Search results

I also don't see how anybody can make judgments about the class or instructor without actually being there to see what happened - stuff like this will happen with beginning students no matter how closely they are watched and no matter how good the instructor may be. I also didn't get the part...

In the NAUI system, at least, the Nitrox (they prefer "EANx") class does *not* require AOW certification, and I am not aware that any other agencies require AOW before Nitrox. You should be able to do the two courses together, and do at least two of your AOW dives on Nitrox, with those dives...

I don't agree with the second statement, and I don't think the first is likely to be very helpful. As to the first, it would be pretty amazing if a person in an OW class and the first time in the pool didn't have some issues with buoyancy control and the like. I don't think that's even an...

Interesting - the principal reason I finally decided *not* to try skydiving is that it depended too much on the equipment. Likewise with the bungee jumping (never tried it, and never will) - if my life ever depends on some other guy's ability to tie a proper knot, I know I'm as good as dead...

The AOW cert should allow you to choose specialty dives that are appropriate for that type of course - e.g., night dive generally means *one* of the AOW dives is a night dive. There are some types of diving that should not be introduced in that kind of "intro" format - cave diving, for example...

I've run into a few like that, and I avoid them, too. But in the end, you have to deal with somebody, and the relation between a diver and *some* LDS is basically symbiotic - neither can really get along without the other, and neither can really afford to drive the other one away. And...

Toni, I don't think there is any reason to worry in advance about what the doctor will say - go find out. I think it's a very good idea to get checked out by a doctor, but I would be more concerned about the result of tests relating to your general physical condition (i.e., the smoking and what...

I am not and never have been a regular cold water diver, but if you're going to be diving in that area, I can't imagine that you could get by with less than a 7mm wetsuit. I don't know about package deals, because I prefer to pick and choose, and I don't know anything about either BC. As...

A lot of things about this story didn't make sense to me, but if I am remembering it correctly, the article suggested that the problem was that the deceased diver or his buddy closed the deceased diver's tank valve to turn off the air while they fiddled with the power inflation hose and tried to...

Well, don't I feel like the chump - I spent $11,000 to get the titanium kitchen sink because it was so much lighter than the steel, and then figured out that I had to add 88 pounds to my weight belt just to get my buoyancy back to where I was with the steel.

Well, there's nothing magical about 15' for a safety stop; it can be done just as well at 20' and especially if you need to hang on a line from a boat that is moving up and down pretty good, you might prefer to stop at 20' instead of 15'. There are lots of people who do their stops at 20' all...

I'm 50. Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill every time.

"Enemies"?! And I thought it all looked so peaceful down there ...

You can go with different brands, generally speaking. There may be some compatibility issues from differences in the intermediate pressures from the first stage for which the second stage(s) are designed, but you can check for that before matching them up - I can't answer with respect to...

Keep asking questions and change your mind as often as you like before you spend a lot of money; it's better to wait and get what you really want than to get your stuff all at once and regret buying half of it. While you're waiting, you can learn a lot about all of that stuff that other people...

Until you've done it a lot, I think it's very hard for people to learn how to adjust their buoyancy correctly while their momentum is carrying them up or down; you're almost inevitably going to be overcorrecting in both directions, and yanking yourself around like a yo-yo. In other words, if...

I didn't get the impression that the diver was complaining: "The boat captain beat the shark over the head with a metal bar before pulling Mark to safety. "It took a few weeks to sink into what happened. And, when I watched the DVD, it brought it back, says Mark. "I'm glad I did it. I...

That's a hell of a furnace. I suppose that would probably count as a warm water dive, if the furnace is still churning away down there under water, huh? So what does the diver wear, 3 mm?

Okay, I admit I probably misunderestimated the usefulness of backing up. Outside of wrecks and photographers (and I don't go into tight caves) I have seen a lot more people practicing and showing each other backing up than I have ever seen using it for a reason in open water. I have strong...

I second Immersed's comments, and there is nothing wrong with using a mask with a purge valve in it for the kind of diving you are going to be doing. One other observation - you said part of your problem was that you were "pulling the mask too far away from your face" when you were clearing...