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Those are very good points, but I wouldn't paint all tourist location dive shops as poo poo. With some Trip Advisor reading, you can usually find the good shops, and they do exist, although they generally cost more. And you do get the advantage of taking classes, especially OW which is probably the most critical to diver retention, in a location where you end up enjoying the hell out if your new hobby vs a silt filled quarry. E: not trying to poo poo on LDS' either with this post (we buy all our gear at one here and are going to do some trips with them) - just saying that there are advantages to tropical diving course work. let it mellow fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Jul 1, 2014 |
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Jul 1, 2014 03:28
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I took my Open Water license in Michigan, and dove at Silver Lake (I think). It was cold as hell, vis was maybe 3 feet, and there was poo poo-all to see other than clams. Conversely, I did my Advanced OW in the Philippines, where it was nice and warm, lots of things to see, and the atmosphere of fun was quite contagious. Instructors made sure each students could safely perform all required skills before advancing to the next segment. Evenings were spent by the water / pool / in the restaurant doing book-work. If you have the time and some extra (unwanted?) cash, I'd definitely go somewhere nice and warm to do your courses.
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Jul 1, 2014 04:20
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Getting my open water in the cold, dark, Pacific Ocean has made the rest of my diving career seems significantly easier. Going to 15 meters there seems more dangerous than 40 meters in the tropics. Anyway, does anybody have any experience with Shearwater computers? Newish company but the gear looks pretty good.
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Jul 1, 2014 04:27
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I did my OW and AOW in Kona, Hawaii and got some great training, so that's definitely variable. Just need to check reviews and things. Also, it was far more enjoyable to do the dives in Hawaii than the local quarry.
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Jul 1, 2014 05:50
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stratdax posted:Anyway, does anybody have any experience with Shearwater computers? Newish company but the gear looks pretty good. OMG! SHearwater computers are regularly the cause of collective orgasms in online communities, and with reason. But, and I stress this because people forget about it, it sometimes is worth it to buy two computers, so you always have a back up rather than one awesome computer whose failure causes the cancellation of dives on a dive trip If you can afford two Shearwaters, or one Shearwater and some cheapo backup, then by all means go for it. I am pretty sure no one has ever been sorry they bought a Shearwater. That and Atomic regs are the two things that people seem to have little regret over putting the money into.
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Jul 1, 2014 09:43
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Crim posted:
Just got back from Playa Del Carmen myself and was able to get all my gear including a 3mm shortie and clothes for a week vacation at 43 lbs, I also have an older Akona travel bag that weighs like 10 lbs on it's own. I just made sure to take my reg/computer and dive lights on my carry on so they wouldn't get damaged. Also if you guys ever find yourself in the Cancun/Playa Del Carmen area check out Dive Adventuras, they are one of the best run dive shops I have ever had the pleasure of diving with. The guides/DMs were excellent and they really went out of their way to try and accommodate the group of us that went out there. It is nice to finally see me improving with my air consumption I managed to get a 65 min dive at 50 feet on a 100cu tank. While I know that is not that amazing it was cool surfacing with the group for the first time instead of going up on my own.
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Jul 4, 2014 07:14
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How'd the lights do in carry on? It seems like I have heard a fair amount recently about people having trouble with them, especially rechargeable ones.
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Jul 4, 2014 09:55
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Gindack posted:It is nice to finally see me improving with my air consumption I managed to get a 65 min dive at 50 feet on a 100cu tank. While I know that is not that amazing it was cool surfacing with the group for the first time instead of going up on my own. Isn;t that cool though? People with great air consumption have no idea what it is like having to swim 20 feet above every else the whole dive in order to not make the group go up early. You get to play with bubbles, but.
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Jul 4, 2014 09:57
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pupdive posted:How'd the lights do in carry on? I was carrying ones that just took standard batteries so no issue for me, and I didn't hear of any issues with the other people in my group either. The guy in the austin Airport seemed more interested in figuring out what my regulator was.
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Jul 4, 2014 10:20
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Gindack posted:It is nice to finally see me improving with my air consumption I managed to get a 65 min dive at 50 feet on a 100cu tank. While I know that is not that amazing it was cool surfacing with the group for the first time instead of going up on my own. If your consumption gets good enough you might want to consider nitrox certification. At depths of 50 feet you can stay down for what seems like forever provided you have the air.
