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During my OW I was weighted with 8 pounds. I really needed to watch my breath, full lungs and up I went. I found my breath control to be one of the more difficult aspects... I felt like like I was always thinking about breathing, how often and how deep
 
I was given 36 lbs of lead in my open water class. I was firmly cratered on the bottom during class.

When I did the drysuit course my instructor estimated 42 lbs would be the right weight to start with. After the course I started doing the weight checks and slowly paring off a couple lbs each dive. Right now I dive with 30lbs and could probably take off a couple more.
 
If you don't mind a little driving, the Scuba Shack just south of Hartford does a really nice pair of advanced buoyancy classes, basically a low key version of GUE fundies. Well worth your time. There's no reason you can't take cave or tech classes down the road if you want--I was older than you when I started.

I would stay away from Suunto computers. Take a look at the look at the Deep 6 Excursion if you need to economize.
 
If you don't mind a little driving, the Scuba Shack just south of Hartford does a really nice pair of advanced buoyancy classes, basically a low key version of GUE fundies. Well worth your time. There's no reason you can't take cave or tech classes down the road if you want--I was older than you when I started.

Great point. Depending on the OP's goals, this may be a more practical/applicable route.

I would stay away from Suunto computers. Take a look at the look at the Deep 6 Excursion if you need to economize.

Also agreed. I'd stay away from any RGBM based DC. The Excursion is a great option of Buhlmann ZH-L16c. There are other options as well. But I can't name them off the top of my head.
 
Sounds like your shop deals in Aqualumg products so try an Axiom BCD or a Rouge both are very comfortable to use, check out the i550C dive computer from Aqualung to start with or the i770R if you want a color screen, or the shearwater prefix or teric dive computers!
 
Skill set- as a new diver, I don’t know what I don’t know. It is a little overwhelming reading the boards here and feeling a little stupid. What are some of the most important skills a new diver should develop? What should I practice every dive? How to I become a good diver? Tips, advice and words of wisdom are all welcome.

I'll give you the same advice I give my OW students:

1. Be careful whom you listen to. One of the most important skills you can develop as a new diver is to learn to recognize the difference between the people that know what they're talking about and those that just like to hear themselves talk. And I'm not referring to advice here on SB... I'm talking about the people you meet while diving. The least knowledgeable people will generally be the most willing to give you unsolicited advice, most likely to be very loud and boastful about it, and be a bit too overly insistent that you do things their way. Anyone that tries to sell you their credentials by telling you how many dives they have... big red flag (regardless of how many dives they have.) The most useful advice will come from the experienced divers who observe quietly, let you do your thing, and then ask "you mind if I offer some advice?" Always take them up on it, the advice will be useful.

2. Dive guides are not exempt from Point 1. Some of them are great, really know their stuff, and can really offer useful advice. Ask them questions if you're comfortable with them. Some dive guides are still relatively inexperienced... use Point 1 to help you evaluate.

3. But always listen to the captain and crew when on their boat.

4. Go diving, and don't worry about developing skills. Just be sure to enjoy the dive. Skill development will happen gradually and naturally as you gain experience. If you have decent buoyancy control, you're all set. If you feel compelled to work on something, work on your buoyancy... but have fun with it. I like to goof off on drift dives by hovering vertical and inverted (fins toward the surface, head toward the bottom). Pay close attention to how your breathing affects your buoyancy and use that to amuse yourself. But don't spend your time worrying or working too hard.

5. Equipment: you're doing it right. Wetsuit, mask, dive computer first. I would even include fins. When I go to warm water, I sometimes bring my reg and bcd, sometimes leave them at home. Those are the easiest two things to rent. But wetsuit, mask, fins need to fit just right. And your computer has your personal dive info in it.You should also know everything about how to use your computer. For this reason, I prefer a wrist computer over a console. A console computer has it's advantages, but the main disadvantage is that it's attached to your regulator. When evaluating dive computers, know that the basic models (~$300 range) will do everything you need it to... kind of like cars. If you get into the midrange or most expensive computers (~$500 to $2000) just know you're paying for options and name... again, just like cars. Make sure you know what options you're buying, and be sure to decide what those options are worth to you. Just like with cars, the ~$300 models do everything you'll need while diving.

