Visiting Phoenix

[scubajcf]

hi folks...

i'll be in the AZ area for a month and I;m sure i could squeeze in some diving... i don;t plan to bring my stuff so some questions:

1. is it easy to rent equipment and tanks at the lake?
2. are they expensive?
3. are there local guides for the dive?

appreciate the help...

1. There are no Scuba Shops at the lake. There are several on the way. Renting tanks at these shops are fairly easy.

2. Depends on the shop. I would figure around $8-$20 per tank per day. Equipment varies by shop as well. Figure around $30-$40

3. Inquire with the shops in town or post your interest in this forum or the forum at www.scubaspecialties.com

I am an instructor with Scuba Specialties. We try to head out to the lake periodically for fun. Usually, we post to the forum when we do that. It's not a shop thing, just a bunch of Scuba Divers heading out to the lake.

Lake conditions are about 77 degrees at the surface and drop down to about 68 degrees at 30 feet and gets periodically cooler every 10 feet or so.

Visibility starts at around 10 feet and gets worse depending on your ability to stay off the bottom.

Lots of enthusiastic divers in town. If you have a long weekend. San Diego is a five hour drive and Wreck Alley is a great dive adventure (water is in low 50s this time of year). San Carlos Mexico is a great driving trip for a long weekend. Most of the shops in Phx. head down there for four day weekends. Water Temps are warm and visibility is great. Lots to see and Sea Lions are very playful. I would recommend it highly.

Lake Havasu is about 2.5 hours away and Lake Mohave is about 4 hours away. Havasu has a lot of boat traffic on the weekends, be careful. Mohave usually has very good visibility. Other lakes in Phoenix Metro area are not worth diving. Everyone dives in Lake Pleasant.

For more local information, Southwest Scuba has a lot of AZ info.
http://www.southwestscuba.com/



Hope this helps!

 

[bcd1]

1. There are no Scuba Shops at the lake. There are several on the way. Renting tanks at these shops are fairly easy.

2. Depends on the shop. I would figure around $8-$20 per tank per day. Equipment varies by shop as well. Figure around $30-$40

3. Inquire with the shops in town or post your interest in this forum or the forum at www.scubaspecialties.com

I am an instructor with Scuba Specialties. We try to head out to the lake periodically for fun. Usually, we post to the forum when we do that. It's not a shop thing, just a bunch of Scuba Divers heading out to the lake.

Lake conditions are about 77 degrees at the surface and drop down to about 68 degrees at 30 feet and gets periodically cooler every 10 feet or so.

Visibility starts at around 10 feet and gets worse depending on your ability to stay off the bottom.

Lots of enthusiastic divers in town. If you have a long weekend. San Diego is a five hour drive and Wreck Alley is a great dive adventure (water is in low 50s this time of year). San Carlos Mexico is a great driving trip for a long weekend. Most of the shops in Phx. head down there for four day weekends. Water Temps are warm and visibility is great. Lots to see and Sea Lions are very playful. I would recommend it highly.

Lake Havasu is about 2.5 hours away and Lake Mohave is about 4 hours away. Havasu has a lot of boat traffic on the weekends, be careful. Mohave usually has very good visibility. Other lakes in Phoenix Metro area are not worth diving. Everyone dives in Lake Pleasant.

For more local information, Southwest Scuba has a lot of AZ info.
http://www.southwestscuba.com/



Hope this helps!

thanks for the info... i'll surely join you in lake pleasant on a weekend... I'll keep visiting the thread for info...

by the way, what mm suit do you use for the lake, is that a 5mm or a 7mm? as you can see, i use a 3mm shortie in asia, though i do have a full 3mm... not sure if that and a hood would do...

the san carlos trip looks interesting, i'll see if I can try that out...

 

[scubajcf]

Lake ... Everyone is different, but in my opinion:
3mm is fine for the lake above 30 feet.
3mm and hooded vest below 30 feet to about 40 feet.
Not much to see below 40 feet anyway.