Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone had any decent underwater flashlight recommendations? It doesn't have to been anything crazy as it's for me and and wife. Maybe something decent between the 50 to 100 dollar range? TIA

Cremated remains, request was to be at sea on a dive. Once we have the proper paperwork, any tips or tricks to share?

Thanks

Heading to Cabo San Lucas in April and want to keep costs low. Is it possible to shore dive and still see big animals or must we get a boat? Alternatively, where are the best shore diving locations?

I've been looking at options for a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) and someone mentioned the Lefeet P1. It's very compact compared to other options in the market. Anyone have experience with this particular scooter?

Use case: I'm a big guy (6'3" 250 lbs) that does solo diving. I carry a steel LP 120 and AL 40 and mainly do beach dives and I just want something reliable to run around the beach dive sites in my area to explore while staying within recreational limits of 130ft max depth. No cave diving or deep technical dives.

Are the scooter as strong as they claim? Are they reliable? Are they worth the price?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you.

I’m considering a trip to the Fort Young Dive Resort in Roseau, Dominica with my LDS in early June. I’ve been to several other Caribbean islands - USVI, BVI, Caymans, Saba, St. Kitts, Bonaire, Cozumel, Roatan & Guanaja.

Do any of you have opinions on the diving there? Restaurant recommendations?

I got my dive guide/dive master cert but on the cert it says "pro status: not activated". What does that mean and how do I "activate" the pro status? I'm certified with SSI. Also I don't want to be associated with any shop, just kind of want to puddle jump and freelance if that's possible.

Hi all,

I am not an experienced diver but am going through my open water education again. I am reading about time at which depth are the main contributors to your no decompression time (I hope this is the right word in English). I get that. Longer and deeper leads to more nitrogen exposure.

My question is, wouldn't also more breathing lead to more nitrogen exposure in the body or does that not have anything to do with absorption?

To make it more tangible, 2 divers, same size, dive to the same depth, 18m, and stay there for the same duration. One is inexperienced and breaths a lot more frequently, the other breathes less frequently and, therefore, has more gas left when surfacing.. Maybe you argue that one runs out of gas before the other. Let s say, both ascend. And they repeat that 2x more that day. Will the quicker breather have a higher no decompression time than the other?

If someone would have some reference I could look into, please let me know. I am aware that it is probably negligible, but got curious from a theoretical stand point.

Hey, my new first dive Computer arrived today. I am very happy with it I already used it for skiing and the gym. But now I have some questions about the different diving activities(Single Gas, Multi-Gas, CCR, Gauge, Apnea, Apnea Hunt and Plan Dive) wich I should use for scuba diving with one single tank. Maybe someone could explain some of the different options and tell me wich one is the best to use.

tldr; PADI, CMAS or SSI to become a dive instructor. current plan is to work in south america, but the more international the certificate the better.

Hey,

I have been diving for over 10 years (every summer and occasionally during the year on holidays, I probably have around 150 dives). I got my open PADI OW when I was around 12 and then got my 2* CMAS some time later. I'm planning on taking a gap year before my masters to get an advanced certificate and hopefully an instructors license so I can work at a club. The problem is, I am having difficulty chosing between PADI CMAS or SSI. I am aware of the PADI slander (which is why I went for CMAS for my 2nd level) but I was wondering how "bad" would it be if I were to become an instructor through PADI. I also dont know too much about SSI. I dont plan to make a life long career out of it, I just want the certification under my belt so I can travel for a year or so and work as an instructor (hopefully somewhere in south america). Maybe work some summers to make money.

Also, is there any advantage in being certified by multiple organisations? Do some of the organisations have access/advantages that others dont? Will I be refused certain oppertunites because I chose an "easier" organisation to follow (*cough* PADI *cough*)

Have the opportunity to go on a liveaboard in either location in Mid March. It’ll probably be my last liveaboard for at least a few years. The Galapagos LOB has some land opps as well. Which should I do?

Any recomendations for dive centers in Rapa Nui? My boyfriend and I (both AOW) are travelling to Rapa Nui on March.

I’ve never had to call DAN before. I recently went on a trip where I had not one, but TWO health issues I called them for help.

