What to do while waiting for my first post-OW dives

[happyharris]

A diver in open water should always carry a DSMB (and spool or reel). If blown off a wreck it could make getting found, easier, faster and safer than ascending into an unknown area that might have boat traffic. If lost at sea it could make the difference between life and death. The advantages of deploying at depth (when necessary) as compared to at the surface cannot be overstated.

Edited to add. A diver should also routinely deploy the SMB not only for skills practice but to make sure it's working properly. On a recent dive trip I deployed my DSMB and the spool got hung up after letting out only a bit of line because the outer brackets were bent in due to damage during airplane travel. That one didn't end all that well.

I'm glad you said this, because it is something I have felt, but the boards are filled with more experienced divers who (from my point of view) seem much less likely to follow all safety guidelines. Glad to hear that the way I plan to start out is at least within the range of reasonable opinions. (I'm not criticizing you or dmaziuk )

 

[FreqFlier]

Don't buy a BCD until they tell you about BP&W (I just did). Rental regs tend to work just fine: as a rule, dive ops don't want dead customers, so they don't give them bad kit.

Some gear is more personalized than the rest. I'd say you can be renting BCs and regs for a while, maybe even a computer until you know exactly what you want/need. Those three are the big ticket items.
I believe it is worth buying the rest - mask (has to fit your face perfectly), snorkel, wetsuit (again, has to fit your body perfectly), fins (you rarely get good rental ones) and boots (to go with your fins). All of that will cost you less than a semi-decent computer. $400-500 will most likely cover that.
And get that Nitrox cert asap.

 

[rhwestfall]

I believe it is worth buying the rest - mask (has to fit your face perfectly), snorkel, wetsuit (again, has to fit your body perfectly), fins (you rarely get good rental ones) and boots (to go with your fins).

Every dive training program I know of has these as required equipment to purchase for class...

 

[dmaziuk]

That's the first time I've heard anyone say that the fit of fins is more important than masks. Perhaps I am biased by by own experience, but in my short number of dives, an ill-fitting mask ruined one dive (kept leaking).

We all have our biases, mine's hobbit feet so I get more fit problems with fins. OTOH I am one of the very exclusive group of people on whom Dano's Mini mask leaks.

 

[dmaziuk]

I'm glad you said this, because it is something I have felt, but the boards are filled with more experienced divers who (from my point of view) seem much less likely to follow all safety guidelines. Glad to hear that the way I plan to start out is at least within the range of reasonable opinions. (I'm not criticizing you or dmaziuk )

You'll likely be doing your boat dives with a group and a DM, in which case: stay with the DM. It's not that you can't do a negative entry dive where you get "blown off the wreck", it's that the op will look at your dive count and not want to take you there. Similarly, you could get "carried out into open sea" from a shore dive, but if you're diving in a place where that's likely to happen: carry a PLB. In most other places a mirror and a whistle is plenty good enough.

Cozumel is a good example of a place where you want an SMB. And then there's places with "plenty of boat traffic" where you don't want the drunk idjits on jetskis to come investigate "whassat?" and crack your skull open in the process -- you may not want to dive there with 0 dives post-OW in the first place.

So like I said: devil's in the details.

 

[CG43]

What can I be doing in the time before my dives?

Do'nt waste your short time by looking for diving gear !

Learn , read everyhing about diving you can find . Books , net usw .
Classes are one way , but what you worked out for yourself can
be even more memorable .
Most important , practice diving with little or no gear .
Today's scuba diving training is designed in such a way that a scuba diver can dive reasonably relaxed and safe after let's say 100 dives and a few classes.
A freediver who is confident with the diving theory will not need 10 dives
for this .
Now it is winter , you must practice in a pool and at home .
If gear (mask, snorkel, fins) are not allowed, it works without .
Swim slowly or very slowly on the surface with your breath hold, turn your head to the side or lift it out of the water without breathing.
On the net you will find many good instructions for freediving , for safety , CO2 tables , O2 tables , and so on .
Don't limit yourself to become a scubadiver, become a diver.

 

[happyharris]

These are all great, thanks. I do go to a pool regularly and they allow a mask and snorkel (they also allow non-lap swimming which is surprisingly rare) so I will do this. However, I don't understand:

Swim slowly or very slowly on the surface with your breath hold, turn your head to the side or lift it out of the water without breathing.

Do you mean turn the head temporarily and then back to face down? Or just swim along like that? What skill is it teaching? Are there any links or videos that you could point me to that could demonstrate?

 

[happyharris]

Every dive training program I know of has these as required equipment to purchase for class...

Mine didn't. I think it might depend on whether they specialize in teaching people that live in the area, or teaching people who are on vacation.

 

[boulderjohn]

mask (has to fit your face perfectly), snorkel, wetsuit (again, has to fit your body perfectly),

The need for a mask to fit perfectly varies by the individual. Some people have faces on which many mask shapes will fit. For others it is a challenge. I once helped friends get masks. The wife had no trouble finding a mask that worked. For the husband, we had to go to a second shop to find one that worked. The more angular and sharp featured the face, the harder it is to fit.

I have gone through a number of wetsuits over the years. The one I use in the winter in Florida has been in my possession for about 9 years, and I am sorry to say I have not had a consistent body shape over that time. It has always fit me fine. A good wetsuit has a lot of give in it.

 

[grantmac]

I'd travel to dive where you live. Don't limit yourself to the tropics.
Air integration is fine but nothing to sweat about. I'd rather buy a GOOD computer (Perdix) without it and learn EVERYTHING that computer has to offer.