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Tomberforce posted:Bali is great if you go to the right bits - we spent 10 days in Nusa Lembongan last year (a small island just off Bali) and it was amazing! Perfect relaxed atmosphere! Avoid Kuta and to a lesser extent Sanur like the plague though. I will probably go with two other people, and it looks like the tentative plan is to go to Trawangan Island and dive with Gili Divers. They're slighly more expensive than other places ($45 per dive vs. $33). I'm not too mussed up about it as Palau's was ~$65 per dive (fuel costs mostly). Not sure about Bali myself. The real deciding factor I think will be accessibility to non-diving activities.
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Jun 18, 2014 02:46
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I dived with Manta Divers as well, they've got good equipment and nice people although if you're already qualified I found they were very cursory in terms of dive briefs or prep for the dive. The DMs and instructors are all nice and professional though. They also offer UV night dives although that wasn't particularly interesting when I tried it. Heard very good things about Big Bubble too. Blue Marlin however left one person I talked to on the surface for an hour after she couldn't clear her ears and scrubbed the dive. Trawangan was definitely more party place so you might prefer Air although it wasn't hard to find quiet bars or beaches. I now really want to do a trip to Bali since Manta rays are pretty much the only big gains I want to dive with.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:01
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Trivia posted:Not sure about Bali myself. The real deciding factor I think will be accessibility to non-diving activities. I haven't been there myself but a lot of diving buddies of all types (the types that ONLY dive, the types that like to dive and then party at night, etc) have gone there and have loved it. Bali is huuuuuuuuuge, so you'll find the kind of island you want there - party, quiet, whatever.
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Jun 18, 2014 09:47
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To be honest Sanur is pretty chilled. There are lots of restaurants and quiet bars to be found. When we wanted to party we went over to Seminyak for the clubs there. Kuta is out of bounds as far as i'm concerned, too many drunk aussies.
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Jun 18, 2014 10:23
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Right now the consideration is the Gili Islands, Trawangan being near top of the list, Air being the first. This is due to a friend's recommendation.
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Jun 18, 2014 10:45
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Leaving for my first dive trip this weekend, what are some things that I should bring that most people forget or you guys found handy? I am already bringing extra batteries for my gear, bonine, Sudafed/Afrin.
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Jun 18, 2014 10:55
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Plastic shopping bag to help you easily get in and out of wetsuits. Socks in case you get foot chafing.
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Jun 18, 2014 11:07
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don't forget to bring a towel
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Jun 18, 2014 12:05
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Trivia posted:Not sure about Bali myself. The real deciding factor I think will be accessibility to non-diving activities. Bali is what you make of it. What sort of activities are you looking to do? Accessibility has never really been an issue for me/us when we go. At worst you grab a car and driver for the day, and they will take you wherever you want to go. Doesn't really cost all that much, maybe $20aud. If you like your fine dining, one of the best meals I have ever had was in Bali at a place called Metis. I avoid Kuta like the plague
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Jun 18, 2014 13:31
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Trivia posted:Plastic shopping bag to help you easily get in and out of wetsuits. This tip just kills me. Or what kills me is people don't know about this one. People will literally batter themselves up like for frying with talcum powder instead of just using a plastic bag. (Not that I wear wetsuits, but) c'mon people if you wear one use plastic bags on the feet and hands. I blame the OW instrcutor who really should cover this basic thing in OW class.
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Jun 18, 2014 17:50
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Wait, what? How does a plastic bag make it easier to get in or out of wetsuits? I've never had a problem, it just comes off with the arms and legs inside out so I have to reverse them, but I like dunking / hosing it both ways anyway. This is a 3.5 mil full suit if it makes a difference. E: just googled it and I see how it could help putting it on, but not taking it off. let it mellow fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jun 18, 2014 |
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Jun 18, 2014 22:47
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Yeah, when I first learned of it I was kinda pissed that nobody else ever mentioned it to me. It saves so much time and effort, and doesn't make me loathe removing and re donning the damned thing.
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Jun 19, 2014 02:08
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An important point to note is that thin people have a lot harder time with wetsuits than non-thin people, and, yet, they are the most likely to wear them. Also, of course, the bag tip is only of use for full suits. Trying to help the typical tiny Japanese female to deal with a full wetsuit and then showing them the bag trick, well... The hidden extra benefit is that the wetsuit last longer when it is not getting the little nicks it gets from bare fingernails and toe nails. That said, when I work somewhere where I wear a full suit , I don;t use bags after the first week of wearing a new suit.
