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I've seen the big knife unironically being worn by old school divers. These are the guys who apparently had stepped down from taking a hammer and chisel down on wreck dives though.
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Oct 26, 2015 10:34
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It'll depend on location. In Europe DIN is available pretty much everywhere, in the Americas it's not that common. SEA has a pretty good mix and most shops I went with had then available but I did need to check before I rocked up. Personally I prefer DIN but it's worth bearing in mind that if you're using yoke and need to convert you can screw a little insert into the tank. The reverse requires a large yoke adapter that undoes the advantages of DIN. Go for the one you prefer, I've got DIN but my diving is mostly UK again now with my own gear. I think yoke makes more sense for you but if you really like the idea of DIN get that and just use an adapter when you need to.
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Nov 3, 2015 12:30
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I've got a friend who when he was doing his 4th year medic placements really, really enjoyed his time in the anaesthetics department as it was so similar to tech dive planning. Also as a general appeal, I'm going to finally get my instructor qualifications probably early next year (currenty I'm qualified to teach theory and teach supervised in the pool or assist in open water. This has been the case for about 4 years now) and I know there are some really experienced and professional instructors in this thread. I've got some great people training me but more perspectives are always helpful. Basically what advice would you give to a new or about to qualify instructor in terms of teaching? Obviously some advice will vary depending on agency (and in my case club practices and standards vary from even the national agency) but I'm of the opinion that there's a reason why people do things a certain way and just because it's different doesn't mean it's wrong.
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Nov 7, 2015 01:51
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pupdive posted:New instructors have a tendency to abuse their new found authority to make diving less interesting for students, not more fun. I'm diving in a club environment, no professional stuff so instructors are purely volunteers. The atmosphere generally there is really good and I've been in teaching situations for a number of years so I'm not overly worried about abusing authority. Also there's a load of instructors at the moment so students get swapped round quite frequently to share the load. Everyone socialises together and it doesn't seem like a club that has any elitism or anything worse than the normal pleasant disagreements you get when people are trying to best coordinate the activities of a lot of people. Regarding the different standards, I'm aware there differences. Apparently I wasn't aware of the RSTC because my national club isn't associated with them. I know that those standards are there, typically, for a reason and that whether I think the reason is suitable for a situation or not I'll need to follow them in certain situations (national agency standards for examinations, club standards when in my club, unless I can persuade others that there's a good reason for doing it that way, etc.) When you say you can go on do you mean regarding all the different standards that exist? I've seen some great advice in this thread regarding instructing, things like re-emphasizing issues students can have into a positive. A leaky mask isn't something that should upset them because it's a good opportunity to get really comfortable with mask clearing. Basically trying to take the fear/frustration out of things like that. Also getting students to get the mask and stuff on and just keep it on by the side of the pool in order for them to get comfortable with the equipment. My question was really more for teaching/training tips to help get students comfortable and teaching methods for improving skills.
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Nov 8, 2015 09:53
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Same here. Everything else can cope with being bashed about a bit, regs and computers I do not want to risk having something heavy dropped on. If I was taking an expensive torch that would probably also get taken in carry on even if it can result in a lot of interest from security.
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Nov 15, 2015 20:29
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I don't know about the US but holy crap have dry suits gotten more expensive in the UK in just the last 3 years. I decided to get my second hand DUI taken in to a reasonable size (so no more worryingly believable Michelin man impersonations) rather than buy a new one. I have also discovered that like 3 of my friends have gotten bent in the time I've been away, one on a 28 minute 32m dive, no deco, that was finished with a long safety stop to breath down a 50% stage to prepare for a deep dive the next day. This was his 3rd day of diving and I know there's been remarks made about no such thing as an unearned hit but it does seem like cold water diving has a hell of a lot more DCI incidents than warm water. All the cases I know of are skin bends though, my friend in that case was referred to a cardiologist to get tested for a PFO because his diving profile for those 3 days left the technicians at the pot a little puzzled as to why. No elevation issues as he went from the dive boat to a lifeboat (to another lifeboat, to the car of the guy from the deco centre). On a more positive note, I've been convinced to start planning a trip to Scapa in the next year or so. Yummy yummy metal.
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Nov 29, 2015 03:42
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pupdive posted:Were they zips? Zips are a night mare on pockets that are not locked down (like they are with glued on thigh pockets). Mares has always made zipped BCD pockets that are small, open in the wrong direction, and horribly insecure. I love the old AP Valves Buddy jackets that had solid, velcro cover pockets. They were easy to get into and out of (or at least easy to get stuff out of) even if the jacket was fairly inflated. Then they went to zip pockets (that you pull towards yourself to close, so at least easy to unzip underwater) but I found them a real pain to get into or out of. That said I've got a wing now and pretty much everything I really need can be clipped on in a nice neat location, I feel like pockets really aren't that necessary unless you just don't want to have to think about where to keep things. I guess slates could be a pain if you're doing anything other than fun diving though.
