What is your training/equipment day like?

[LiveBait]

Just wanted some skill honing ideas. So lets say you want to try new things or you just got a new piece of equipment and want to test it thoroughly before you head out someplace challenging. Do you work on your skills solo in a pool or go with your favorite training buddy to a local lake?

If you just purchased a new or new/used BCD the first time you take it out do you have a special procedure other than checking weights/buoyancy?

Thanks for all the help!

Bait

 

[nikos81]

Actually what I personally did, was take my equipment at my Local Dive Center and ask for a shallow dive in the House Reef. Luckily there were lots of students doing their OW course that day, so I had the chance to test everything on a shallow dive. But generally,I would recommend you have a dive together with someone else. You never know what can go wrong even at your pool,so I wouldn't recommend a solo dive at all.

As for BCd purchasing, if it is used, I would suggest you make a thorough examination of all the parts of your jacket and not only weights/buoyancy testing. but that's a standard procedure for all used equipment.

I hope I helped
Nikos

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

ha ha ... nice!

dont dive solo! ! ! ! (YET)

get another new diver (or any diver) and plan a dive to work on skills!

work on descending under control at the beginning of your dive.

work on buoyancy the entire dive

work on steady breathing

work on share air

work on slow controlled ascending at the end of the dive!

and after a ridiculously long day, hopefully we can chat tomorrow ... sorry about that ... nighty night!

 

[liuk3]

If possible, I like to try out new-to-me equipment in a pool.

 

[kasdeva]

I took my new equipment to the pool first and I am very glad I did. It is a safe place to iron out all the new equipment niggles.

Now... at the risk of starting a flame war and hijacking this thread...

Don't dive solo? In the pool at the club? How about not eating fried chicken solo, you know, in case you choke on a bone. Or is that reductio ad absurdum


Edit: The "not solo" suggestion was made in good faith, I should have thought twice before reaching for my keyboard.

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

I took my new equipment to the pool first and I am very glad I did. It is a safe place to iron out all the new equipment niggles.

Now... at the risk of starting a flame war and hijacking this thread...

Don't dive solo? In the pool at the club? How about not eating fried chicken solo, you know, in case you choke on a bone. Or is that reductio ad absurdum

wow bud ... ive never heard that word "niggles" ... is that your own or a norm for s africa? very cool but i would be afraid to use it in our local area ...

the OP is a brand new diver less than 10 dives... you wanna give him the ok to solo dive in a pool with no supervision? your prerogative, i suggest buddying up

call me wrong, just my thoughts

 

[kasdeva]

wow bud ... ive never heard that word "niggles" ... is that your own or a norm for s africa? very cool but i would be afraid to use it in our local area ...

the OP is a brand new diver less than 10 dives... you wanna give him the ok to solo dive in a pool with no supervision? your prerogative, i suggest buddying up

call me wrong, just my thoughts

Niggles. It is slang. It is litirally translated as "a trifle" or small thing. Used in SA and Britain mostly.

 

[TSandM]

We're lucky to have a number of sites which are either entirely benign, or offer very benign options for tours. New equipment gets tested at those sites. For skills practice, we just go someplace shallow and work on the skill; if it's something we already know and just want to polish, we'll go out, drop and do skills, and then go for a fun dive, perhaps ending it with some more skills (eg. bag shoot and ascent). As much as possible, the skills are integrated into a dive for the pure fun of it.

 

[Splitlip]

I'll ususally try new gear at a local shore dive (the BHB).

Otherwise, I only introduce one new piece of gear at a time if I am live boat diving. Also leave camera, speargun etc behind when doing so.

 

[AndrewA]

I usually try out new kit in a shallow site I know well with an experienced buddy.