Search results

It would help to know your overall budget as well as where in the US you are located. You mentioned Bonaire, and it is a great place for beginners. Currents are generally mild to non-existent for the vast majority of dive sites, and there are plenty of shallower sites. Even the deeper ones...

I didn't do any solo diving when I was there, but the Ocean Encounters staff are all pretty chill. Get your tokens for fills at the front desk and then ask one of the staff to grab you some tanks. Gear up and head down to the beach and you should be good to go. Not sure if they'll say...

Thanks for catching that. My eyes saw “go” and my brain filled in the rest. I still wouldn’t bother with jet fins for anything except drysuit diving. And even then I’d choose something else.

If you enjoy diving with bricks on your feet, then go ahead and spend the money on jet fins. I don't know how that will improve your SAC rate, but you'll certainly build muscle lugging them around to dive sites. I use GoSports when I dive warm water, and I think they're great. They are light...

I have several Henderson suits and yeah, it would be nice if they had a velcro cover. But I've found that the small amount of pilling doesn't really impact the lifespan of the suit. One thing I do is to keep the velcro tab attached to the other side of the neck whenever I can. For example...

Ocean Encounters is the name of the dive op at Lions Dive. The shore dive is called Stella Maris. Note that you have to tow a flag or SMB because the swim out and back is in a boat channel. There is a thick line on the bottom that runs along the side that guides you from the beach entry out to...

To give you an example of Gilboa water temps for mid-August 2024: 77 degrees F @ 22' (platforms) 69 degrees F @ 35' 59 degrees F @ 45' 50 degrees F @ 60' White Star temps for same period: 76 degrees F @ 22' 61 degrees F @ 45' 58 degrees F @ 60' The period from about mid-August through the...

I've been to both, and enjoyed both. Cozumel, as you state, is mostly about drift diving. Currents in Curacao are generally mild. When I was in Cozumel (Nov. 2023) the reefs were bleached pretty badly after an extended period of abnormally warm ocean temperatures. But while the coral was in...

What brand(s) does the shop you’ll be doing your DMC (or working as a DM when done) with sell? Some shops only want their pros in equipment they sell. Others don’t care.

Just sign up for an American Red Cross adult first aid/AED/CPR class. Blended is usually the easiest, but you can do class-only if you prefer. With the blended option you do the online portion and then show up for the in-class part, where you'll demonstrate the skills (AED use, chest...

You can also try a boot tray. That's what I use.

Rolling this product out doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In addition to all of the issues people have already raised, there is the additional problem that people are not likely to purchase a brand-new, expensive, electronic piece of gear at a time when AL seems to be circling the drain...

Says who? These are two baseless assumptions you are making. The vast majority of dive shops/ops certainly do monitor the quality of their instructors. Just because there is a financial incentive to sell courses doesn't mean that there isn't also an incentive to keep those courses high...

March is at the tail end of the rainy season, so you may experience some intermittent showers. In my experience, showers are almost always very brief and usually occur in the very early morning hours. Topside temps are usually quite pleasant. Water temps are usually around 79-80. Bonaire is a...

I generally don’t rinse my gear in the communal rinse tanks unless I happen to get there when they are being filled with fresh water. Otherwise you are just rinsing your gear in increasingly salty, dirty water. For wetsuits, you end up rinsing it in other people’s diluted urine. What I usually...

Okay, I'll bite. The problem is that the conversation is rarely along the lines of "Hey, there are some benefits of using a long-hose primary and an octo on a bungee. Here are what those benefits are. Think about it and see if it might fit your diving style, and maybe you'll want to give it a...

I came to diving and to Scubaboard well after the DIR wars, which I didn't even know existed until this thread. But it became instantly apparent to me that, on the whole, the DIR crowd had/has a strong tendency towards dogmatism. That is what most recreational divers find so off-putting. The...

My DUI silicone neck seal is the same way. It’s a problem with cone-shaped seals, as opposed to bottle-shapes ones, compounded when the wearer doesn’t have a thick neck. Don’t cut off more rings than necessary for a good fit or you’ll risk leaking. Instead, you’ll just have to deal with pulling...

This pretty much sums it up. Crushed neoprene is very durable easy to repair. Most come standard with a neoprene neck and wrist seals, although some can be upgraded to latex or silicone. Some people love neoprene seals, but in my experience latex and silicone are better. Back-zip suits are...