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Jul 4, 2014 10:27
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Trivia posted:If your consumption gets good enough you might want to consider nitrox certification. At depths of 50 feet you can stay down for what seems like forever provided you have the air. Yeah I was thinking the same thing, before I was not even getting close to NDLs. This time though there were a few dives where I was having to pay attention to that more than my Air. Gindack fucked around with this message at 11:01 on Jul 4, 2014 |
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Jul 4, 2014 10:57
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stratdax posted:Anyway, does anybody have any experience with Shearwater computers? Newish company but the gear looks pretty good. They are multigas trimix deco computers though, and the more expensive models are able to control rebreathers. There's no reason to buy one if you aren't looking to go that route any time soon. Almost every computer out there is well built and can handle nitrox up to 40% and such. I've got a wrist mounted computer from 2002 or so that still works fine. Don't buy too much computer (or anything else in diving for that matter) until it makes sense.
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Jul 5, 2014 05:47
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Now that I've finally started again I need to organise another diving trip in SEA. My current preference is Bali, just to get a chance to dive with Mantas but some of the reports I've seen are saying that in high season (now till October) it's just way too crowded at most sites. Has anyone here dived around Bali and can comment on that? Or recommend part of Bali for diving (as someone who likes to go out for a drink in the evening but isn't looking to stay at party central). It'd be my first choice unless it's going to be an overcrowded mess until low season starts. Alternatively any recommendations for other places to go in Thailand or East/West Malaysia? I've been to Perhentian and Gili islands so far, which were both nice places. Though I've heard there's some good wreck diving in the Phillipines... Oh god decisions...
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Jul 6, 2014 02:33
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I've been to the Similan and Surin Islands in Thailand (Indian Ocean side), Palau, Sipadan Island in Malaysia, Coron and Malapascua in Philippines, and Maldives. By far my favorite was Palau. The waters are beautiful, there's no garbage, and you can see some pretty cool things (mantas, sharks). Malaysia is second, though outside of Sipadan Island garbage is a big, big problem. Lots of turtles and bumphead parrotfish at Sipadan. Philippines was meh, unless you like wreck diving (which I do). The reefs weren't much to see, but the ships were pretty cool. I did however see a blue ringed octopus there, so worth it imo. Maldives' reefs weren't nearly as good as Palau's, but I did swim with a whale shark so it wins the "awesome poo poo you did in your life" list. More mantas there. Similan Islands had some awesome reefs and challenging dives (such as negative entry, and strong strong currents).
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Jul 6, 2014 03:36
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Trivia posted:By far my favorite was Palau. The waters are beautiful, there's no garbage, and you can see some pretty cool things (mantas, sharks). I loved Palau, especially since most everyone has decided on fast twin engine boats making the boat ride by itself interesting. But I have heard recent grumblings about things there, mostly from older divers who may be suffering from remembering the past through rose colored glasses. Comments? If I was planning a trip just around diving, I would at least think about doing the Micronesian Island grand tour of Palau, Yap, and Chuuk/Truk. Big stuff and ripping currents in Palau, Mantas in Yap, and all the possible wrecks in Chuuk. Flying between would places be an issue with a shorter vacation, so Palau only would be good too. Also Micronesia outside of Guam has little outside of diving and daytime activities compared to most other places.
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Jul 6, 2014 05:54
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It's not going to be a big trip, I'm currently living in Kuala Lumpur and can get 5-6 days off so it'll end up being like 4 days of diving at a time. Palau sounds like it could be fantastic though for somewhere new, although I love wreck diving and that has definitely been disappointing in Malaysia.
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Jul 6, 2014 10:49
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If you're in KL then Sipadan could be a good option. It's fairly close and a great place to dive. The problem however is that there is a lot of demand for Sipadan diving, and the government limits the number of visitors per day. To get permission many dive operators require that for every 1 day you spend on Sipadan, you have to dive 2 to 3 in the surrounding sites. I stayed on Mabul Island, which was about 30 minutes away from Sipadan. The sites around Mabul were pretty fun, but nothing compared to Palau. Sipadan proper however was pretty awesome.
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Jul 7, 2014 00:06
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Can anyone recommend a dive shop to learn at in NoVA? Looking around it seems like there's quite a few choices so figured I'd ask.
asur fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Jul 11, 2014 |
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Jul 11, 2014 17:39
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asur posted:Can anyone recommend a dive shop to learn at in NoVA? Looking around it seems like there's quite a few choices so figured I'd ask. I am biased because I work with them; I recommend Coral Edge Adventures. Also, any mid-atlantic east coast goons who might be interested in trying out the Prism CCR or Explorer SCR or participating in some seminars on tech diving there will be a two-day Hollis and TDI sponsored event at Blue Stone Dive Resort near Thomasville, NC on August 16,17. I will post a link to the website for registration once it goes live, but from my understanding $50 gets you a bunch of classes, an extra $40 gets you time on either the Explorer or Prism. The entry fee at Blue Stone is like $20 per day, so for ~$110 one could give a rebreather a try to see if you wanted to spend the serious money on training and equipment further down the road.
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Jul 11, 2014 18:57
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New WA SCUBA-goon here. I'm currently only one pool day into my SDI OW course at my local dive shop (Anacortes Diving, WA) [I also took an 'intro' 1-night pool dive, so I guess I've been in the pool twice] but I'm absolutely loving it and already trying to convince myself to at least finish the OW course before I spend a ton more money. I've already got the basic gear minus BCD/Tank/Reg, and am currently just debating what I want for those items. I read back a few pages and saw someone asking about the Hollis 500SE/DC7 kit and I am pretty interested in that, and I'm reading a lot about the pros/cons of back-inflate vs jacket bcd's (we are using jackets in class).
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Jul 11, 2014 19:13
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Did my open water certification in San Carlos, Mexico last weekend! This video was from my first dive post-certification off of San Pedro Island and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. Taken with my gopro 3+. Color was initially off cause I accidentally had my red filter on and I was obviously very shallow, but with some color balancing, I got it close at least. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vzcprFPYsU
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Jul 11, 2014 22:35
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Any PacNW scuba goons? Where is there to dive up here that doesn't require a dry suit and also being insane?
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Jul 12, 2014 02:16
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Schmoli posted:New WA SCUBA-goon here. I'm currently only one pool day into my SDI OW course at my local dive shop (Anacortes Diving, WA) [I also took an 'intro' 1-night pool dive, so I guess I've been in the pool twice] but I'm absolutely loving it and already trying to convince myself to at least finish the OW course before I spend a ton more money. I've already got the basic gear minus BCD/Tank/Reg, and am currently just debating what I want for those items. I read back a few pages and saw someone asking about the Hollis 500SE/DC7 kit and I am pretty interested in that, and I'm reading a lot about the pros/cons of back-inflate vs jacket bcd's (we are using jackets in class). Personally I absolutely love wing style BCs. They feel much less encumbering and, particularly if you're in a drysuit and have extra pockets anyway, do the job just as well. I also found it more comfortable for lying on at the surface (at least the largeish wing that I've got). However different strokes for different folks, most important thing is see if you can try it out before you buy it.
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Jul 12, 2014 03:48
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MrNemo posted:Personally I absolutely love wing style BCs. They feel much less encumbering and, particularly if you're in a drysuit and have extra pockets anyway, do the job just as well. I also found it more comfortable for lying on at the surface (at least the largeish wing that I've got). However different strokes for different folks, most important thing is see if you can try it out before you buy it. This really is the deal with BP/W* versus jackets style BCDs. If you need a wetsuit/ drysuit to dive, and your wetsuit dry suit has pockets, then the jacket style BCDs with their useful pockets make less sense. Unfortunately recent 'innovations' in integrated weight BCDs have taken the pockets and to a large extent replaced them with integrated weights pouches, so the reason to use a jacket BCD becomes less and less. *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backplate_and_wing But that is a pretty grim selection of pictures because every set is so drat crowded with stuff. pupdive fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Jul 12, 2014 |
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Jul 12, 2014 05:22
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So how do you clean a BCD after diving? Someone told me that you should run fresh water on it and through it, swishing the water around and then letting it air dry. Any other recommended best practices here? I was open water certified about two months ago, and after a bunch of rentals I finally bought my first BC: a used Sequest Pro QD for about $200. A lot of reviews has people ranting about how long-lasting these things are, so I'm hoping that I'll get many years of use out of it. Also, what's the best way to go about finding a used regulator? Generally you'll want to learn how it feels to pull air from it, so... you'd need to haul around a tank of air whenever you wanted to try one out before buying it, I guess?