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Jun 19, 2014 02:59
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How does the plastic bag trick work? I don't ever have issues with my hands and feet, I have issues with arms and legs. I'd need a huge loving bag to deal with those, I guess? I use a 2-piece open cell suit and don't have any problem just using ocean water, which I guess might not be an option if you're diving somewhere cold.
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Jun 19, 2014 03:13
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Get a large (but not too large) plastic bag. Put arm in bag. Place bagged arm through sleeve. Arm slides easily through, preventing struggle and frustration. Then pull the bag out gently by the hand. Store bag for reuse later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3d2L_5GAXs
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Jun 19, 2014 03:34
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wellpupdive posted:An important point to note is that thin people have a lot harder time with wetsuits than non-thin people, and, yet, they are the most likely to wear them. We're both in p good shape and use full suits since we started getting cold in the Caribbean using shorties. Guess I'll have to post a picture of me from the rescue scenarios to prove it whenever I get around to posting pictures. I still don't see why this bag trick is necessary, but I do understand how it works now.
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Jun 19, 2014 03:40
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It could be that your suit is a bit big for you.
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Jun 19, 2014 07:45
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That plastic bag trick could be useful, thanks!
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Jun 19, 2014 12:34
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I'm not gonna lie I had to look it up as well when I read the suggestion.
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Jun 19, 2014 13:26
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The one weird trick OW Instructors hate! I have seen and imitated the bag trick before, but never the dive buddy blows air up your sleeve one.
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Jun 19, 2014 13:47
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jackyl posted:We're both in p good shape and use full suits since we started getting cold in the Caribbean using shorties. Guess I'll have to post a picture of me from the rescue scenarios to prove it whenever I get around to posting pictures. I still don't see why this bag trick is necessary, but I do understand how it works now. It's not fat versus thin; It's a two parter 1. Part One a simple leg/arm diameter thing, which is most obvious with stick shaped arm and leg people (Japanese girls are a good example. When the foot/hand (which is larger than the ankle/wrist) has to pass through a hole that has to seal tightly around the ankle/wrist, and then slide up am arm/leg which is the same diameter as the ankle/wrist, there is a whole bunch of material that can stick to the surface. When the diameter of the suit gets bigger right after the ankle/wrist then only a tiny bit of fabric sticks and it sticks right to where it is supposed to end up. Like I said when I have to wear a full suit for work, I stop using the bags after the first week of so, but then again I kill suits via stink, compressions, and cuts far faster than I do from cuts from nails. People who don't wear suits for daily can expect them to last much much longer and so they might want to use the bags to protect against liner cuts. This goes double for suits that have unlined seals. 2. Part Two Most people don't wear properly sized wetsuits so they have no problems getting them on anyway. Basically wetsuits are usually way, way to loose around the wrists and ankles just because either people no longer know how to size them for customers because the salespeople don;t really know how wetsuits are designed to work, thus end users never have to learn to put them on, so people have to get a suit with oversized ankle and wrists, and then end up wearing a much, much thicker suit than they actual need for the water temps because the seals are loose. Once the seals are loose a wetsuits loses most of its function, which is to trap water and not allow the suit water to exchange. That failure in modern suits to be properly sized and thus properly fitted around the wrist and leg, is why there is even a thing called a semi-dry wetsuit. It used to be known by the simpler name of a "properly fitted wetsuit". Again I hate wetsuits so I usually go with a farmer John, hooded vest, and lycra. This has much larger entries holes. Of course, I am not properly sealing water and killing much of the proper function of the suit, but working divers usually want to be able to pee in the suit, and rinse, rather than carrying it around all day. Eight hours in you own pee is irritating on the skin. pupdive fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 13:48
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Real wetsuits require a big bottle of lube and a poosibly a buddy to get in and out of. Everything else is just a bag that fills with cold water. It also helps if its got fancy patterns. Once you go open cell you never go back. What you pay for in inconvenience and fragility topside you get back in comfort warmth & flexibility in the water. Scubasuits feel like wearing a car tire with zippers. 
IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 16:44
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Talk to me about your GoPro mount (Assuming that is you).
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Jun 19, 2014 18:19
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pupdive posted:Talk to me about your GoPro mount (Assuming that is you). Its actually a mask that is available with an optional gopro mount. Its a low volume spearfishing mask but its also the best mask ive ever used. A DIY option is if you have a surface between the lenses made of plastic you can put a bolt through it and attach a gopro foot to that. Heres the mask http://www.freedivestore.com/masks/264-speardiver-stealth-spearfishing-freediving-mask.html
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Jun 19, 2014 19:25
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First thanks for the link. I need to switch masks. How does the mask feel with the weight of the camera wiggling it around? (I remember back in the day there was a light that hooked on two the old TUSA Liberator, but the weight just wiggled the mask around for anything but the slowest moving night dives off the boat.)