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Dec 2, 2015 23:19
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Trivia posted:. Phone posting but some personal experience, I dive with Kon Tiki in Koh Lanta and it was the end of season so it was just me, a couple of instructors and some of their DM trainees. It seemed like a generally good outfit and the trainees had enjoyed their time although they said sometimes there was too much admin and so work versus diving. The diving there is pretty great and lots of opportunities for big fish. The island isn't crazy but very livable. If you're thinking of Malaysia, perhentian on peninsular Malaysia is probably where to go. Smaller island living and the diving isn't mind blowing but they do have WiFi. Eastern Malaysia has the minds blessing diving but you'll want to look into the insurance situation if you're there for a prolonged period. Maybe consider Indonesia? Gili islands have a lot of operations and a nice balance lifestyle wise as well as a reasonable variety of diving conditions. On a personal level I've been hearing about all my friends who have had a trip to the pot in the last few years. One was day 3 of a dive trip, first dive to 28m on a 30 minute no deco. Stayed at SRA level but had shoulder pain and a skin bend after a couple of hours. Fun fact, if you get bent in Scotland you have to drive home round all the mountains afterwards! Also I want to dive Scapa even more now.
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Dec 5, 2015 13:45
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So there's a very good chance I'll be going to Argentina late January next year to visit someone. I'll probably be there 1.5-2 weeks, mainly Buenos Aires. Since I've never been to South America before I'm wondering if anyone in the thread has recommendations for diving down that part of the world. I'm sure Patagonia has some great stuff but might be a bit far out. The girl I'm visiting basically said BA and Mendoza for the wine trail, which is a solid plan but I would really, really like to get a day of diving if I'm going to be visiting a continent for the first time.
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Dec 9, 2015 20:20
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Honestly having people share a light seems like a potentially really bad idea. If there's a problem for the person with the light, their buddy might have difficulty with signaling. If they have a problem it's also going to be difficult for them to let their buddy know. Likewise if the buddy without a light has an accident they will be almost impossible to find. A good compromise would originally be glow sticks on everyone's kit so even with lights off you can see everyone. Of course in basing this off learning night success in the UK where without a light you will see nothing underwater and mighty have difficulty seeing the shore properly on the surface. As dive manager you can also be a tremendous dick and turn all the surface lights off before someone surfaces. They will almost certainly think they've managed to get hugely lost.
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Dec 11, 2015 18:28
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pupdive posted:On a dead serious note, because this is an ongoing issue in diving: I'm sure you'll be glad to know this has only ever been done to the least experienced and most nervous divers I can find, definitely not something done to an experienced diver on a shore dive in perfectly calm summer conditions. Diving is defintely not something people do for fun and should never involve teasing, name calling or jokes as there is no way to judge appropriate safety conditions for these. Likewise putting food dye in someone's gloves may provoke them to panic and believe they've got terrible frostbite when they come out of the water with blue hands and their first response might be to amputate their own finger before anyone can respond. Diving is a dangerous and deadly sport which should be approached at all times with a mindfulness of the various forms of legal liability one has. Thank you for reminding me of this.
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Dec 12, 2015 17:53
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I know a guy trying to plan a trip do Cenote diving in 2017, I'm currently horribly torn about trying to sign up for that and seeing what it's like. I think my girlfriend might kill me as it's a 2 week trip and she doesn't dive (yet) though. This might seem a bit random but does anyone have experience or knowledge of diving in Argentina. From quick internet searches it seems to be pretty much restricted to down around Patagonia for anything that isn't diving in a lovely lake, is that accurate? I am currently considering relocating there for dumb life reasons and I'd like to know if it would involve pretty much giving up diving as a regular hobby.
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Dec 28, 2015 15:18
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Hah, yeah super personal. I've had a Mares X-vision mask for ages with a clear skirt and I really like it, recently I got an Aqualung micromask with a black skirt and like that too (super low volume is great). I've got a single pane Mares mask as well I use for pool training because it was an impulse purchase (super cheap on-line) but I found the large window didn't really give me much more vision than the split lens and the additional volume was annoying for mask clearing. It also doesn't quite fit right, so when I try to clear I find the water being pushed out just above the bottom corners so there's always a bit left at the bottom of the mask. I've used a mask with the peripheral windows once but didn't like them much. There was probably a bit more light getting in but, being used to a clear skirt, not a lot. It also felt like it added a bit to the mask volume without any obvious upside. I was cold water diving and wearing a hood though so it might have been a bit enclosed feeling anyway?
