Scuba divers, beginners tips?

General General Discussion
1

So I know we’ve got people here who dive, whether it be in the military in a combat, UXO, or other job, as well as rec divers, and I’m sure some civilian jobs too. I’m heading up to northern Colombia in 2 days and will be getting my PADI OW and possibly my AOW (if the instructor is confident I have mastered all of the skills and am ready for the added risk and knowledge dump) over the next two weeks.

Anybody have any tips for a beginner, or just stories or pictures to share?

I’ve already determined that we will need a bigger boat.

2

Been diving in pools since I was 10 and certified open water diver through PADI at 12 (30 now). Number one tip, dont hold your breath…ever. Unless you are wreck diving the best and most colorful stuff is 30ft down and back up towards the surface so don’t get wrapped around the axle with diving deep.

3

The first few times you put on all that gear and weight, it really sucks. Very cumbersome. Most people hate their first few dives because of all of this. Just stick with it. By around dive number five or six things really start to get better. By dive 10 or 12 it starts to all feel familiar and comfortable. If you have the choice, do boat dives for your first few.

When the time comes and you dive on your own, spend some time just sitting still. This is one of my favorite things to do. Most people hit the water and start swimming and don’t stop until its time to get out. I like to drop down, find a good spot and sit still. You’ll see a ton more stuff that way.

I prefer steel tanks to aluminums, by the way. Lets me carry a little less weight on the belt.

Lastly, buy yourself a secondary air source and carry it with you on every dive. I use a “Spare Air”. My instructor shut my air off with out me knowing it during “don and ditch” drills at the bottom of the pool during my initial certification. You do NOT ever want to run out of air down there. I didn’t panic, but I bought my Spare Air the very next day.

Have fun man. Its an amazing experience.

4

Focus on the fundamentals (as with anything). Develop good buoyancy control, proper trim ( not having gauges, straps and octos dangling everywhere but secure and streamlined), manage your breathing, stay calm and don’t dive beyond your limits/training. The vast majority of mishaps in diving occur from people diving beyond their training/experience level. Last but not least, have fun and take pictures!

5

Been diving about 30 years total and taught scuba for 15 years full time not sure how many dives ? close to ten thousand maybe or more ? I have what they call a MSDT from PADI just a instructor who also taught specialties like photography and wreck etc…

Just listen to the instructor as I say if you can walk and breathe chances are you can swim and breathe :slight_smile:

Being underwater is awesome :slight_smile:
Its not about power but subtle movements think of it like Tai Chi slow movements and breathe gentle dont try to hold your breathe and dont try to skip breathe which is holding on to then a deep breathe and holding does not work !
If anything at first I told students to think of a drinking fountain and sipping the air

Clearing your mask is the only thing that takes a touch of practice really as I used to say just hold the top corner lightly look up blow out through the nose gently

Really those are the basics and instructor will teach ya :slight_smile:

Ditto buoyancy is the key ? Remember air takes a moment to react so buoyancy is a add a touch wait add a touch wait

so dont worry its fun just have fun dont stress it super easy
Over that 15 years taught thousands to dive

My instructor rating is from PADI but Naui or SSI etc… As long as its one of the main ones they are all good

Doing adv class is more about getting more comfy underwater with a instructor along and a fewolaces require open water to dive them but not to many so its worth getting
And is meant to go right after your regular class so good chance ya will be able to do that also :slight_smile:

Rescue is more about handling folks in and out of the water
Divemaster or assistant DM is more about rating to work on some boats or to get your instructor eventually

For most folks who just want to be a rec diver adv is far enough :slight_smile:

If you ever get the itch to become a instructor after a year or so of diving check out Utila in the Bay islands of Honduras
Used to teach on that island and we did a lot of people that were becoming instructors

Most all dive folks who live and teach are pretty cool mellow folks so often good to get a feel of other places to dive since some have worked all over the world

6

Focus on the fundamentals. Get in the best physical condition you can, especially cardio vascular. The better shape you are in, the more you will enjoy diving.

No matter what you encounter, relax and think your way through it.

7
  1. Never dive alone
  2. Abort if you cannot clear
  3. Become a strong swimmer
  4. Never hold your breath
  5. It’s OK to pee in your wetsuit
8

Get in shape.

Nobody likes to look at a fatass diver in form-fitting neoprene. Also, diving is not a cardiovascular exercise; don’t treat diving as a weight loss plan.

Learn to use as little weight as possible and control buoyancy.

Don’t hang every stupid stupid dive shop accessory off your D-rings.

You don’t need rock climbing gear under water. Leave your carabeaners at home.