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Jun 19, 2014 20:31
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pupdive posted:First thanks for the link. I need to switch masks. I thought it would bother me and put weird pressure on different areas of the mask depending on which way im going but I dont even notice im wearing it. Even getting towed at a few knots on a rope it works fine.
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Jun 19, 2014 22:02
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The only bad thing I've heard about the mask mount is quite a few people have reached up to turn it off and discovered their camera was gone. Also if you lose your mask you are also out a $400 camera.
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Jun 20, 2014 03:17
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I just found out there was a thread about the Ocean (rather than about just diving). http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3582242
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Jun 30, 2014 03:47
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pupdive posted:I just found out there was a thread about the Ocean (rather than about just diving). There's a good spaceflight thread in there too, Zaran keeps track of any upcoming launches and usually has links to webcasts where you can watch somebody/something ride a barely-controlled explosion all the way to orbit. NASA trains astronauts at this facility in Key Largo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neemo); it sits in 60 ft of water and they stay down there for up to 2 weeks at a time. They have a decompression chamber in the facility itself, so their missions tend to look like: dive down, do whatever NASA is wondering about/researching (up to 2 weeks underwater), decompress, then a normal ascent. They even do underwater "EVAs" (an excuse to go reef diving in the keys, as if anyone needed any extra excuse to do that  )
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Jun 30, 2014 04:25
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Icon Of Sin posted:There's a good spaceflight thread in there too, Zaran keeps track of any upcoming launches and usually has links to webcasts where you can watch somebody/something ride a barely-controlled explosion all the way to orbit. NASA trains astronauts at this facility in Key Largo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neemo); it sits in 60 ft of water and they stay down there for up to 2 weeks at a time. They have a decompression chamber in the facility itself, so their missions tend to look like: dive down, do whatever NASA is wondering about/researching (up to 2 weeks underwater), decompress, then a normal ascent. They even do underwater "EVAs" (an excuse to go reef diving in the keys, as if anyone needed any extra excuse to do that OK, that is awesome and would own.
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Jun 30, 2014 05:05
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jackyl posted:OK, that is awesome and would own. Here's the most cool thing about that overall: if you live a 3 ATM (66 feet/20m ) then you can do no deco air dives to 6 ATM (165 feet/50 meters) for about 200 minutes. It's the same as we can do from our 1 ATM habitat (aka Earth) to 2 ATM depth (33 feet/10 m). Of course you cannot miss the habitat on the way up or you die badly.
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Jun 30, 2014 06:15
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So I started diving again after a three year hiatus, feels great but I need to take some time and go through the basics again - clearing the mask, taking it off etc, my first few dives were actually done in a dry suit which went fine, but after getting a new wetsuit (the old got really small, I didn't fatten up), going to a deep wreck, getting high off my air supply, miserably cold and with the mask leaking, I had a panic attack. I got it under control in two panicked breaths, but it showed me how much I forgot. And re: actioncams - I got a fun chinese gopro knockoff that does full HD and has similar performance to a gopro hero3, the housing is only rated to 30m but it survived that depth without any leakage. It's an SJ4000 and it's a fun, cheap alternative.
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Jun 30, 2014 10:05
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Ledenko posted:So I started diving again after a three year hiatus, feels great but I need to take some time and go through the basics again - clearing the mask, taking it off etc, my first few dives were actually done in a dry suit which went fine, but after getting a new wetsuit (the old got really small, I didn't fatten up), going to a deep wreck, getting high off my air supply, miserably cold and with the mask leaking, I had a panic attack. I got it under control in two panicked breaths, but it showed me how much I forgot. Thanks for the info, I will do the basic again with my buddies as soon as I hit the water again. Whenever that will be. I am in the same situation as you where.
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Jun 30, 2014 14:06
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So I'm thinking of getting my open water cert this summer, but I wasn't too sure about a few items. Think any of you can help out? 1) There's only one dive shop nearby since I live in PA(not exactly known for it's white sandy beaches and all), and to get certified with them it's going to cost me anywhere between 800 to 1,000 dollars, and comparing that to the 500 dollars in the op seems a bit high. What I get for that price is, 6 lessons, 2 open water dives, a mask, fins, boots, and a snorkel, books, gear rentals for the open dives. Does this seem reasonable, or am I really getting swindled? Oh and if it matters the certification would be through NAUI. 2) I'm legally blind without my glasses, and was wondering if there was anyone else in the same predicament as me. Do you need to get prescription goggles to dive, or is the magnification from the water enough to read your gauges? 3) How do you handle traveling with your scuba gear for flights? I'd imagine it would be very costly if you wanted to fly out somewhere specifically to dive. And on that note, anyone have a good listing of awesome dive spots? I intend to plan a badass vacation for diving once I get certified, as right now diving in the murky green waters in OC Maryland isn't exactly what I imagine when I think of diving.