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Jan 8, 2016 18:36
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Well thanks for definitely not making non-PADI instructors in this thread in any way curious about your post topic :p In other news, I'm starting to seriously think about getting a primary torch. Currently I've got a good backup type torch that served me well in tropical dives, it's a small FaMi type (actually purchased as what I thought was an awesome deal on a primary without checking the scale of the photos and was a good deal on a backup). Currently my realistic toss up is between a Light4Me like the 4Tec or a Finnsub torch. Both brands offer decent handheld primaries, I'm not sure if the umbilical option is worth it for the extra battery life or not. I guess it's also nice having the heavier part off the torch strapped somewhere rather than carrying it too. The major difference between them is beam angle and cost, Light4Me is a slightly tighter beam and cheaper but I think 6 degrees might be a little too tight for non-cave diving. Unknown quantity option is the Nanight, only mentioned as I saw it reviewed as a top new piece of kit last year in the BSAC magazine but that was fairly obviously from the list of stuff the reviewer had been sent and there seems to be little to zero feedback on the web about them. Also they seem to have open source 3D printer files for various torch parts and have open-sourced the code controlling their LED. Also the company that produce it seem to primarily be a Swedish app development company and some of the links on their site go to the wrong domain extension (.com instead of .se) so I'm left wondering if they're enthusiastic divers and developers who got super excited about open source design for dive lights or they're borderline scammers. I'm leaning a bit more towards the former which is a little 
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Jan 13, 2016 23:50
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I don't know if there are many drysuit divers around these parts but thought I'd look for some feedback. I've got a Weezle undersuit in a DUI and previously much of my diving has been in the colder months, for that it's awesome. In the summer though, especially on warm days, it's too much. I'm not in danger of overheating on a dive but I'm more than warm enough and at the surface I can't actually zip up my drysuit for fear of just sweating through the whole thing. I had a compromise last season I was here of Fourth element Artic leggings and a technical Montane smock, which was warm enough but the nylon fake fleece stuff in the smock was ridiculously itchy under pressure. Anyone have experience with lighter thermals or even using hiking gear as an undersuit? I'm half tempted to get a snugpak thinner jacket as it's the same company that does Weezle filling and it would be dual purpose for being out and about in the colder months.
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Jan 17, 2016 19:17
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CaptainZalo posted:I've had a couple of late fall dives in two layers of wool and one layer of fleece. It works for a 30-35 minute dive for me when the water temp is around 6-10 degrees Celsius. And I get cold fast, so if you're one of those that go into blizzards with a wifebeater and pyjamas pants, I guess you're good. But that's been traded for a Santi BZ 400 undersuit. Because gently caress freezing. I'd rather be quick to get in the water and have a long, comfy dive than freezing the last 15-20 minutes. I definitely feel you, my issue is with dry suit dive and occasional lengthy RIB rides to get to the site I'm stuck sweating my rear end off before hand. I'm thinking of trying a set of 4th Element Arctics, it's trick getting someone to lend you that kind of thing though but I've got time so I'll keep an eye out for 2nd hand options. Waterproof do something that look similar and is 2/3 the price but I don't know anywhere that sells it. I'm also looking at getting a primary light. I've got a FaMi that works well as a back up but has a pretty wide beam that doesn't serve well in any kind of daylight or murky conditions in the UK. I'm thinking a hand held might be more practical than an umbilical but kind of not sure what to go for. Being in Europe I'm currently thinking a Greenforce head with the Hybrid 2 might work and if I need greater run time I can look at getting a bigger battery pack and cable to make it an umbilical. I'm also looking at LightMonkey as apparently their 12W LED can be matched with their handheld battery pack. If that could work the same way it might be a goer.
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Jan 24, 2016 00:22
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For reference I've got a DUI. For winter UK diving I have a Weezle Extreme and it's perfect, it's actually fine on the dive as well. I don't know if the Artics will be warm enough for winter diving or not so I probably won't be trying them until May or June. Until then I think I'll be looking out for cheap 2nd hand ones. Will update anyway though.
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Jan 24, 2016 11:19
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Bangkero posted:Yeah, a lot of divers do that. Get some trim weight pockets for the tank strap, and ditchable weight pockets for the harness. Depending on how much you need remember the old weight belt is still perfectly viable with a wing. It also has the advantage of separating weight from your rig for when you're handing it back to the boat out whatever. 3 or 4kg is fine but if you add much more it's going to make carrying it an rear end.