Warning: graphic details in this paragraph The first was after a day of fairly deep dives to about 110 feet. All within no deco limits. Got to dinner 4.5 hours later, started shaking uncontrollably, both arms went numb from the elbows down, felt like I was going to pass out, lost control of my legs for a minute on my way out of the restaurant. Spent about an hour vomiting uncontrollably. Ended up with horrible diarrhea shortly after. Drank a glass of orange juice and as much water as I could keep down. I called DAN once I had stabilized enough to use the phone. They went through my exact dive profile, every single symptom from onset, how I was feeling now, etc. One of their medics ruled out DCS based on timing of symptoms happening/going away. They decided it was most likely severe, rapid onset dehydration coupled with possibly low blood sugar. I most likely contracted something from lunch earlier that day. It took me three days to start to hydrate to normal levels and I lost 6lbs.

They checked in with me every day for a week after, just making sure their diagnosis was correct. I lost a week of diving, but I avoided a $10,000 water taxi to the nearest functioning hospital.

I finally did get back to diving with their approval. A couple days later I was doing a night dive and touched a jelly I didn’t see with the back of my hand. No big deal, I’ve been stung before. Finished the dive up normally, but headed back to shore I saw a Caribbean box jelly/sea wasp just as it passed under my body, too late to stop it from giving me a NASTY sting on my calf. Both my buddy and I positively identified it, no question about it.

I did the standard vinegar rinse immediately on both stings, then about an hour with hot water in the shower. Called DAN while I was doing the hot water rinse. They were actually pretty concerned about this one. My heart rate was elevated to a little over 100bpm resting and I had some twitching/shivering that worried them. They suggested I go to an urgent care to be evaluated. I tried that, also tried the ED at the only hospital. Urgent cares were completely closed, the ED (45 mins away) was a leftover FEMA temporary hospital from almost a decade ago, the main hospital was abandoned. They had every single chair in the waiting room full of people who looked way worse than me. The receptionist said I would likely not even be seen that night.

I called DAN again and they put me through to a doctor who gave me instructions for monitoring myself using the heart rate and EKG functions on my Apple Watch as a temporary triage method. My wife is also an RN, and was able to do so with her own knowledge. We all decided the best thing was to go back to the hotel and self-monitor until urgent cares opened. DAN assured me they’d take care of the bills for everything. By the next morning my symptoms had subsided. The urgent care was also still abandoned the next day even though they were supposed to be open. The DAN medic that called to check on me spoke with a doctor again who took my current condition and decided he was OK with me waiting to talk to my doctor at home (our trip was almost over at this point).

The moral of the story here is JUST CALL DAN. I would have handled both of these situations differently if I were on my own, and I would have cost myself a ton of money chasing down a false DCS hit, while leaving my family alone on a different island. I know people don’t call because they’re afraid DAN will shut down their diving, but that is NOT the attitude I was treated to at all. They were extremely professional, every suggestion they had was spot on, and I could not think of one single thing I would improve upon.

The 2nd moral of the story is to vet your healthcare options when traveling thoroughly. If this had been DCS or I had had a more severe reaction to the stings, it’s unlikely I would have been able to find appropriate care in time to avoid lots of pain, long term health issues, or even death.

Hello dear scuba divers

I am figuring out right now what I want to do in summer. Amd since learing how to scuba dive has always been on my bucket list I was checking out my options I have. I would love to go to a place with a much diverse marine wildlife as possible, also with coral reefs, etc. My Dilemma here is that I decided last year that I do not want to step into an airplane again ever in my life, which means places like egypt (where I have been to as a small kid and remember the reefs and fish to be gorgeous) are ruled out, since it is hard to reach these kind of places on land route when you live in Europe.

So with a little bit of googling around I found that Malta, Canary Islands and Greece all do have these things too, but also there is a lot of conflicting information online. For example saying that mediterranean is shit when it comes to diverse marine life, while other articles are saying that malta and greece are very diverse.

So I need your help: Where do you think in Europe we have the most diverse marine wildlife (where also the water is not too cold)? Which one of the three places i listed can you recommend/Do you know any other places I could go

Thank you in advance for all your answers :))

I'm trying to decide on a pair of fins, without the luxury of trying lots of different jet style options.

Wondering if anybody knows how buoyant 7mm boots really are? People talk about floaty feet even in 5mm, but based on 1-2lb of positive buoyancy for 3mm boots (the only numeric reference I can find) it seems likely that once your feet are taken into account, even 7mm boots will leave your feet negative overall beyond about 20m?

So neutrally buoyant fins are really the best best to avoid getting overly floaty feet shallower, or your feet sinking you out of trim deeper?