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Jun 30, 2014 15:49
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Crim posted:So I'm thinking of getting my open water cert this summer, but I wasn't too sure about a few items. Think any of you can help out? 1) $800-1000 is highway robbery. Jesus Christ. For that money you could do a course in Florida for $400-500 and have money left over for a little vacation. Nicer diving down in FL, too. 2) You need a mask with prescription lenses for sure. I would order that ahead of time before you start your course. On the other hand, some dive shops have some prescription masks on hand for loan - ask ahead. 3) Dive equipment doesn't have to be that heavy - you can have a full set of equipment for well under 20 kg. Unless you're doing drysuit diving I guess. Don't plan on buying everything right away, though, especially when you're not even certified yet! I would say the first pieces of equipment to pick up are mask and computer, and then fins and booties and wetsuit, and then everything else is kinda way long term.
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Jun 30, 2014 15:57
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You can do a google search for top ten dive destinations (in the world if you're inclined). I don't know much about diving near the states, but I imagine the Caribbean has the closest access to coral reefs. But, from what I hear it doesn't hold a candle to the South Pacific. It really depends on how much you're willing to spend.
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Jun 30, 2014 16:31
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All of the dive shops that I've been to (all in Hawaii) let you rent every piece of equipment that you could possibly need, so don't feel pressured into buying anything.
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Jun 30, 2014 17:57
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QuarkJets posted:All of the dive shops that I've been to (all in Hawaii) let you rent every piece of equipment that you could possibly need, so don't feel pressured into buying anything. Most dive shops, at the minimum, require students to buy/provide MFS for non-tourists. Because something has to pay for the compressors at dive shops in the middle of no where (in diving terms middle of nowhere).
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Jun 30, 2014 22:43
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eviljelly posted:1) $800-1000 is highway robbery. Jesus Christ. For that money you could do a course in Florida for $400-500 and have money left over for a little vacation. Nicer diving down in FL, too. Don't confuse where you dive (IIRC Thailand) with Pennsylvania. Pool rental is $175 an hour. Getting to the ocean is hundreds of dollars, or diving in quarries is a daily fee diving in freezing cold water, which limits daily activities due to the cold, and thus has to do several days, or spread dives out over as long a day as possible, which means the clock is running on the instructors meter. I can literally spend 8 continuous hours a day in the water working. If it did that in most of the world, I would be hospitalized with hypothermia. In no world that actually exists, is it cheaper to travel and get certified than it is to get certified where one lives. Whatever potential 'savings' that exist in more than eaten up by hotels, food, transportation costs, etc. And almost without exception, tourist training is one strike and you are out, or more likely bad training, where people basically pay for the certification, not the training. Because time matters. Someone I certify will get outstanding training, but they have to go into it with the complete understanding that they are paying for my time, not for the license. So "no do-overs" must be part of any decent training in a tourist setting. Of course for the most part, people get bad training in tourist settings because tourist shops and instructors stopped giving a poo poo after they realized that there is no ramification to doing their jobs badly in a tourist setting. Actually for the most part students are stuck choosing between local shops that just may not do much training and have to charge a lot cover costs, and tourist shops that stopped giving a poo poo. Given those options it's a no brainer to go local, because a local dive shop is going to service the hell out their incredibly limited market. If someone shits on their local dive shop (or vice versa) to 'save' a few dollars they will eventually pay the price, because as cheap as LeisurePro looks, a diver simply cannot get tanks filled online. In other words, dive shops charge what they need to charge, because they are dealing with their costs. Down the road, the diver will pay far more for *not* using the local dive shops than they might think they are saving. Just ask someone who has to drive hundreds of miles to get fills, making each tank fill cost $50.00 or more, if they are saving money now. pupdive fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Jun 30, 2014 |
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Jun 30, 2014 22:59
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All good points. You could also ask them why it's so much more expensive, then judge for yourself. My ex-gf got her license and didn't learn a goddamn thing. She had no idea what decompression sickness is, nor how to clear her mask. I was dumbstruck.
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Jul 1, 2014 00:20
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