Situational awareness is key. Don’t get focused on one thing (like the cute fish), or you will wind up smashing into other divers, braking coral, or stirring up the bottom.

Buy your regulators locally, the service performed on them will usually be cheaper and better. If you buy your regs online, a local dive shop will be sure to charge you well beyond all the money you saved buy using Leisure Pro.

Research Backplate and Wing combo’s. Don’t get hung up on the gigantic back inflate/vest style BC’s. They are huge, more buoyant, and unnecessary. I use Oxycheq Mach V Extreme wings and they are badass and the most abrasion resistant wings on the market.

If you want to carry a snorkel, get the crushable type made by XS Scuba (you can keep it in a pocket).

Diving in current or ocean, get a DSMB at least 6’ tall and a reel with at least 60’ of line.

Don’t buy mechanical fins! All that shit breaks. Do lots of research on fins. I like Force Fin Pro’s with bungee straps.

Don’t buy dive boots on the internet. Most are very narrow and have odd sizing.

Don’t buy a mask with a purge valve, another stupid feature to get more of your money. I like the Atomic or Scubapro frameless masks.
You don’t want a high-volume mask.

Don’t leave your wetsuit folded unless traveling. Creases in Neoprene does not come out and cuts down on the thermal properties.

Don’t buy a 7" dive knife. Useless. Shark fights only happen on TV.

Take extra O-rings with you.

Learn how to steamline yourself and your gear. You don’t want to be labeled “the Christmas tree”.

If cold weather diving, make sure you have regs that wont freeze up. Apex and Zeagle are good cold weather regs.

Feel free to PM me for clarification on any of that.
Good luck; don’t hold your breath on the way up :eek:

9

I’ve been diving for about 15 years now and one of the best all around tips I can give is bouyancy control. Learn to become as neutrally bouyant as possible. When I first started diving I carried a good bit of weight on my belt. I eventually bought a BC that allowed me to carry weight on it. Now I carry about half the weight I used to and am much more neutral and comfortable. As others have said carry as little as possible on yourself. No need for all sorts of gadgets. Calm down, relax, breath and enjoy your surroundings. You will use much less air,

10

TIP #1 - Never tempt a creature that lives higher up the food chain than you do: :stuck_out_tongue:

11

Peeing in your wetsuit is nasty !
For one its not good on the suit ?
And I dont pee on myself on land why on earth would I do it underwater ? Unless you like smelling like piss on the boat ?

Dont pee in your suit !

12

What do you mean by mechanical fins?

What are your thoughts on split fins for leisure caribbean diving? I purchased some split fins(US Divers) and they seem to work well in the pool, but I don’t have much to reference it on.

I am just getting into diving as well and am about to start my certification. I was hooked after diving in Belize recently.

13

I would assume it’s better than ending your dive early because you need to take a piss really bad? Your dive partner would probably be pissed that you didn’t piss.

14

Gear wise having your own mask and fins is going to be needed for class usually

having your own mask is important
IMHO for good fit I always liked Tusa masks or cressi sub
But a good low volume mask is important over larger
Someone mentioned avoid purge masks ! Agree
Also avoid side windows etc…
Slap straps are nice on masks !
Also the strap just holds the mask on your head but does not make the seal that is just water pressure so your mask can be strapped on lightly :slight_smile:
If you come up with mask face chances are it was to tight :slight_smile:

Fins I prefer foot pocket fins for warm water much better control and feel than bootie style fins ! But if beaches are nasty or in cold water you need booty style fins
So something to think about what where you are going to dive
Get good fins though :slight_smile: you might get some fins then a year or so later after diving and trying out a bunch find ones you like better or a second pair ?

The creature thing is funny :slight_smile:
My saying was dont touch it unless it touches you first :slight_smile:

Minimal dive gear agree on the big dive knife avoid it ! Use a pair of emt sheers
Backwings are nice for adv diving I have some DUI stuff
But low profile regular BCD are nice for rec companies like Seaquest etc…
Dont rush into buying a bunch of stuff besides your mask fins and carry a spare strap !
Next gear is a set of regs
Get nice stuff wont go into it to much but spend the coin get nice stuff
Diving 6 days a week for a living I can say nice gear is worth every penny !

