Scuba Diving must haves

[boxing63]

awesome pic I would love to give that spot a try....

 

[cellrdwellr]

Hookah type systems really seem great but as far as knowledge you really should take a diving class, not for the cert but for the knowledge.
Stay safe!

I use a cheap hunters compass, the ball pin on type about $1.99. I made a big rubber band out of an inner tube that wraps around the whole body of the excal and that's what I pin it to. This way your compass is right in front of you the whole time, I can't stand pulling out my regular dive compass and having to hold it level to get a reading. HUGE WASTE OF TIME. I've taken it down to thirty feet for long periods with no problems. I lost one once but about an hour later I found it drifting along about a foot off of the bottom again. Good luck and be careful.

Do you think you could blow an area out with a mailbox?

If you do not take a scuba course, at least take one on-line. You need all the info on water pressures and how they affect your body. You need to practice in your pool for dumping your weights, clearing your mask and replacing your mouth piece under water. You panic in just 6 ft of water and its all over.

A detectorist on vacation died up in Lake Tahoe this year. Hunting in 6-10ft of water using a dive belt. Make sure you can get it off if necessary.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/man-metal-detecting-drowns-at-lake-tahoe-beach/ar-AALywyH

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I’ve had a great time SCUBA diving over the years; actually its been several decades now. It’s been a great adventure and love finding what’s under the water. I’ve recently been doing some SNUBA with a friend which is a tad different but fun. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. A SNUBA set up does not require all the equipment that SCUBA requires. Basically the 2nd stage regulator, weight belt, mask, booties and fins and you’re off.

But, to be honest, both can be extremely dangerous if you haven’t been properly trained or haven’t practiced. Even with shallow water SNUBA diving, inadvertently holding your breath while ascending to the surface can cause a deadly air embolism. Any diving requires some training and also being mentally prepared for emergencies. A number of unexpected events can occur under the water that can cause panic. When this happens, naturally most people revert to training. A panic mistake could be as simple as running out of air or having your regulator snatched out of your mouth by an obstacle or a branch. When something bad happens, if you are not trained, you may go into a panic mode. The only thing you’ll think about is getting to the surface to breath. Pretty hard to do when you forget to remove your weight belt or forget to dump your BC.

Cellrdweller, I like the fact that you’ll spend some time in the pool learning this new equipment and that you’ll be diving very shallow water. Get yourself comfortable with this new rig and also practice shedding you weight belt. Also, there’s no such thing as holding your breath using hose-fed or compressed air. You always have to mentally prepare for emergencies on the bottom. Fighting panic and dumping your weight should be a top priority for getting to the top during bad times. Also, never dive alone, keep a quality cutting tool with you and even wear a line buoy so people know your location.

Personally, I don’t skimp on any of my dive equipment. When I hose dive, I wear a nice Aqua-Lung mask, booties and short-fins. I have several weights belt options depending if I’m suited up or not. I never go in without a quality knife and sometimes pliers. Irony, but my weight belts were built from fishing sinkers. Lastly, I always wear quality gloves to protect your hands. I’ve grabbed too many broken bottle necks with the aluminum tops still attached. Ain’t no sense ruining a good trip from a cut hand and leaving me all those rings behind.

Thank you all for taking the time to comment, it is truly appreciated! I have started the free online courses, but do want to get certified within the next year or two. I'll have to dig out my dive belt, I think it has three or five zippered pockets for the lead. Not sure what quality the buckle is, but it can be a backup at the very least. I have more than enough lead laying around that's for sure. A good compass is next on my list, been looking at various diving computers and found a decent one (IMO) for a little over 100$. Luckily I still have a few months to finish up the online courses and to acquire necessities. Supposed to be -20 with the wind chill tomorrow please feel free to comment further, I'm sure this thread will help more than just myself, though I have already learned quite a bit already. Hope you all had excellent holidays, and good luck in the new year!

 

[cellrdwellr]

Any recommendations on a dive watch? Preferably one that works as a compass/computer? I had a suunto picked out on amazon, but i dont think it has a compass or depth gauge. I've decided to stick with the nox for the time being, it's well out of warranty, so I'm not too concerned if it floods. I will silicone all the necessary gaps, and cover the speaker with gorilla tape. Almost cut the nox apart and stuffed it in a waterproof box. The box would fit the top portion of the display and the batteries, and then can be hip mounted or chest mounted. The hand grip would stay on the shaft along with the cuff and coil, and I would probably have to counterweight the back end, I'm sure it will be nose heavy. The coil plug end is way too beefy to fit in there now. Was trying to find an angled plug for the back of the equinox, where the coil cable connects, but failed. It might help of I knew what I was looking for too if I decide this is something I want to do most of the time, I might upgrade to a true diving rig. If not I'll have a slightly used blu3 nemo for sale in a few months and a busted equinox