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First, we go over the dive plan. Some are short and quick, others can sometimes be more involved. Then we do a 'head to toe' gear check. One person leads the check, calling out the items to check and the others in turn return a confirmation for each item - checking their own gear. We have long...

Aside from the above - courses (FWTW, Intro to Tech gets my vote for your situation), getting out diving more, and a recommendation on an Instructor - all good, but also do what most fail to do - become an informed customer as you should with any service or product. Unfortunately, not all tech...

I've been making cave diving trips to the Tulum area for the last 11 years, and as an aquatic biologist (specializing in freshwater tropical ecosystems and species) noticed immediately that some of the fishes displayed signs of a toxic environment - split fins, dissolved membranes between both...

One of the best cenotes for floating (face down with a snorkel, of course!) and an easy cavern dive - with a guide, is Ponderosa, or Eden. It has lots of shallow areas full of fishes (sailfin mollies and cichlids) as well as slightly deeper areas to explore on scuba. It also has good facilities...

For cave diving - and pretty much all other kinds of diving I'm involved in, it generally breaks down as follows: - while on the move, light signals. - while stopped for navigation procedures (jumps and the like), hand signals. - while moving or stopped in extremely low vis, touch contact.

Hey John, I haven't traveled as much as you have, but I think I understand your point. I read your PDF and it struck a few chords. When my wife started diving I couldn't wait to show her the amazing diversity of fishes and inverts in the tropics - not knowing at the time of her certification...

Absolutely not. In fact, if I had voluntary control, I'd close all non-necessary (for the dive) orifices! I can't speak to Florida, but in Mexico the cenotes are polluted - evidenced by the often very poor condition of the fishes. Some show it more than others such as Mayan cichlids (Mayaheros...

In accordance with the family's wishes, I have to withhold the diver's name, but can disclose some details as to the cause of the accident. The accident occurred when the diver's scooter tow-rope accidentally got caught on, and depressed, the trigger causing the scooter to run. As the scooter...

I had the same thing when pressing my 1978 Conshelf back into service a few years ago. To use in cold water I needed another LP plug for my drysuit. So I got a splitter from the shop and was in business. The routing turned out very clean and the reg is a dream compared to my over-priced, modern...

Yup - a couple of years ago I pulled the trigger on my first made-to-measure drysuit in over 40 years of diving. Now with well over 200 dives on it, not a single regret, other than I should have done it a long time ago. I'm also not an 'off the rack' sized guy. I got a BARE HDC Tech Dry suit - I...

If you don't mind on-line shopping - or at least on-line browsing over the 49th, Northern Light Ca. may be able to help. The owner (Rene) makes very rugged battery packs, lights and in very limited volumes, a heated vest - all crafted with the best materials and workmanship. You can find him on...

In 2010, when I completed full cave course with Bil Phillips, a minor restriction was defined as one where divers could only pass single file, and a major restriction was where contact with the cave was unavoidable - short of not going. Gear removal was not 'a thing'.

Boulderjohn's advice (getting used to it) is 100% valid and is an important part of the process, but there are a couple of aspects worth knowing in advance - as your tech instructor will hopefully show you. I'm in the camp of all decos and stages on the left - when they are 'up front'...

All great questions. Fabio nailed it - to me this is the very essence of the human factors aspect in recreational diving. The assessment of risk is up to the individual involved. We don't have a governing body to assess the risks for us and don't have to abide by any formal mitigation measures...

I dove a Fusion drysuit for 8 years averaging a little over 100 dives a year in it. Aside from a little wear and tear - completely expected, it performed very well. Never had a leak except for some early sock issues that were eventually resolved. However, I never liked the fit. If you happen to...

Hi Fabio, First, thanks very much for sharing your story. Brave folks like you, sharing what didn't work as planned, is one of the very few ways we get to learn from experiences in the real world. My first point - I hope you and your buddies had a good debrief after this dive. It sounds like...

I could maybe understand the depth attempt if he had invented some new type of experimental kit and had proven it in shallower water. A depth record attempt with conventional OC gear seems much less likely to make an important contribution to the diving community.

Sorry to hear of all the leaky socks on the Fusion. However, the issue is hardly new. Back in 2009 my wife and I bought Fusions and both leaked in the first few months - and both from the socks. I recall there were two leaking events separated by a few months of dry diving. At that time, the...

What you see on the training agency website may be one thing, checking the websites of the individual dive ops may be another. NSS-CDS may state that the Intro/Basic course is a minimum of two days, but very often cave instructors add an additional day. The reasons could range from an assessment...

Hi DDKL, I've been going to Mexico for cave diving once or twice a year for 8 years. I'm a fish-nerd and u/w photographer, so, whenever possible, after a cave dive I spend a bunch of time in the cenote photographing the fishes. I used to wear a 3mm drysuit hood (no bib, and with a 5mm wetsuit)...