Hello,
I'm going to the philippines for a week at the end of Feb, and really want to explore as much as possible.
The tickets to Palawan are too expensive so I was thinking of going to the Cebu/Bohol area. I've seen that there are a lot of good spots, but that spots like Oslob are to avoid as they are tourist traps?
I've also heard that you need the OWD: I have the level 2 french international license, so hopefully that works?
I also want to explore landscapes like the chocolate hills in bohol...
What should I do?

Hello,

I am in the process of buying equipment and moving away from renting certain things. The first thing I got is a regulator. The LDS rents out an MK25 attached with what I believe is an Oceanic Pro Plus 4. At this point, I'm looking for a pressure gauge (at a minimum) and previous posts have called for a Shearwater Perdix 2. The posts also say that console computers such as the Oceanic Pro Plus are outdated. Thing is, the Perdix 2 with transmitter runs for about $1,500 USD and I'm not necessarily in a position to dump that much money on an SPG. That's why I was looking for something like a Scubapro 3 gauge in-line console. I am curious whether getting something like that or even an Oceanic Pro Plus 4 is truly an unwise decision or if I should buy once/cry once and get something like a Perdix 2.

Thanks.

Hello, I am going to the Philippines in July and trying to squeeze a dive in. Everything I’ve read says July isn’t the best time of year for diving there, but I don’t have a choice on the timing.

I would LOVE to see some thresher sharks in Malapuasca if at all possible. But am open to other recommendations. I’m just looking for input for anyone who’s been there in July and thoughts on whether threshers are even possible or if there’s anywhere better to check out at that time of year. TIA.

Silly question here.

Sometimes I get leaking around my seal on my upper lip. Mask fits fine. Does anyone use some type of sealer?

Hello! My partner and I are new divers. We’ve completed our SSI referral course and are excited to book a trip to finish our open water cert and get in our first ocean dives!

We’re looking for a somewhat affordable option we can travel to from Denver that’ll give us a good all around diving experience - wildlife, reefs, etc. We can swing about a 4-5 day trip.

We’re both fairly fearless and feel very comfortable in the water so doesn’t need to be too watered down (haha) intensity-wise.

Considering Cozumel, Cabo Pulmo, & Belize but we’re open!

If anyone has any recommendations we’d greatly appreciate it!!!

I am considering a liveaboard trip with Nautilus adventures on the Nautilus Belle Amie at the end of August. Does anyone have experience on this boat? If so what did you think? How was diving procedures, accommodations, food, safety etc. Any additional thoughts?

I

Hey divers, looking to connect with people with some local knowledge or recommendations on acquiring gear in Nevis (or experience shipping to other Caribbean countries) or alternative solutions to my bind..

I recently moved to Nevis semi long term (planning on being her for a few years) and i’m eager to get some diving in. I was warned by a buddy that done his IDC here that the scene is a little sparse and listened to his recommendation to take as much of my own gear as possible.

I packed my sidemount setup, knocked my valves out of my tanks and stuffed everything except lead into my bag. Turns out that’s proving to be the hardest thing to acquire here. 2 of the 3 dive operations refuse to even fill tanks unless they’re theirs, I’ve managed to find a local with a compressor who is willing to fill my tanks. But no operation here is willing to help with buying, renting or ordering new or used lead.

Here’s what would be helpful getting some info on.

1. Has anyone in a similar bind found a source/ solution to ordering weights into a Caribbean country for a reasonable fee/rate? Is there anywhere I could travel to on a weekend to pick up lead while getting a few dives in?

2. Are there any alternatives to typical lead weights I could be exploring or sourcing locally (there’s no wheel weights used on the island, batteries crossed my mind but would rather not be messing with them, fishing weights I think I’d be able to source but would get expensive to get as many as I need (12-16lbs)) any other suggestions?

3. Are there any other subreddits that are used by Caribbean divers to post and connect on? I’ve made some friends outside of the 2 operations that seem to be geared 100% for cruise ship tourists including some volunteer opportunities and a really nice operation geared towards accessibility for all divers called sand dollar divers. I’d love to find more local divers and opportunities. Any suggestions on finding dive buddies here?

PS-Can’t say enough good about sand dollar divers based on the 2 dives I’ve done with them so far, a small but amazing operation. If anyone is traveling to Nevis and wants a top notch instructor or guide and top of the line rental equipment I highly suggest contacting them.

I generally use my GoPro with a backscatter filter and Backscatter’s recommended custom settings. Since I use Dive+ for color correction, do I really need the red filter? If not, should I use different custom settings? Any advice?