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Jan 26, 2016 09:32
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Squashy Nipples posted:Mrs. Squashy did the first pool session for her open water last night.. and it went poorly. She kept panicking under water, and couldn't get her buoyancy right. She managed to pass all of the skills except for "take your mask off for a minute, then put it back on and clear it". For that one she kept getting water up her nose? From my experience (far more limited than the professional instructors round here) it really isn't very unusual. Comfort in the water on the surface and desire to dive don't immediately equal being comfortable with a load of new equipment and a totally alien environment straight away. Things like mask clearing are something that people can find really awkward at first (this and regulator swapping are the two skills I've seen that cause people to panic and bolt for the surface most reliably). In terms of dealing with it, this was her first pool session in an alien environment with weird new equipment. If she was able to pass almost all of the skills then she actually did do really well. I would hazard a guess that if she's used to the water on the surface she may even be dealing with some ingrained habits regarding breathing and buoyancy that she's not even fully aware of that are making it harder, I don't have the experience or knowledge for that to be more than a pulled out of my rear end guess though. In terms of improving, it sounds like she's got a decent base and motivation for it so I'd say just keep doing the pool sessions, getting more experience with being underwater and using the kit. I think it was pupdive or Bishop who said they get their students to keep the mask on at all times, which gets students used to having it on and helps people get used to not breathing through their nose too. Part of the all of this is the experience of some of the minor discomforts like getting water in your nose, it's not actually a problem you just keep breathing through your regulator and you can hack and cough all you like. If you're a surface swimmer or snorkeller though water in your nose is an issue as there isn't more air coming from anywhere. Natural instinct is to bolt for the nearest air source, the surface. It takes time to get comfortable and aware that your nearest air source is already in your mouth. If she's comfortable with her instructor just keep up with the pool sessions until she's happier. If she doesn't get any happier or more comfortable maybe try some different instructors.
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Mar 14, 2016 13:53
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From the point of view of a commercial organisation I definitely understand the appeal of getting away from printing. It's a huge hassle to print and ship all over the world and deal with stock keeping for dive centres everywhere. Considering diver centres also have a tendency to be in remote places it avoids delays in getting the materials to people as well and minimises concerns over shops taking students under the counter. Now none of this takes the student's needs or desires in mind but as I said, commercial organisation and they still have an effective monopoly in that any commercial dive operation really needs to offer PADI training. I will say the one thing that it's done is force other agencies to up their game with presentation. The BSAC's materials have improved hugely. They've also got an advantage in having a single languages and small footprint so they can release changes much faster (we recently got guidance published on recommended procedures for diving with GUE trained divers finally). I've also kicked off my dive season with my first dry suit dive in almost 4 years on a weekend with fun gale force winds. Blown out most of the trip but it was great to be back in cold water. No nice pictures as the vis was atrocious. I've also got my open water instructor exam on Sunday, what a time to be alive.
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Apr 11, 2016 10:59
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For peninsular Malaysia the perhentian islands are probably the best. Not really worth it unless you fancy a small island break though. Koh Lanta is pretty good, south of phi phi and there are some decent sites around. Again not destination diving by itself though probably. I went with Kon Tiki and they were pretty good, that was the last week of the season though and things were super super quiet. No idea what they might be like when busy. Ha Long bay I keep hearing mixed reviews about. I was there a while ago now, like 12 years, and it was pretty. Definitely worth not trying to do bargain basement though, get a decent boat. Also I am finally a full open water instructor, looking forward to the dice season proper in the UK. Just wish I had more holiday, really want to try diving Scapa flow this year.
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Apr 29, 2016 18:25
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Computer dive counts as an exclusive dive for PADI now?
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Jun 5, 2016 20:55
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I LIKE COOKIE posted:. Does this sound like a terrible idea? My cousins are a little iffy about diving without a dive master, but I'm perfectly fine as long as all my equipment is in good working order. The random guy with a boat idea could be dumb/dangerous/sketchy but I'm just throwing around ideas here. Coming from a club diving environment where diving without a dive guide is the norm, there's no problem with that providing you are all qualified and relatively experienced. You also should really have some planning and idea about the site you'll be diving (especially tides, potential hazards, currents etc.) Shore cover is also a must, if there's a chance you'll get in trouble you need someone who can get help. There are people who will do shore dives by themselves without really worrying but typically they'll be experienced, confident divers who know the area. You don't sound like that. The random guy in a boat idea, if you get a reasonable word of mouth recommendation would actually probably be better. What you want is someone who knows the area, can give you some kind of site brief and timing for the dive and will be able to sound the alarm if anything goes wrong. Ideally I'd suggest going with a dive operator and seeing if they'll let you dive unguided for a bit less. From experience most will want you with a guide though because they're probably paying the guide anyway and they want to minimise their liability.
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Jun 6, 2016 07:23
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pupdive posted:It's one of the optional dives for the Advanced class, meant to update (replace) the Multi-Level Dive since PADI no longer sells or makes The Wheel. Interesting and it makes sense to teach it as something that isn't just a continuation of diving on tables. I guess it just seemed a bit prescriptive to have it as an optional qualifying dive rather than as part of the instruction generally. I know I've discussed with some instructors here who would like to see our dive courses basically scrap tables and teach deco with computers from the beginning as a more realistic instruction for the type of diving most people do. So have a lesson using computers, different models and capabilities, etc. In our equivalent of OW course and then dive planning with them. Which makes sense in that the course should really reflect how people are going to dive and recreational divers almost never plan and dive off takes any more. Some of them felt you could do more intuitive understanding of the effects of deco with computers as well since it can be easier to play around with time/depth and see the effect using decent dive planning software.
