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I am considering a 2 or 3 week trip to Central America in 2009. It is going to be more of a vacation with diving than a diving vacation...I'm thinking of renting a car the whole time, and just wandering around from country to country for a while. Maybe start in Belize, and work my way south...

Probably doesn't matter for most divers, but the MK25 has a LP port on the very end, in addition to the 4 along the perimeter. I haven't ever seen anyone use it in either configuration, but pointing it downward is going to make it pretty inaccessible. Granted, you'd have to work pretty hard to...

That's right. A "stop" refers only to your vertical motion. Now bear in mind, it is trickier to maintain the right depth on your safety stop if you are moving around. I've thought I was doing it on occasion, only to have my computer tell me different later on. It was probably not enough...

I find that the initials on my gear are not as permanent as I like, and different items wear at different rates. And who knows when I am going to pick up a new piece of gear? So the sharpie is part of my kit. Most gear is dark, so I have found silver offers the best combination of...

No price is shady *if* the buyer is making an informed decision. Gearing your business toward people you know are likely not to be able to make an informed decision is unethical. To extend your analogy, nothing is wrong with selling envelops for $500...but selling them through your adult...

Like others have said, that seems to be way too high for starter gear. Could you be missing something? Maybe that package includes a wetsuit? Or perhaps part of your OW training? That price tag just seems to be go past premium equipment + LDS markup, and into shadiness. If that...

Looks like a good list. I am sure you meant to include these: Dive Log Certification/Nitrox cards I know they are automatic, but it is good to have them on the check list, just in case. I would add: tank light energy snacks decongestion kit (saline, sudafed, Afrin, etc.) towel...

I'm about the same size as the OP, and I had that same problem. I moved some of my weight to my trim pockets, and worked on my bouyancy, which helped a little. But the big thing was switching from a jacket style BC to a back inflate. Haven't had a problem since then.

I'm a pretty cold tolerant diver (lots of bioprene :) ), but after diving 57 F water in La Jolla, I've decided I'm going to need a little more than my 3mm. After getting a little sticker shock over the 5mm and 7mm suits (I need high stretch), I'm thinking of going with layering...specifically...

I did my first live aboard in May, and I don't think you have anything to worry about. I was with a group, but we "adopted" one of the solo guests and dove with her most of the trip. Also, if you wanted to dive and didn't have a buddy ready, the staff was more than willing to get wet with...

Sounds like a dream trip. I toured China last fall, and took a side trip to Bali to dive. Here a few ideas for you: Don't worry so much about checked bag fees. Most international carriers don't have extra fees (yet), and most American carriers don't apply them to international flights...

You completely miss the point. Southwest's business model is to cherry pick the most profitable routes, combining popular destinations with the cheapest airports (Midway). Wanna go to Boston? They can drop you off about an hour away, traffic permitting. How about "small" cities like...

Most of the new baggage charges are waived for "premium" travelers: people who are in the frequent flier program and fly about 25,000 miles each year on that airline. I know 25,000 miles sounds like a lot...and it is. From most of the US, one trip to Hawaii and one trip to the Caribbean will...

You also want to think about your comfort immediately before and after the dive. You *might* be able to stand a 7mm in warm water, but how about sitting on the boat in the hot sun, in your black wetsuit, waiting to get in that water?

I'm about your size and it sounds like we have a similar build. For me, the key wasn't size so much as stretch. I spent a miserable 2 hours trying on rental suits for my OW. All of them were older neoprene styles, very stiff, so nothing fit right, and it was torture trying to get them on...

The best BCD is the one you are most comfortable in. Everything else is secondary. I would recommend two things: Get some dives in - when I first got my OW, most of my attention was spent trying not to screw up. But after about 10-15 dives, things got a little more natural, and I was...

That's why I'm happy with the old silver sharpie. You might have to remark every 20-30 dives, but it is cheap, and when you start thinking about selling, just stop. :) And to all those "I know my gear" folks: The object isn't to be able to find your gear. The object is to stop other...

Diving, like a lot of hobbies (flying, skiing, golf, photography), is hard to turn into a profession: Competition is crazy. Everyone dreams about what you are looking for, and a lot of them are richer, smarter, or more skilled than you. You are going up against the 60 year old with a fat...

It is generally only illegal to discriminate against race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sometimes sexual orientation. Discriminating against divers specifically would be legal. :( But is looks like Frontier has "clarified" their policy, so the whole thing is moot...:)

I was going over my Mk25, and I noticed in addition to the 4 LP ports on the sides, it had another right on the top. I checked manual, and confirmed that was an LP port, mentioning it also had a 15% greater air flow than the others. What exactly does that mean? Is the intermediate pressure...