6. Practice every dive: DIVE PLANNING. It's the one essential thing that is ignored by most people most of the time. PADI started distributing a plastic DIve Planning Slate with their OW course back around 2013. I use it with every dive with my students and strongly encourage them to use it with every dive after the class. It has a nice checklist and not only does it ensure that you discuss the items on the list with your buddy, but it gets both of you thinking about how the dive should go and what you hope to accomplish. This helps during the dive also, because if your mind is already primed with a plan you'll be quicker to recognize when something is not going according to plan... and you'll be quicker to correct it.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to send more questions on SB here; I don't think you'll be able to find as great a concentration of scuba knowledge and experience anywhere in the world. The amount of advice you get can seem overwhelming, but just remember to take it slow... and enjoy your dives.
 
Skill set- as a new diver, I don’t know what I don’t know. It is a little overwhelming reading the boards here and feeling a little stupid. What are some of the most important skills a new diver should develop? What should I practice every dive? How to I become a good diver? Tips, advice and words of wisdom are all welcome.

I forgot one thing in my response above:

Get nitrox certified!

It's a simple class and very useful. Not only will your cert allow you to use nitrox, but the course offers further training in recognizing signs and symptoms of DCS and oxygen toxicity, as well as how to reduce your risk for these problems. Your dive knowledge will be expanded a bit by the nitrox course, and it's typically run as just a classroom with some hands-on work (but no actual diving necessary to complete the class... it's knowledge based only.)

Using nitrox on a multi-day dive trip is a big advantage, and that advantage becomes more important with age. I'm not that far behind you in age; I aim to use nitrox on half my dives when I'm on a week long dive trip.
 
6. Practice every dive: DIVE PLANNING. It's the one essential thing that is ignored by most people most of the time. PADI started distributing a plastic DIve Planning Slate with their OW course back around 2013. I use it with every dive with my students and strongly encourage them to use it with every dive after the class. It has a nice checklist and not only does it ensure that you discuss the items on the list with your buddy, but it gets both of you thinking about how the dive should go and what you hope to accomplish. This helps during the dive also, because if your mind is already primed with a plan you'll be quicker to recognize when something is not going according to plan... and you'll be quicker to correct it.

I consider the dive planning for open water students from all agencies are next to worthless.
This document, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WPspW1jpgXJFwBcoQi9yR7OmgzSR4VrN, is far more complete. The accompanying spreadsheet is found here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cKtD1h2yW41fI7rYuo1KVl2FrTj0wJiT
 
I consider the dive planning for open water students from all agencies are next to worthless.

The primary determination of value for any procedure is... will people actually use it?

You might feel that dive planning as presented in the typical OW class is incomplete, but that's very different than "worthless". If I give my students a plastic slate with a basic checklist, tell them to spend a couple minutes with their buddy prior to the dive covering the checklist, and they actually DO it... I think that has far more value than giving them a 10 page document (and the accompanying spreadsheet) and telling them to go through every step on the document prior to a dive. Because they'll see it as a class assignment and stop doing it as soon as I'm not around.

Value is diminished, or reduced to nothing, if people won't consistently follow the procedure.

Beyond that... I've used the simple PADI checklist with my OW students on every dive for years. And I have never had an incident... always returned to dry land with every student intact (and almost always smiling.) That's gotta be worth something.

EDIT: sorry, I estimated the length of your document at 10 pages... just a rough guess. I just scrolled through it... 58 pages. I'm pretty sure this reinforces my argument above. The main criticism I would have, and just my opinion, is that it reinforces the misconception that gas planning is complicated. It's not. It's basic math that anyone, with a little practice, can do in their head. But people will avoid doing it (just human nature) if they're convinced it's complicated.
 
The primary determination of value for any procedure is... will people actually use it?

You might feel that dive planning as presented in the typical OW class is incomplete, but that's very different than "worthless". If I give my students a plastic slate with a basic checklist, tell them to spend a couple minutes with their buddy prior to the dive covering the checklist, and they actually DO it... I think that has far more value than giving them a 10 page document and telling them to go through every step on the document prior to a dive. Because they'll see it as a class assignment and stop doing it as soon as I'm not around.

Value is diminished, or reduced to nothing, if people won't consistently follow the procedure.
I said next to worthless. Something is always better than nothing (except SpareAir).

If you actually read the document, you'd note that it isn't expected for people to follow for every dive. That is simply impractical. The document is largely a reference material to give the students any tools to give them the knowledge and confidence to plan their own dives and not be dependent on others to do the dive planning for them. Those motivated enough (such as someone making the effort to post on SB), they'll receive some benefit greater than those plastic slates. A number of instructors in the Puget Sound use the document when teaching open water. A number of instructors in different parts of the world do as well.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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