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Jun 6, 2016 07:30
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You're right that there's no substitute for seeing things like that in real life, I was thinking more replacing the way tables are taught (at last in my agency) with computers, so theory lesson with a practical follow up. I know old crusties who think teaching tables gives people a better reference in their head but personally I think you can get the same kind of awareness playing around with planning software. And there's a chance people will actually plan dives using the skills they learned rather than just doing it for the course and then proceeding to jump in and do what the computer says. On diving talk, have some pictures I need to get uploaded to my computer and hosted. Had some diving just off Plymouth and got some of the best blue water style vis I have ever had in the UK. Combined with fun algal bloom that would occasionally just green everything out. Interesting experience as I've never previously seen that bloom in 'pockets'.
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Jun 6, 2016 14:31
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If it doesn't interfere with the routing, that is the hose isn't being pinched or you're not getting the regulator pulled around awkwardly, then it's fine. Like people said those kind of first stages are usually used with twin sets where they get angled for hoses going across the back.
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Jun 8, 2016 13:32
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Red_Fred posted:Okay based on this my girlfriend wants to do her Open Water course either in the Philippines or Malaysia. Excluding the above locations can you guys please recommend some shops? Don't mind paying a bit more for a shop that knows what they're doing. I have dived in Perhentian islands with Panorama divers, they were definitely very friendly, kit seemed good and the students were happy. I was just doing fun dives though so can't really comment on the quality of their instruction but the local manager and longer term people seemed to have their heads on so I'd, which is the only real indication I would have as staff turn over is pretty high year to year around there. Diving in Perhentian isn't amazing though but probably some of the best in peninsular Malaysia. If you're going to be over that way I'd say think about just heading to Thailand. Koh Lanta has really great diving, I went with a shop they called Kon Tiki that had some good people. I'm sure others here have more knowledgeable recommendations.
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Jun 20, 2016 21:50
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Was diving with one of the old boys in it club over the weekend. Really knowledgeable but kind of a dick about instructing. Interesting diving with someone who still refers to nitrox as devil gas and prefers not to have a computer so he can dictate his own deco times. Also who regularly has 12 pints of Guinness before diving the next day.
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Jun 21, 2016 12:40
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Had a bit of an incident last weekend on a dive, thought I'd share it here just to get some feedback and hopefully to pass on the experience. It was a dive with my club, more experienced weekend so it was a 45m wreck dive (the Skaala on the south coast of England, beautiful wreck and definitely somewhere I want to go back to). Diving as a 3 since one of the trip members had to leave early and his wife was without a buddy. She was on a rebreather and me and the other buddy were on twin 12s. We got down to the wreck fine and started the dive, very early one I noticed she was behaving a bit oddly, fiddling with kit and was rolling around a bit doing so. I saw she had switched to her pony so swam over and pulled out my second stage to give to her. She didn't take it, fiddled with stuff a bit more, then went back to her main loop on the rebreather and signalled ok. We carried on the dive for a couple more minutes before I saw her go on to the pony again and swim over to our other buddy. After a short while she went on to his alternate and signalled up. He deployed a DSMB and we did our ascent. Part of the way up I took the reel off him as she was having some buoyancy issues with her rebreather due to it pumping in gas while the loop was closed off. It turned out there was some problem wither CO2 scrubber, she had been getting progressively more breathless and had a headache. She had switched to her pony, felt better and thought it might have just been a stressful descent with current and the problem was in her head. Then discovered it wasn't. Breathing off a 3L pony at 45m meant she drained that in the few minutes she was on it and had no gas left to inflate her dry suit and was generally pretty freaked out. Luckily it wasn't something debilitating, we did all our deco stops and had plenty of gas. Looking back I'm not sure if I should have been more insistent with getting her onto my air supply. I didn't basically because she's a more experienced diver and I figured she knew what she was doing (I know gently caress all about rebreathers). In retrospect it's obvious that she had a minimal back up supply, I had lots and she should have gone onto it straight away. We probably should have canned the dive then and there as well but it was the only dive we were doing that day (due to issues with the tides and not wanting a 5am start after a long day the day before) so she pushed herself. On the ascent part, I feel I definitely should have been more assertive and done the DSMB deployment since the other two were already doing an AS ascent. The reason why was they're both more experienced than me and it's not part of my agency's training. We train for buddy pair diving and it means that in that kind of situation there isn't really a system in place for when you have 3 divers. It seems obvious in retrospect but with a minor incident, one freaked out diver and the possibility of complicating things by jumping in while people are trying to do a couple of things I hung back. Over all it wasn't a disaster, we were all well within safe distance of each other, things remained under control and we got up safely and well controlled but I can't help feeling things could have been done better. We did follow this up by managing to lose a shot weight and a load of rope while nearly flooding our RIB completely on the attempted recovery (shot drifted and the rope got entangled on the wreck so it wasn't long enough for high tide. While recovering the rope got twisted around our prop and we were back on to the waves so they were all pouring into the boat. We just dumped everything, let the rope run off and managed to drain the boat). All in all a weekend to remind me that for all the disasters you can have with trainees and novices experienced divers can manage to get into just as many disasters. Some good dives at least!
