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In light of the current thread on UK diving and gear rigging, I thought
I would contribute my thoughts on the subject.  I dive exclusively in
cold water, on the British Columbia coast (also Washington and Alaska).
 The water conditions here are similar to those in the UK, except for a
slightly larger seasonal variance in visibility here.  On the advice
(and relentless hammering) of certain members of this list, I tried a
DIR gear config for one, logistically simple dive back in 1995.  It
actually took me four dives to convince me of the merits of the system,
but I noticed that my gas consumption had decreased (less drag), my
profile was noticeably cleaner and less snag prone (from some U/W video
that was taken), and when employed as a standard system in a buddy team
was extremely effective in emergency situations, due to the consistency
and the ease with which my buddies were now able to deal with any
conceivable emergency.  Since that time, I have been diving DIR, all of
my buddies have been diving DIR, and we have pulled off some incredible
dives that quite honestly, could never have been accomplished had we
not converted.  I have been using DIR for search and recovery,
including zero vis (tendered), swift water, white water, and capsized
vessel searches with great effectiveness, because of the low drag and
low entrapment potential of the DIR system.

Perhaps the strongest argument in favour of DIR is the simple fact that
others on this list have attested to similar experiences, but I have
yet to meet or hear of a diver who tries DIR, but decides to go back
the the old way.

-Sean




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