangerous because you had to have a hose withstand 2250 psi in a hostile environment. You get the picture. The arguments still go on with every proposed gear configuration and buddy system change. Look at the arguments about DIR versus typical recreational/hunting/photography diving. While these argumets get heated, they are usually based around some assumptions, opinions, or facts. As long as the arguments remain civil they can be fun and instructive for all.
Your argument that there is something bad about a top of the line product based soley on its high selling price strikes me as bing silly -- like the naysayers of the past who wanted to say something negative because they thought it made them sound smart. If you argue that a Mares regulator is a better value for a particular diver, that is reasonable. But to just jump on expensive gear and call it a "POS" because you think it should sell for less does not indicate a thoughtful analysis.
Branding all divers who have been breathing compressed gas longer than you as unwilling to embrace technology is silly. I assume the hard pack remark might have something to do with the fact that the only divers we see who go without BCs seem to be older hunters. Most of the "backpack" divers I have talked to own BCs, they just choose their gear based on the dive plan. When they are geared up like the rest of us, we do not notice them. In some ways theirs is a better embracement of technology than to just blindly strap on a piece of gear because it is fashionable.
Wayne