Been busy diving

[J-Vo]

+1 for the wetsuit P valve

 

[Marie13]

New wetsuit arrived today. Fits pretty decently, except for the legs. I'm going to have to chop 6" off the bottom of the legs. Shrimp problems!

Talked to a friend about how she packs her gear (travels a lot). Will be ordering an REI wheeled duffle later.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Will be ordering an REI wheeled duffle later.

I have one of those, the now discontinued tech duffel but it is functionally the same except it had a separate boot compartment. I mostly use it for lighter but larger volume items, like my clothing. Not very good for dive gear because it is very narrow and tall.

For dive gear I use a Samsonite hard sided spinner bag. I got it at Sam's Club years ago, probably at least a decade old and been around the world a few times along with the REI bags I own. They both weigh about the same at 12lbs. But the Samsonite is wider, which fits the BCD better. Both it and the REI duffel are great options as they are fairly light weight, and they don't scream "Expensive dive gear in here!"

 

[Marie13]

I have one of those, the now discontinued tech duffel but it is functionally the same except it had a separate boot compartment. I mostly use it for lighter but larger volume items, like my clothing. Not very good for dive gear because it is very narrow and tall.

For dive gear I use a Samsonite hard sided spinner bag. I got it at Sam's Club years ago, probably at least a decade old and been around the world a few times along with the REI bags I own. They both weigh about the same at 12lbs. But the Samsonite is wider, which fits the BCD better. Both it and the REI duffel are great options as they are fairly light weight, and they don't scream "Expensive dive gear in here!"

Friend uses uses it for dive gear, including drysuit, frequently. I'll carry on my regs, computers, and lights. I have a carryon sized wheeled bag. I have a larger Samsonite hard sided spinner bag and my Nomad takes up one entire side of it. The REI duffle weights just under 10lbs. My Nomad is 10lbs. Debating if I'll take my reels to save weight. Instructor said I could borrow from her. I might just take my 250ft DR Sidewinder and borrow everything else.

When it comes to clothes I can be quite the minimal packer. I'd go for a long weekend to visit friends with just a small duffle when I would fly before. Packing cubes are so handy. A couple of bathing suits and rash guards. I live in leggings and t-shirts, which roll small.

 

[rddvet]

I avoid hard sided bags. They aren’t that much more secure, but they weigh more so you had to play packing Tetris for a while till you get the weight right. We had hard sided luggage for a while. We went cave diving in France and upgraded luggage for the trip. The hard sided has not been missed 8 years later.

 

[Ulfhedinn]

Friend uses uses it for dive gear, including drysuit, frequently. I'll carry on my regs, computers, and lights. I have a carryon sized wheeled bag. I have a larger Samsonite hard sided spinner bag and my Nomad takes up one entire side of it. The REI duffle weights just under 10lbs. My Nomad is 10lbs. Debating if I'll take my reels to save weight. Instructor said I could borrow from her. I might just take my 250ft DR Sidewinder and borrow everything else.

When it comes to clothes I can be quite the minimal packer. I'd go for a long weekend to visit friends with just a small duffle when I would fly before. Packing cubes are so handy. A couple of bathing suits and rash guards. I live in leggings and t-shirts, which roll small.

Packing cubes are excellent!

 

[Chris H]

Yep. As far as I can tell, some shops won’t fill O2 to service pressure for safety reasons, it seems.

If I had to guess, I’d say they don’t have a booster. They can transfill from a full Oxygen bottle to get you around 2400-2600psi.

 

[Tracy]

If I had to guess, I’d say they don’t have a booster. They can transfill from a full Oxygen bottle to get you around 2400-2600psi.

Or for safety reasons as she suggested. I probably have more boosters than the rest of the state's dive shops combined, I still only fill oxygen to 3000. My reading and understanding is that it gets testy after that, so why bother? It isn't like another 500 psi is going to make or break a dive.

 

[Chris H]

Or for safety reasons as she suggested. I probably have more boosters than the rest of the state's dive shops combined, I still only fill oxygen to 3000. My reading and understanding is that it gets testy after that, so why bother? It isn't like another 500 psi is going to make or break a dive.

OK. My CCR cylinders are Aluminum, so I boost to 3000. I completely agree that a few hundred psi isn’t going to make a break a CCR dive.

 

[Marie13]

Got hotel for MX trip. $406 for the week through Booking.com's app. There were lots of app only discounts. It was something like half off usual price. Within 5 minutes of instructor's home in a well-trafficked area and a lot of students stay there. Good reviews. Aventura Mexicana Hotel. I'm amazed how cheap it is! Can cancel without penalty up to two days before trip.