The DIR Head to Toe Check

[IanDennis]

Cheers Garf

Could of done with this last night as a prompt when Malcolm and I were at wraysbury trying to run through GUE-EDGE.

Green incoming

Ian

[Mal Bridgeman]

as always Garf, a really thorough piece.....

A couple of "Cave" extras .... check the light cannister as part of the bubble check also, in case it's leaking .... better find that out now .... also make sure the wing is not bubbling in any way.....actually deploy and turn on both back up lights .... this came as a surprise to me and is quite difficult.....easy enough to get out and turn on but much more difficult to check you have unwound the correct amount then restow in the snoopy loop .... try it

HTH
Mal

[Clare Gledhill]

Nice post Garf - a few comments if you will bear with me....

I like to deploy the long hose as a mod S whilst breathing the back up regulator rather than afterwards as it ensures that you still have a source to breath if in water when doing the cheks (more common than you would think abroad) and also saves time as it checks two things at once.

I also check wing before drysuit - it is a little more inportant and naturally sits in that place as part of the top to bottom check.

You may want to check your gas contents when you check your other gaugues - it's a neat reminder.

[ratcliffe]

Originally Posted by StuartC

1st bit of DIR stuff I've read and found it interesting thanks.

PS: is this a typo?

Yes I was wondering about that, or whether Garf was referring to the head of the torch in some technical way. Being as DIR use the handle thingys (I can never remember the name of them) then I think it should read hand

An interesting list, I will have a proper read when I am at home and have more time, it would also be interesting to see the checklist actually carried out, as you can often make more sense of things by seeing it in action.

[divingniknaks]

Originally Posted by ratcliffe

Being as DIR use the handle thingys (I can never remember the name of them) then I think it should read hand

Goodman Handle


HTH

[Howard Payne]

I've got a sticky sweet in my left pocket. You don't want to know what I've got in my right pocket...

[Woz]

Originally Posted by Howard Payne

I've got a sticky sweet in my left pocket. You don't want to know what I've got in my right pocket...

Start a poll...

[Scuby]

Like Woz, I do all that (well, the bits that are relevant to me) myself before I jump in anyway.

Couple of specific points of interest:

"Lots of divers do a predive check, but many people do many different versions of it." - but this is just another variation on the theme. All agencies teach similar checks in a different order. Arguably this just adds to the potential for confusion if you dived with someone who wasn't GUE trained.

"The check is done either on the boat in the sea, or in the water inland." - the inland bit confuses me. Presumably you do the checks yourself before you jump into any water, not just the sea? If your wing doesn't work or your drysuit zip is open (do you check that?) then you're going to have a very bad day whether its the sea or fresh water. So why not always do the check before you get into the water?

David

[Clare Gledhill]

To be honest the head to toe does not substitute checking your own gear prior to jumping in the water - you should always do that whilst kitting up. The head to toe confirms to the team that all is available and working as planned - and that equipment which is needed for the team - like one primary reel for a cave dive example - is present.

With regard to the in water checks, I've just returned from Mexico where we were drysuit diving in caves in 35 odd degrees C and 95 per cent humidity. If all checks had been done before getting in the water in heavy kit, with nowhere to stand comfortably whilst wiating for other team members, we would have been bathed in sweat and chilled on the dive. Clearly before we jumped in we checked that both regs were working and that the wing would inflate. All else - pocket contents, lon ghose deployment, light checks can be done in the comfort of the water.

[ratcliffe]

Originally Posted by divingniknaks

Goodman Handle


HTH

Thems the boys... thanks!