The Importance of Logging your Dives. The Advantages for new divers (and old)

[Esprise Me]

I guess after a certain number of dives one gets a good sense of how much exposure protection they need for any given set of conditions (it's not just water temp, but also air temp, depth, sunlight, wind, number of dives, and opportunity to warm up in between), even without keeping a log. But I'm still finding the log book helpful for that. Local conditions are kinda borderline between OK in a 7mm and drysuit-mandatory for me. I'd rather dive wet if I can do so without getting chilled. After more than 100 local dives I think I've finally got the hang of it. I'm still figuring it out for warmer waters. Maybe I'm just a slow learner.

 

[Trailboss123]

I do log my dives. It is not a badge of honor. I enjoy it and find it entertaining and informative to reflect on.
I just got to tell a friend that we have done 107 dives together, because I kept track. He loved it.

I have done 257 dives with my wife and apparently I am my own favorite buddy, since I have done 259 solo dives.

I started out logging manually in a log book. Since I dive between 150-200 times a year; I moved to digital download about 8 years ago, but I value logging my dives regardless of format or platform. I do it because I like having a record of experiences and conditions. I dive in so many different environments, it is nice to have a record to reference for weighting and thermal protection purposes. Not to mention dive conditions at different times of the year in different locales.

I have only ever been asked to show or verify my dive count for specific certifications that have required it (twice).
Lots of dive ops ask for your dive count or "most recent" dive to be filled out on a liability form, but never actually require or verify confirmation in my experience.

I always have a digital download on my phone- just in case.

 

[ls1dreams]

New-ish diver here (~ 33 dives). I find the logs useful for weighting purposes mostly. Helps remind me what weight configuration felt over or underweighted for various wetsuit setups.

I still don't feel like I've quite nailed it down (usually end up either feeling underweighted near the end of the dive or overweighted at the beginning). But, I do feel like I at least have a sense within 4lbs at most in common scenarios, and I -think- I could guess within 2lbs.

 

[Doc Harry]

Logging dives is important for two reasons:
1. To keep track of your weight requirements with different suits and configurations
2. To satisfy instructors that you are qualified for a particular class or dive

Once I got through all the training that I was going to do, and hit 500 dives, I quit logging my dives

 

[kelemvor]

"Old fashioned paper"

I too remember scratching lead on to dead bleached tree parts. Gory.

These days you either download the logs from your computer into subsurface or maybe use a lesser technology.

 

[gbf]

I started in 1976ish, and kept a log for a long time for multiple reasons:

1. We had Abe Davis in our sights and had to have the records for it (never did do the paperwork for it).
2. We did a bunch of woods-walking in the wilderness south of Marianna. Directions to interesting holes were in my log. You know, "go until you get to the green trailer house and turn right on the dirt road. There's a big oak tree..."
3. Anything unusual or out of the ordinary about the dive, e.g., in-cave decompression required, where the line starts, leads we might want to check out, etc.

My logs burned in a house fire in the mid 80's and I just never started back up.

 

[spectrum]

I have logged everything and it's a great resource and priceless keepsake.

I dive configurations from swim trunks to cold water drysuit and with many different cylinders. Being able to go back for weighting and configuration variables is very, very helpful.

Being able to relive dive outings from my notes, who, what, where, dining after, you name it is fun now and wlil be priceless if I ever need to hang up my fins.

I can go back and cite multiple water temperatures when we talk about global warming.

I have all of the information to tally my SAC if I want to monitor or track it.

I tally lifetime and year to date dive counts.

I used to use a spreadsheet in Excel. Lately I use a 3X3 post it note per dive, I have arrived at a shorthand for a lot of it, 6 to a page in page protectors to note it all. it's all in a zip-up binder along with other reference materials. The downside to paper it that it is harder to back-up. I have avoided dive computer programs as a long term record sine many rely on unique applications for access and those will eventually be unsupported files. I suppose one could print those records or export PDF files but that seems low density if you desire carrying hard copy along.

For odd activities, like pool dives I still log the event, I just don't increment the count. Odds are I was testing something and wand a record of it. It's your log make it serve your needs.

Pete

 

[Storker]

It's your log make it serve your needs.

Bottom line.

I log whatever I feel for. The number of dives I report to others has only a fleeting connection with my personal log.

 

[HantsDiver]

What benefit to me do I get from 'logging' a dive?

My exposure protection in normal dives never changes. I have my own dry suit and my own undersuit. If it feels cold I will put some air in my drysuit and take a bit out of my wing. I will always dive with gloves and a hood. If I dive somewhere without this it I can guestimate my weighting accurately.

I'm always very overweighted. As I use a steel twinset and usually some stages. At the end of my dive I will still be overweighted. That will never change. I have zero interest in wasting time and money by changing my backplate to aluminium etc. I would back myself to have better buoyancy from many of the divers who want to test it to the nearest gram. When I was an active instructor in warm water I'd ALWAYS have extra weight in my BCD pockets for obvious reasons.

If I was to go somewhere which didn't accept my ability to dive without a logbook it would be no problem for me. It would show me that they are not the sort of people I'd wish to dive with anyway. Win-win.

Logbooks are for useful for those who want them. Or very new divers. Forcing them on others is not acceptable.

 

[TMHeimer]

Weights.. water temps. Crap, do you have to note that in a log book? How many varied sites do you dive? I know I've said that before, so sue me.