Just like shooting take your time renting some gear and using the boats gear at first is a good way to try out other stuff

Ditto the over gear load
Dont worry about what tech divers are wearing or try to look like one :slight_smile: hahahaha
Used to see a lot of that when I worked in Chuuk would see some folks a bit to geared out !having a clip on gauges to keep tight is nice but small brass dog clipmor claw hook with zip ties and clipping to a ring is OK to keep from dangling butnleave it at that for now :slight_smile:
Often told divers on my boat OK you dont need that you wont need this and this is bad cause of this

Diving should be fun and not a reason to go gear overboard :slight_smile: simple and minimal is best

Depending on shape you are in freediving is where its at IMHO and worth checking out maybe
Nothing like it being able to dive in the 80-120 foot range and cruise around with no tanks or going down to 30 feet or so for 3 minutes or so is so so so fun

15

I had some first gen ScubaPro split fins which absolutely sucked. Atomic Smoke fins are better, but I have gotten away form them. Any time you see some deceptive marketing along the lines of “move faster with less effort” run away. This is total bullshit. Less effort means less propulsion. Lazy divers like them, but that’s because they don’t require as much effort to kick. They usually require you to kick faster to catch someone with solid fins.

For our Caribbean travels, my wife and I bought Aqualung Full-Foot Express fins. These are lightweight, very controllable, and comfortable. You can wear a thin neo-sock with them if you think you might get a blister above your heel, but I never had an issue.

For Ice Diving, I use Cressi Reaction fins because they are wider and allow me to move wearing a a drysuit and over-boots.

All normal condition diving is done with Force Fin Pro’s and 5mm boots w/ 3mm sock.

EDIT: By mechanical fins, I mean Omega Flip Fins or Aqualung Slingshot type fins. Anything that adds more possible failure points to ruin your dive or get you killed. Obviously not much of an issue if you only go 30ft. deep in the Caribbean.

16

I guess ? :slight_smile:
Piss before hand :slight_smile: most adults can piss before doing things or hold it ?
Most of my diving was in warm wetsuit climates when I had to piss I would unzip my suit and whip it out !
But that was rare and only on long dives like 4 hours total cause of deco stops etc…

Cold weather we dove in drysuits :slight_smile: cant piss in those unless you tube up

We would also tell folks when borrowing suits :slight_smile:
Dont piss in our suits and we wont piss on your clothes !

Again no reason to do this ? Its some stupid left over idiot thing that is still kicking around a bit

like wearing a huge knife on your ankle where it snags is hard to reach and justmgets in the way ?

Maybe I am different cause I taught for so long and dove 6 days a week for a living ?

Like shooting maybe watching some guy who was actually some spec ops guy gear up and watching a guy who has seen to many movies gear up for just going out to a range or shooting spot with some buds since most rec diving is just going out with some buds having fun not gong on some mission ?

I bet some snipers and othernsoldiers pissed their pants on a long mission cause they had no choice but I also bet most would try to whip it out but if I go shooting with my buddies I am not going to piss my pants to try to be cool :slight_smile:

17

Those cressi reaction remind me of The mares avanti that I liked for open foot
Nice simple clean design :slight_smile:

Agree with ya on simple fin designs some fins these days are just stupid !

Mares used to make these long plana avanti full foot
Not as long as my cressi garas but long
Loved those fins !

18

I’m 5’11" 205.
My loadout:

Wing: Oxycheq Mach V Extreme 18lb. Travel wing (integral STA)
Backplate: Oxycheq Travel Plate (Fabric style)
Harness: Oxycheq Hog Harness (basic)
Wetsuit: Bare 1.5mm Full (size L)
Vest: Bare 2mm sport vest (not shown, under suit)
Mask: Atomic Frameless
Fins: Aqualung Express Full-foot
Regs: Zeagle ZX Flathead 7 (Yoke)
Octo: Zeagle Z Octopus (worn on silicon reg necklace)
LP Hoses: XS Scuba MiFlex (These are awesome)
HP Hose: Standard Rubber HP
Computer: Uwatec Aladin 2G Wrist Computer
Compass: Suunto SK7 Wrist mount
Pressure Gauge: HOG SPG 2"
Light: Intova Nova Torch
Weight: 10lbs on belt.
Tank: Aluminum 80

Not sure if I’m missing anything…

You don’t need a 30lb. BC for Caribbean diving. Most places give you a huge BC and a shit-ton of weight; just more mass you have to move through the water.
My 18lb. wing is so small you can’t see it on my back, even fully inflated.

19

I was gonna say something, but I would come across as an asshole, so I’m not. Fine, don’t pee your 'suit.

20

If temps are in 40s I am diving dry :slight_smile:

Now being in the water on a small boat all day and having to take a dump is more a prediciment to be in :slight_smile:

Oh you changed your post ?
Not ass hole to say what you think ?
Again if some folks like to piss on themselves ? I guess thats fine if the’re into that thing :slight_smile: