Got certified, now what?

[tep]

My wife and I cert'ed when we lived in Phoenix - we ended up making the occasional 3 day weekend trips to San Diego as often as we could. Then we moved here

If you can swing it, there are Meetup groups that hit Tuesday and Thursday afternoon/evenings and Saturday and Sunday mornings. Very welcoming and I always seem to meet some visiting divers every time I get wet.

But as above - skills - buoyancy/hovering and the basics are the key. Stress&Rescue when you're ready is always a good idea. Even if you never need to rescue, it will make you think about your own diving skills and planning ahead for "that one time".

 

[Scuba Fluff's Girl]

Lake Pleasant sucks, but it's good practice. I'll swing up to put hours on my CCR before a big cave trip, and it's definitely a good place to practice skills. It's pretty chilly this time of year. If you're not in a drysuit, it's not comfortable.

Ha ha yep I know! I think the coldest I saw on the computer a couple weekends ago was 50 degrees. We were in wet suits, the instructor was in a dry suit. Instructor complained about getting her arm wet because, I’m like my whole body is wet.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

As stated by JohnnyC, local diving, even if not so desirable, is a good way to freshen up those skills. If you have 50 degree water in winter, I'd suggest looking into dry suit certification, so you can rent. Unless you decide to dive a lot, I don't see a return on the investment of a dry suit (my most expensive piece of equipment by far).

Good luck

 

[Divectionist]

If you know SCUBA is for you, go ahead and research every piece of gear and buy the right stuff at good quality and nothing less.

Then take your gear and dive locally with the aim to streamline it (hose lengths, where things are stowed, etc), tweak it, get your weights and distribution for best trim right for various type of tanks/changes in exposure protection and note all of these things down for future reference. Then you are ready to gather experience with a setup you know and trust.

If it was me:

Computer - get a good one with AI, Buhlmann algorithm ideally custom gradient factors, nitrox etc., to future proof it as you advance (yes Shearwater fanboy)
BCD - get a BP/W, steel if mainly local, alu if mainly travel, simple webbing harness, 30lb or so wing if diving single tanks (take a look at XDEEP, I would if I was in the market)
Regs - get a high quality set, balanced, environmentally sealed, Venturi/WOB adjustment on second stage, don't skimp on the Octo (Scubapro is a solid choice)
Mask - consider a frameless design for the best field of view, get two and carry one as a backup (Atomic does fine masks)
Fins - get some sturdy rubber fins with metal spring straps, fat rails that work well for a frog kick and helicopter turns (fan of the Zeagle Recon here)
DSMB - suggest a small closed oral inflate DSMB on a spool (Halcyon does a nice one)
Cutting - get a knife and a trilobite
Lights - get a couple compact lights around 1000 lume with multiple power outputs, 18650, push button (I like the Sea Dragon Mini 900)
Emergency - think about a storm whistle, your lights, a PLB in a canister if boat/remote diving
Exposure protection - get a drysuit if it's actually cold, everything else is miserable in cold water. Ideal to have a drysuit and a 5mm as it will cover a great range of conditions. Additional gear like hoods, hooded vests, socks, gloves etc. go a long way in improving comfort when diving wet.
Redundant air supply - maybe you like the idea of diving with redundant air supply right away, so consider putting your octo on a compact regulator on a slung pony bottle of sufficient capacity for your depths based on your SAC.
Tanks - if you are going local more often than not, look at getting a steel tank, Faber 85 is a beautiful choice getting some lead off you and into a nice and compact package on your back, with AL80 comparable capacity.

Do not fall for dive packages at your dive shops. Research and dig deep and you will be able to dive the same setup for a very, very long time, without regretting your 'retail outfit' choice.

 

[EberWolf]

Don't go overboard on your gear right away. Shop around and try before you buy if possible. It might look pretty on the shelf but if your not comfortable with it you won't have fun when you use it.
Also look at the type of diving you'll be doing. Your local dive gear might be different from your travel gear. Your gear might change some for different water temps as well.

Ask questions. From your LDS to here and other sites. A friend of mine is part of the "girls that scuba" facebook page.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Welcome to the beautiful underwater world!

You have been given some great suggestions so far. I think your idea of diving locally is a great one. Now what skills to work on?

I believe more new divers should practice air sharing drills. When I was getting started, my more experienced buddy would hit me with the out of air/gas (OOA/OOG) sign randomly. I never knew when it was coming. It was a great way to continue to develop the skill and to learn that as long as I remain calm, all is good.


So I would do OOA drills, keep working on buoyancy and trim so you don’t look like a seahorse in the water. Also, if you have someone who can help, the most reef friendly propulsion technique you can use is the frogkick. I highly recommend learning that as it helps not just the reefs but on gas consumption due to the built in glide cycle.

Keep diving and keep us updated!

 

[Eksilbergenseren]

Buy twice! (No, I am not joking)
There is now way you can detail the perfect package for you up front, so do not burn all your time and money trying to get it perfect.

Look at rental gear, and used gear prices, and do a simple cost/benefit-analysis. Buy whatever i economical to buy. Rent the rest. A used BCD is much cheeper than the «perfect» one, and it does not loose half its value as you open the package. Most of my first gear got less than twenty dives, but I do not regret buying it. It gave me time and experience to know what I wanted, and that I wanted it enough to spend a months pay on it. (I do however regret not selling my first kit, because it would be a perfect low cost entry to diving for another newbee.)

The important thing is to do some dives. Do some drills, but make sure you also have fun. Even lakes have soething interesting in them. If you go only to drill, it will not last.

For single dives in a lake, the benefit of a computer is probably very limited. In tropical waters, with 2, 3 or 4 dives a day you definatly need one. Rent or buy a cheap one. The top model is probably no longer the top model the day you need the top model.

 

[Skulmoski]

You appear to be very committed to doing lots of diving so I am going to suggest a certification that requires deeper learning, but the benefits are multiple. Consider a Nitrox course since Nitrox can increase your bottom time when used appropriately. More bottom time for most is usually a good thing.

There are many agencies that offer Nitrox, and I recommend you consider the TDI, entry-level Nitrox course. If you like this flavour of training from a more technically-oriented agency, then you could take the TDI Advanced Nitrox course. These two courses would give you a solid foundation in using enriched air (21 - 100 EAN) without staged decompression. Your learning effort will be more significant than OW and AOW since some consider these two TDI Nitrox subjects to be similar to a college-level course. If you liked TDI Nitrox and Advanced Nitrox, then TDI Deco Procedures will open up an incredible world for you!

Enjoy your diving, training and continuous learning.

 

[NAM001]

Thank you! The rescue course will be the next big one we’ll go for.

give yourself a lot of time before yo do that one, you have a lot to experience between now and then

 

[Compressor]

Welcome to ScubaBoard and congratulations on getting certified @Scuba Fluff's Girl. Take your time, no reason to rush taking new courses. Buy good equipment that will last (with good care) and just dive with friends and family,

Of course during surface intervals, let us know how you are doing.