Don't recall if this has been mentioned yet; get a lot closer to the equator than you're used to being, and the burning power of sunlight seems to pick up. Sunscreen is your friend in Bonaire; some of us pasty white folks can burn surprisingly fast. A few follow up thoughts:
1.) I like the Stream2Sea sunscreen. I once used one of those aerosol spray-on sunscreens from a big box store on my forehead in Bonaire and it ran down and got in my eye. The short-term burning was bad enough, but the notably altered color perception for a day or so freaked me out.
2.) I'm one of those people without much knack for subtlety - when I use sunscreen, I look like I got beat up with talcum powder. If you want to reduce the 'I rolled in Crisco' look, you can wear a shade hat (get one with a string that runs under your chin, for boats and windy locations) and wear a lycra dive skin (not too expensive, weight-neutral).
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A product endorsement. I had a Princeton Tec Miniwave (like the Shockwave, but more compact because it's got fewer batteries). I liked the 'wide angle' lighting. Noticed a lot of dive lights use a much narrower beam, and it's more intense so can be handy. I discovered Big Blue has one with a 'twist to adjust' beam that goes from pretty narrow to pretty wide, can be had on Amazon for around $150. I like mine, and I don't know why I don't read more about this from people. I like the flexibility of an adjustable light.
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Stainless steel dive knives rust up too fast. Earlier on I didn't understand this; BCD stainless steel rings don't rust, so why should the knives? The things cost around $40 and are commonly sold; they ought to last, right?
Frankly, no. And if there's someone out there who routinely diligently washes their knives post-dive with freshwater and dries, that someone is not me. Tried one of those cheap Black Friday special 'titanium-coated' dive knives...rusted up, too.
I use a Trilobyte, which is very compact and sits on my chest strap, but I wanted a knife. The main 2 options (each costing about double what a stainless steel dive knife does):
1.) Titanium knives - light, very rust resistant, I've never tried to sharpen one so I'm not up on edge-holding.
2.) H1-Steel knives - some of the Spyderco line. Bought one. Neglect the crap out of it; live-aboards, Bonaire, this thing doesn't get rinsed till trip's end. I was told residue from a bit can allow faint rust where they carve in the insignia, and I saw that. Over several years it was gradually built up some rust...but at this rate, I'm okay with it.
I chose a folding knife model; still not fully decided on the pro.s & con.s of folding vs. not, and this knife didn't come with a convenient scuba-friendly holder to put on webbing.
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Would never again buy a BCD with 1 tank strap.
Strongly prefer a BCD to have weight trim pockets.
Only interested in BCDs with weight-integrated systems (as my BP/W now has); you can wear a weight belt in spite of having a weight-integrated system (and may need to, in places where weight sizes are limited and exposure protection needs raise your weight requirement - hello, Galapagos!).
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Weight belts use a buckle release. So does my BP/W waist strap. With dive gloves on, they feel a lot alike. In some settlings, it's expected divers should take off their BCD rig to be pulled aboard a dive boat or panga, and in some places it's not practical to go find dropped weight belts. Turns out a weight belt loaded with weights costs money.
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A detailed, systematic pre-dive self-gear check, and repeat to see you've got everything before exiting the dive boat, is your friend. I've jumped in with air off, with no fins, left a pair of Atomic Smoke-On-The-Water fins on a dive boat (on a cruise vacation; no going back), and I never figured out what happened to a wet suit I used to have...no idea when, where or how I managed to lose that.
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An SMB with finger spool ought to be standard ocean diving gear. How many lost at sea of 'found drifting after several hours' threads to we have to read on Scuba Board? Our little heads are hard to see at a distance even in fairly calm seas. At least a 4-foot brightly colored inflatable tube works wonders for visibility, and might even aid surface flotation a bit.
I'm even very slowly, grudgingly, coming to entertain the notion a Nautilis Lifeline or other 'PLB' type product might be worthwhile.
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Picked up an
XS Scuba X5 Hanger that holds my dive boots open and a bit upside down, and it really aids drying. It's an accessories hanger, not a wetsuit hanger. In a world of impulse buy dive accessories...I like this thing.