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Aug 2, 2016 20:57
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Squashy Nipples posted:Holy poo poo, I guess I never thought about what you'd inflate your dry suit with when using a rebreather... It must be the breathing mix, because filling your suit with O2 would be an enormous fire hazard once you were out of the water. Rebreather divers need to have some sort of bail out in case of exactly the kind of problem she suffered. Makes sense to have that for suit inflation as well as air is considerably cheaper than O2. They have a diluent cylinder as well (breathing gas to mix with the O2) but that's usually very small, like 1L as it's just added to compensate for gas compression.
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Aug 4, 2016 11:08
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jackyl posted:I checked out the OMS slipstreams but even they seemed heavy for travel diving. Want to upgrade from my splits to something that I can wear with real boots (would have made entries in Bonaire a shitton easier I really love the idea of Force Fins just for size and weight in this regard but I really don't think I can justify the cost knowing I'd have to dedicate quite a few dives to getting comfortable with them AND possibly finding I just don't like them. Mares Quattros do pretty well (and are at least a ton lighter than Jet fins or slipstreams). I'd also say when it comes to diving it's safe to bet 'no-one would ever tell you that' is bullshit. I've been told by high level BSAC instructors that long hose rigs are a death sentence and that computers are terrible and you were much better off without them. In fairness the latter comment was largely because they could get longer bottom times with careful manipulation of the tables and found it difficult to read their computer when diving after a dozen Guinnesses the night before. Regarding tech training, I've done an intro course with a TDI instructor and their course seemed fairly sensible. The instructor was really good too, heard good things about TDI generally and they seem like they have a better sense of being flexible about equipment. I'll probably end up doing my training through BSAC just because the courses are soooo much cheaper but I'm kind of relying on word of mouth for instructors who know their poo poo. Heard a story about one instructor for an Accelerated Decompression course that knew the course material but didn't actually know what helicopter finning was (he was using his arms to help spin himself apparently)
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Aug 10, 2016 23:27
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). But just haven't picked one yet. I'll probably buy a set at divers direct in key west, I suppose.
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jackyl posted:Man, just calm down for a minute or 60. What is bothering you about the AOW deep dive? Air consumption? I understand that and so does everyone else in this thread because every one of us went through it at some point. To add to this a bit, air consumption as a limiting factor isn't a failing on your part. It's definitely something you should be trying to improve but there isn't some examination set SAC which will fail you (aside from if it's to the point of being an actual medical issue). It is a limitation that you have to factor in, which it sounds like you have. It's the point of gas planning for a deeper dive, you need to know how much air you'll need to be on the surface with an appropriate reserve (x1.5 so you have a conservative factor for your buddy) and you need to make sure you start leaving the bottom when or before you reach that point. If you feel it's limiting the dive to the point of negating the point of it (i.e. you won't have enough time) you take measures to correct that. Either planing to bring more gas (a larger cylinder or more) or you change the depth (which may mean not doing that site and going somewhere else). Obviously the point of this dive is to do it at depth so the latter isn't an option. If you think it's a genuine concern that you won't be able to do the dive, talk with the instructor and see if it's possible to get a bigger tank. If the instructor is happy for you to do it then you have to decide whether you trust them to be able to make an appropriate decision. Frankly it sounds more like nerves because it's a dive that's pushing your experience and comfort zone. You sound like you've planned regarding it and I would say definitely do it, expand your abilities but whether you want to be doing that is up to you. If air consumption is limiting you severely then you need to decide if you can really begin to work on it (physical fitness, try free diving classes, etc.), look at getting experience with rigs that will give you more gas or maybe that shallow bimbles are the kind of diving you want to do and deeper stuff isn't realistic for you. On a slightly different note, just back from a week of diving off Co. Cork in Ireland and had one day that was far and away the best day of diving I've had. Got to do the U-260 in the morning, which was a fantastic sub, relatively intact down about 45m on the bottom. It was scuttled by the crew in 1945 after the Soviets were pretty much in Berlin, the war was clearly lost and they had the option to head ashore and surrender in a neutral country. We had impressive visibility and managed to do about 23 minutes on it before heading up. Definitely convinced me I need to do some sort of mixed gas deco course, 40 minutes of stops is boring as anything. Pictures I've tried to play around with a bit but definitely need more work, any feedback on the processing stuff is appreciated. They were taken with a Canon S110, no strobes or fancy lenses just a regular housing. Nice thing is it shoots in RAW so playing around with it is relatively straightforward. Biggest problem I noticed is that the pictures just weren't quite in focus. This was the top of the conning tower, the crew left it open to help the thing sink after abandoning her. There were a couple of big Congers in the nooks and crannies around there.  As you can see the outer hull has mostly come apart, the inner hull still seems to be totally intact.  Afterwards we did a wreck called the Alondra that ended up getting scattered over a couple of canyons inside a rock formation it had wrecked on. The skipper was nice enough to head into one of the gulleys and dropped us so we started shallow, headed over most of the wreck until we came out of the rocks onto the ship's boilers which were massive. It was bright and colourful, mostly around 10-15m and was an amazing contrast to the first dive. Lots and lots of life. This Tom Pot was being quite shy, I've got a half a dozen pictures of him out of focus and another half dozen of an empty pipe as he kept disappearing backwards down it.  Also as we've had some photography chat: Red filters are good if you're using a GoPro or something simple. If you get a decentish digital camera they can usually adjust the white balance (mine has an underwater setting that's like a simulated red filter, RAW shots can have the colour balance adjusted pretty well). Be aware that it will also pick out the red in white lights, so it becomes important to avoid using any flash or torch beams.