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Jul 12, 2014 07:24
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invision posted:Any PacNW scuba goons? Where is there to dive up here that doesn't require a dry suit and also being insane? Well I hope to soon be one, all scheduled to be certified next Sunday (on my birthday, no less). I'll have to let you know if I'm insane though after I get in more. I have about 4-5 coworkers that dive and while most of them are drysuit people, I'm hoping the Hollis Semi-Dry Neotek I got will keep me happy for awhile. Spent some time digging around the local dive shop after work yesterday, and wanting to support them I'm thinking of getting a BC/Reg package from them. I'm looking at the Zeagle Stiletto BC, my Semi-dry has nice big thigh pockets on it already. Then I was looking at an Atomic SS1 inflator/alternate air and the Hollis 500SE / DC 7 regulator setup. I'm sure I could get it all a little cheaper shopping around but with taking all their classes at the shop they throw in a bunch of discounts too. Schmoli fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Jul 12, 2014 |
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Jul 12, 2014 18:38
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QuarkJets posted:So how do you clean a BCD after diving? Someone told me that you should run fresh water on it and through it, swishing the water around and then letting it air dry. Any other recommended best practices here? Bishop fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Jul 12, 2014 |
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Jul 12, 2014 22:09
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QuarkJets posted:So how do you clean a BCD after diving? Someone told me that you should run fresh water on it and through it, swishing the water around and then letting it air dry. Any other recommended best practices here? After I get back from vacation I generally soak it for 24 hours in my bathtub. I was also told to add a little air into your BCD while it is drying to make sure the sides of the bladder do not stick together and take longer to dry.
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Jul 12, 2014 23:07
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Schmoli posted:Well I hope to soon be one, all scheduled to be certified next Sunday (on my birthday, no less). I'll have to let you know if I'm insane though after I get in more. I have about 4-5 coworkers that dive and while most of them are drysuit people, I'm hoping the Hollis Semi-Dry Neotek I got will keep me happy for awhile. If you've got too much money, buy everything you like. My suggestion is to dive first, get a computer if you're serious about diving seeing as you've got a suit already and then get some experience before deciding whether you want a regular BCD, wing style or BP/W. A rented stab jacket will do you just fine as you're learning to get your buoyancy under control.
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Jul 14, 2014 21:50
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Bishop posted:They're exactly right. Press the valve you would use to manulally inflate the BC and just let a hose fill it with some water, swish it around, then empty it as much as possible. When emptying gravity is your friend; for instance hold the BC so that the shoulder valve is the lowest point and then press the manual dump button and the water comes right back out. Same with a rear valve. Squeezing the air bladder inside the BC normally gets most of the water out. If I'm putting my gear up for a longer break I'll do that at least twice. BCs will naturally get salt water in them so rinsing the bladder with fresh water is a great way to keep them from degrading. Yes, this is right. We are exclusively tropics divers so there's a few months between dives, and we make sure to get fresh water in the BCDs on the last rinse, move it around inside, then angle it correctly, pull the dump valve and drain all water out. This also helps to ensure our gear suitcase hits its 49 pound number.
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Jul 15, 2014 04:47
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QuarkJets posted:So how do you clean a BCD after diving? Someone told me that you should run fresh water on it and through it, swishing the water around and then letting it air dry. Any other recommended best practices here? Don't buy gear.
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Jul 15, 2014 04:48
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stratdax posted:Don't buy gear. I'm guessing you mean used gear or are you suggesting only renting?
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Jul 15, 2014 05:15
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Schmoli posted:I'm guessing you mean used gear or are you suggesting only renting? 90% of people get their open water, buy all their gear (used or new), go diving 4 or 5 times, and never use it again. Stay in the hobby for a while before dropping the coin. If you're buying any gear (except for a mask) within the first year of getting your open water, you're making a mistake. Edit: And honestly with most of the people who actually DO stay Scuba diving, they dive so infrequently or only when they're travelling that only renting would still be more economical and practical, especially when you start taking servicing and repairs into account. Or if you're travelling, you really gonna pack another suitcase with all your dive poo poo and lug that around with you so you can go diving one day out of a two week vacation? Just bring your mask. stratdax fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Jul 15, 2014 |
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Jul 15, 2014 05:22
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stratdax posted:90% of people get their open water, buy all their gear (used or new), go diving 4 or 5 times, and never use it again. Stay in the hobby for a while before dropping the coin. If you're buying any gear (except for a mask) within the first year of getting your open water, you're making a mistake. Nah, that's not right. Even for us, who are solely tropical divers, we are ahead of the money curve plus are using our own gear that we know and control maintenance on. Sure, we only do 2-3 Caribbean trips a year plus one or two domestic trips, but 30 or so dives a year adds up in rentals. Packing is irrelevant, any adequate airline status gives you enough free checked baggage that you don't need to think about it, except making weight. That's also easy once you've done it a couple times. Now add comfort level/intimate knowledge with your gear and your buddy's gear, including proper sizing and consistent weighting, full computer history access, known maintenance history, only your piss in the wetsuit, a set pocket load out for sausages, whistles, folding snorkels, etc.... Why rent? E: and if you live in a place with good diving, I can't even imagine how much you save owning gear. E2: I do agree with novice OW divers. Rent til you know, but once you know you are sticking with it, I vote for buying gear. Do whatever's best for you though, here are two different perspectives. let it mellow fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Jul 15, 2014 |
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Jul 15, 2014 05:46
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jackyl posted:E2: I do agree with novice OW divers. Rent til you know, but once you know you are sticking with it, I vote for buying gear. Do whatever's best for you though, here are two different perspectives. Exactly. How long have you been diving? Probably a while. How many people do you know tried it a couple times and didn't do it again? Probably a lot. There's people in this thread who haven't even completed their open water yet talking about buying every piece of gear in the store. Shops call those people "suckers". Edit: Also, unrelated, but "only" 2-3 Caribbean trips a year? Plus domestic trips? That's a shitload more travelling than the vast majority of other people. And you're probably doing a shitload more diving than most other people would on those same trips. Compared to the amount of people who have ever done their Open Water, you're an outlier, dude. stratdax fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Jul 15, 2014 |
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Jul 15, 2014 05:54
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stratdax posted:Exactly. How long have you been diving? Probably a while. How many people do you know tried it a couple times and didn't do it again? Probably a lot. There's people in this thread who haven't even completed their open water yet talking about buying every piece of gear in the store. Shops call those people "suckers". Not that long, relatively speaking. We started in 2010 and only have 60-70 dives each (I now have less than her since I was doing rescue exercises while she was on a few dives last trip). I think you can see most of our dive history in this thread, actually. We geared up one trip after getting our OW and did do at least half of our dives in the last couple of years. I'd make the gear buying decision again in a heartbeat. Like I said, I agree with you for people who aren't sure. But if you know you're going to keep going, buying gear significantly improves your dive experience. Or at least it did for us, and especially my wife who found that petite women don't exactly get comfortable rental gear on a regular basis. Average sized guys are fine, but... Her stuff wasn't comfortable until she got the small lady hawk and tried a few full 3mil suits.
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Jul 15, 2014 06:08
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I wouldn't recommend any gear except a mask and snorkel (for newbies). However, once you start planning dive vacations, getting used gear saves you a load in the long run. Some places like Indonesia are super-cheap, while others like Palau, or Thailand, or even Philippines were pretty expensive over 4-5 days of diving. I can't speak on US / Caribbean based diving. Stratdax is right though, for the average person a rental is not bad. It all depends on how much you love it.
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Jul 15, 2014 08:08
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stratdax posted:90% of people get their open water, buy all their gear (used or new), go diving 4 or 5 times, and never use it again. Stay in the hobby for a while before dropping the coin. If you're buying any gear (except for a mask) within the first year of getting your open water, you're making a mistake. gently caress the money curve. If you can afford to dive with your own gear, you should do it. I know how I keep my stuff and I know how to use my gear, and I know when I send them to the shop for revision. Rented stuff might not work, or I might not be comfortable using it. You are right about not buying stuff too soon, though. Very right.
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Jul 15, 2014 08:37
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stratdax posted:Don't buy gear. We live in Maui and have been diving every 1-2 weeks since becoming OW certified. We'll need to dive 12 more times to break even on gear, and I'm not even worried about hitting that  We've both got this Friday off so we're planning on diving at Makena Landing for the first time. Anyone got any tips for bits to see? I don't want to go inside any caves, but seeing some white tips would be cool (we saw one in the reef over at Ulua a few weeks ago, it was awesome, wish I had a camera)
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Jul 15, 2014 08:38
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Gear chat has reminded me that all of my regs are due for service. Also all of my tanks. poo poo. I do agree with stratdax though, lots of people buy too much stuff before they know if they are really taking diving up as a hobby. Give it some time before you buy more than a mask and fins. Bishop fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Jul 15, 2014 |
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Jul 15, 2014 16:22
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