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Southside

Contributor
Messages
209
Reaction score
183
Location
Chicago
# of dives
50 - 99
I did two dives in 2017 out of Playa del Carmen and Fell in love. Finished the classroom and confined water dives for my OW and am waiting for the water to warm up to do the final dives, they're scheduled for the first weekend in May at Haigh Quarry. I'm taking a Nitrox class and have plans to do my AOW this summer. Looking forward to doing some dives in Lake Michigan and explore some of what the midwest has to offer. Bonne Terre mines are on the list, gonna do a trip there in October through the LDS.
 
I’m one of the diehard Great Lakes divers here. I’m in the Chicago area and hit Lake Michigan dang near every weekend, both days, during the season.

Which dive shop?
 
Got Air Scuba, they seemed to have really good reviews. I'm very happy with them. What are some other good shops?
 
Got Air Scuba, they seemed to have really good reviews. I'm very happy with them. What are some other good shops?

Have you come across the asst instructor with the Scottish accent? I used to work with him. Small world. Didn't know he was a diver when we worked together.

I'm with Dive Right in Scuba in Plainfield - same owner as Double Action (charter op). I drive 50 miles each way to get to the shop from where I live in the NW burbs. I just happened to pick them based on an out of town friend's recommendation (he had bought from their online shop), which was a very fortunate thing. I'm damn near obsessed with Great Lakes wrecks (not a warm water diver) and DRIS really promotes the local diving. They even put OW students in drysuits if they want. Warmer at the quarry. Well worth the drive, even for fills. A number of the warm water shops near me can't even fill my high pressure steel tanks full. I called around. I don't even bother with the other shops anymore. DRIS' customer service is second to none.

DRIS is even on SB. Have their own little subforum.

If all you want to do is very occasional warm water diving, then pretty much any of the shops will do, but DRIS stands out big time.
 
Have you come across the asst instructor with the Scottish accent? I used to work with him. Small world. Didn't know he was a diver when we worked together.

I'm with Dive Right in Scuba in Plainfield - same owner as Double Action (charter op). I drive 50 miles each way to get to the shop from where I live in the NW burbs. I just happened to pick them based on an out of town friend's recommendation (he had bought from their online shop), which was a very fortunate thing. I'm damn near obsessed with Great Lakes wrecks (not a warm water diver) and DRIS really promotes the local diving. They even put OW students in drysuits if they want. Warmer at the quarry. Well worth the drive, even for fills. A number of the warm water shops near me can't even fill my high pressure steel tanks full. I called around. I don't even bother with the other shops anymore. DRIS' customer service is second to none.

DRIS is even on SB. Have their own little subforum.

If all you want to do is very occasional warm water diving, then pretty much any of the shops will do, but DRIS stands out big time.
No I haven't had a chance to meet him yet, I'm sure I will in the future!

Read into DRIS they look like a great shop, I might take some classes there when I venture into the tech diving side of things. My ultimate goal is to see some of the wrecks that are deeper in the lake.

Do you have wrecks that you would consider must see that are at beginner depths?
 
No I haven't had a chance to meet him yet, I'm sure I will in the future!

Read into DRIS they look like a great shop, I might take some classes there when I venture into the tech diving side of things. My ultimate goal is to see some of the wrecks that are deeper in the lake.

Do you have wrecks that you would consider must see that are at beginner depths?

The non-tech instructors are excellent. And the classes aren’t huge like I see from most of the other shops at the quarry (aka diver factories).

Louisville, 60ft. Material Service Barge, 35ft. Tacoma, 35ft.
 
Welcome to ScubaBoard and congratulations on getting close to certification.
 
The non-tech instructors are excellent. And the classes aren’t huge like I see from most of the other shops at the quarry (aka diver factories).

Louisville, 60ft. Material Service Barge, 35ft. Tacoma, 35ft.
“Diver factories?”
 

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