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Aug 21, 2016 18:12
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So as I said in the previous post, in looking at doing some accelerated deco qualifications. Currently I'm qualified for mixes up to 36%. If I was staying in the UK I'd be doing the BSAC course which gives me up to 80% accelerated I can use to whatever depth I'm qualified to. Instruction is a bit variable but the cost is the lowest I'll find (£140 for the course) Checking TDI, it seems like I'd need to do advanced nitrox and deco procedures together to get something similar. Says it qualifies to 40m, which is shallower than my qualifications. Is that a fallout from their diving qualifications or is it a qualification limit they put on air diving? Send a bit annoying to be able to drive to 45/50 but not be covered for accelerating my deco from that depth. Can't find clear coats for it on any Argentinean websites so not sure how it'll compare on that front. What are other agencies like for these kind of courses? I'd even consider heading up towards the Caribbean or Mexico if someone has a recommendation that sounds good, although having to hire gear as well as pay for the training might make it just too costly to seriously consider.
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Aug 22, 2016 08:43
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pupdive posted:"Don't dive outside of your training" (I simply do not agree with this, but it is where you are stuck.) Regarding 'don't dive outside your training', just to be clear, this is referring to the liability issue correct? My concern with the TDI qualification is primarily that it would leave me qualified to do dives but not qualified to accelerate the deco on them. Which is kind of ridiculous, hence checking whether it was a hard 40m or if it was 'to within your qualifications, ours being 40m'. It does seem to limit my options of training courses though if all of them qualify to within the agency's depth limits rather than the diver's as it kind of negates the point of accelerating deco if the dives you will most quickly rack up deco are the ones you can't accelerate with. Within the UK I'd be pretty happy to do dives I felt properly trained for that might not be within the letter of my qualifications. I am aware though that outside the UK where I am reliant on an insurer I wouldn't like to see myself having to cover a trip to the pot or expatriation myself if it was needed because I had taken a rich mix to speed up my dives. Bit of a derail though, probably best not to drag the thread into talk about insurance requirements and what would and wouldn't be fraud. Regarding your divisions, I think I've got a bit of a terminology mix up. When you say hot mix you mean a higher O2 content (what I'd call a rich mix)? If so I'm very much looking at the second level there. My need to do more 'technical' diving currently is doing dives similar to those I already do without the same mind numbing deco stops. My buddy that sub dive had 18 minutes of stops on 50%, I had 40 minutes on air. Time wise there's still a gas limitation obviously (I surfaced with 70 bar, so a little under 1/3 with a 220 fill and would want to be doing that anyway with the chance of losing the deco gas for whatever reason) so it would be reducing stop time rather than extending bottom time. Especially with cold water diving that's a significant factor in comfort and potentially safety. Hope no-one's overly bored by tech chat stuff, I'll try to add a few more pictures when I get home.
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Aug 22, 2016 14:54
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I've had great times diving in Scotland in January, cold water diving is something I enjoy and find immensely satisfying. It's also definitely something I would endure to do some cool wrecks if the temperature difference at depth was an issue. That said it's different experience, it's certainly a lot more work and I definitely think it requires a lot more in terms of awareness of safety and skills underwater (or at least I know a lot of cold water divers who have ended up in the pot doing stuff which would not be out of the ordinary in a lot of more tropical environments, not to mention the low vis issues). But that's a cool aspect to diving, it's not just that you can enjoy the sport but there's a whole range of stuff within that to do. If you like being underwater there's a lot of ways to do it. My next dream trip is Norway for some of those WWI/II wrecks. Apparently it's like Scapa Flow but less dived and better preserved  And some poo poo news that apparently one of my buddies from the Ireland trip has been told he managed to burst his eardrum and it isn't going to be healing. So diving and risking bursting the other one at some point would be total deafness. He's hoping to hear some better news from an actual diving doctor.
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Aug 22, 2016 22:11
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I feel we may be talking past each other somewhat. I appreciate you seem to be giving wider thoughts on technical diving as well, if I'm getting that mixed up with my own question apologies. My concern over qualification courses is directly tied to accepting that any decompression dives I do are inherently unsafe. That is I want to be sure my diving insurance will cover me in case something happens and I have to spend a night in the chamber. If the TDI course really does qualify only for dives <40m (rather than to your qualified diving limits) then on any dive within my other qualification limits, 50m, then on a dive in the 40-50m range (which is within my qualifications) I have 4 options: 1) Limit the dive to 40m (extremely frustrating if I'm on a wreck that is almost entirely below 40) 2) Dive past 40m but don't accelerate my deco (If I'm doing this there is no point doing the course) 3) Dive past 40m, accelerate the deco and accept I am not insured in case something goes wrong (Not ideal, as you say it's a risky activity hence insurance. I would probably be willing to do this in the UK as the NHS will cover me but not outside it) 4) Same as 3 but don't inform anyone I used a rich deco mix and hope the insurance company doesn't find out. (The whole criminal insurance fraud aspect leaves me pretty wary) So my concern here isn't so much about the training methods but about how doing another agency's decompression course (due to some personal circumstances I will not be in the UK very much during the period when most of our training courses are happening but would like to get this done before next year's dive season for a couple of planned trips) would fit in with the qualifications I have. I'm not that well versed in what other agencies offer, if they do fit in I would be strongly interested in finding a centre to do the course, if they don't then I'll have to think about what is the least bad option for me. So the issue for me isn't whether the course involves going past 40m but what I am qualified to do with my training after that. I understand there is no reason for training dives to involve actually going into deco and training shouldn't be as risky as application of that training.
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Aug 23, 2016 09:16
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Jakabite posted:Anyone got any recommendations of relatively inexpensive places to dive? I'm imagining Easter Europe must have some pretty hidden gems. Where in the UK are you? Cause there is some really great diving without leaving the country and there's a pretty active diving community in the UK (if you're OK with cold water diving). Check for local BSAC clubs and visit a few, they are quite varied and I've definitely gone to some I wouldn't want to hang around too much. But if you like diving seriously try it at home too! If you say where you are i can try to suggest some things. Regarding the continent, Croatia is probably one of the more popular destinations currently because it's cheap and there some beautiful sites. Malta is a classic spot, although the legal issues a couple of years back made people a bit nervous. There's a nature reserve near Barcelona, phone posting so can't check the name right now. I know my club has gone to Marseilles a number of times but my experience there is currently non existent. Cyprus is also very popular but not much in the way of life. The Zenobia is top tier wreck diving though.
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Sep 10, 2016 16:53
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Budget depends of course but I've always thought of the Suunto Zoop as pretty much the default computer for a new diver. It's cheap, safe and does everything you would need it to. If you've got more money to spend our other requirements then let us know but if you aren't sure about your needs and want to minimise outlay: Zoop
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Sep 11, 2016 03:32
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Pupdive makes a good general point, no one is ever going to be able to recommend the gear you prefer. I recommended Zoops, despite not owning one, simply because it's cheap and it works well. On thinking about it, a bit cold water centric as it's also got a big display and big buttons, which might not be as important in better vis without thick gloves. A computer is, probably, the most worthwhile purchase just because it's great for diving with, you should really have one you're familiar with and they are generally a pain in the rear end to rent. I'd even say think about getting a used one off eBay, find out what you like or don't about it and use that, and your evolution of diving needs, to choose a second longer term computer. Suunto is a good brand, they're regarded by some as overly conservative for deco but if you're starting out that really isn't a problem. I've got an oceanic Geo 2, bought second hand to replace an Aladin prime (lost) that was also second hand. I find some display things I don't like as much with the oceanic, like when it goes into deco it stops showing dive time on the main screen and gives ascent time. I'd treat your first purchase as a trial, unless you have access to test out a selection of dive gear. Get something that is cheap enough you can sell it on without worrying or get something cheap with a gauge mode that can become a back up if you move on our don't like it that much.
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Sep 11, 2016 19:14
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Another useful tip is a wind proof jacket to wear between dives. If it's a cold out then having a fleece and half taking off the wetsuit works well. This is based on RIB diving where taking the suit off isn't really practical. Alternatively if you're regularly diving in cold conditions then just get a dry suit. Membrane suits work well for adjusting with different undersuit options. In the UK we now advise novices to just hire wetsuits and if they're going to continue diving here then get a dry suit. Don't bother buying a wetsuit because it's just too miserable between dives.
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Sep 23, 2016 17:46
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