What are the Essential Skills you need to have down before considering diving solo?

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Redundant gas is the hallmark of SOLO diving. But, you do you. Live long and prosper.

The hallmark of solo diving is the absence of a buddy. And my contention is that the absence of a buddy doesn’t require redundant air. Though I definitely am not urging anyone to ditch their redundant air if that’s how they roll.
 
The hallmark of solo diving is the absence of a buddy. And my contention is that the absence of a buddy doesn’t require redundant air. Though I definitely am not urging anyone to ditch their redundant air if that’s how they roll.

That redundant gas IS your buddy. Most places that allow SOLO diving with proper certification also require proper equipment. When you took your solo/self-reliant class was redundant air required? I can answer that for you, yes. But, as I said, you do you. No one in the world is telling you that you can't do some solo bootleg dive off your own boat or a shore or whatever. I am simply saying it is not prudent to advocate that in a mixed use forum.
 
That's what I thought after I read the OP. The desire to be on your own and be comfortable in the water.

Everything else depends on what dives you'll do.

Most of my dives these days are done with zero redundant gear. I go to the same general area off Pompano Beach, hard bottom between 40 and 100' , with most of the dives around 60-80. It all depends on what spot is free of other boats.
After doing more aggressive diving when I was young, I know myself and what works for me.
This! I don't dive differently nor use additional gear than I do with a buddy. I look at my spg more often when I'm deeper, especially when conducting tech dives. For recreational dives, I dive a single tank, single computer and dive no differently than with buddies. The only gear I take with me that is not used during each dive is a lift bag. I have used it for anchor recovery and for drifting offshore during blue water dives.
 
I carry SMBs, spool, extra mask, cutter, several signaling devices, and two computers.

But I personally don’t see that it’s worth the considerable hassle to take redundant air for most recreational diving. You can’t fly with a pony, and diving with doubles is no minor inconvenience. And there is plenty of redundant air at the surface. For me, the main thing is to not get into situations that I couldn’t get out of in 5-10 minutes. I don’t think redundant air relieves you of that responsibility.

I dive local. Throw the gear in the car and go. Believe it or not, a lot of us dive places where we don’t have to fly.
 
I see a difference between solo on your own or solo from a charter.

I just finished 59 minute solo, as I type I'm also guarding my husband's flag while he does his solo... There's little to no traffic and the seas are calm enough that I can drift and type.

So I went with my steel 100, an AI computer, mask, fins, knife, polartec skin and a pocket with gloves and a folded meshbag inside. Not sure if I should count the yellow plastic device holding the line of the flag as part of my gear, oh and I wear a watch 24/7 .

At one point during the dive I left the reef checking for creatures that lurk in the sand. My mind started to wonder, what could happen to me that a piece of gear (that I don't have right now ) would SAVE me.
This is the reef that I've been diving on since the early 80's, it is coral fish and sand with fishing line, beer cans/bottles and for some stupid reason way more Mylar baloons that necessary.
No redundancy is going to address a medical event .. I carry enough air for about 3 hours but I still check my gauges every minute or two, still not used to not have my datamask that I just look up and have all the data. Without it, because it died (and Oceanic suck). I have to actually grab the computer and look.... Which I do.
Is it possible that I can run out of air.. hmmm technically yes, probably no
Anything else that could happen I can deal with it.
I don't have a solo card why would I? I was diving solo for many years before any agency issue one. I only dive off charters when I travel and I no longer travel for work which means I travel with my husband, hence no need to dive solo.

I do me, the way it works for me.
And that's the main point I wish people would get. Learn yes, but swallowing prepackaged lessons that supposedly apply to the majority is not necessarily learning. People need to engage their brains and decide what is right for them.
 
Never thought of that. How did your BC come to fail?
I don't know who or how. When I went to set it up for a dive, I found that the elbow had been cracked off. I don't need it for buoyancy control at depth: I have my lungs for that. I just wanted to be sure that I could float after the dive. This past month marked the 50th anniversary of my first dive in Lake Underhill, Orlando Florida. I didn't have a bladder back then, so I just went "old school". Well, sorta. My buoyancy control sucked back then, and I'm sure I hit the bottom a lot. The worst problem was after the dive because you couldn't rest since you couldn't air up your bladder and float. If you were out of gas (common with a j-valve) then you had to keep kicking until you made it ashore or to the boat. What a pain in the arse! If I were to solo, I would definitely have two methods of floating. Obviously, since I'm using my breath to achieve neutral buoyancy, I don't have to worry about a wing failure at depth. Just on the surface.

No redundancy is going to address a medical event .
No buddy can be expected to address a medical event either. A stroke or heart attack is probably going to be fatal on the surface and becomes far more deadly at depth regardless of being solo or not.

If one panics, diving solo is probably not a good idea.
If at first you don't succeed, then solo diving ain't for you! :D :D :D
 
Hypothetically, I would consider the most essential skill to be extensive diving experience. You must be 100% confident in yourself and your diving ability for the environment that you wish to solo in, very comfortable in the water, know and trust your equipment plus be able to deal with certain environmental / equipment failures [stuck power inflator, loss of bc air bladder, entanglement, regulator free flow], be able to perform u/w doff and don, CESA. Be very proficient in planning a dive, sticking to the plan, informing others of your plan and have backup and a backup to the backup if something goes south. Get a lot of diving experience before even entertaining the idea of solo diving, then get educated and begin solo diving in the areas you know best from past experience before trying any new places. Keep up on your diving skills as well as knowing how to deal with surface related issues, such as when to have a party begin searching for you if you do not return to a specific place at a specific hour. Every area has its hazards, know how to deal with them before soloing there.
 
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