When to do a Scuba Refresher after some inactivity?

[happy-diver]

Great idea given what I read from most of the "divers" on here

 

[SlugLife]

I was in an LDS recently and was told that within the industry, the recommendation is now for ANY diver who has been out of the water for 12+ months to take a refresher...that you wouldn't be allowed to rent tanks without a current logged dive. Smelled a bit funny to me.... Thoughts?

Smells like ... ********. Another excuse to funnel more money into dive-industry pockets, under the guise of noble intentions and "safety."

I don't log dives myself other than whatever my dive-computer records, nor do I bring my dive-log with me. However, you could always make up a ******** log.

 

[Bubblesong]

I plan a review dive,( easy, no camera, ) when I’ve been out of water for winter, and with new equipment. Only took a refresher once after a much longer hiatus.

 

[Belzelbub]

I was in an LDS recently and was told that within the industry, the recommendation is now for ANY diver who has been out of the water for 12+ months to take a refresher...that you wouldn't be allowed to rent tanks without a current logged dive. Smelled a bit funny to me.... Thoughts?

Yep. Sounds like BS. Might be shop policy, but I don't understand why. I can't see the shop having any responsibility to verify that just to rent tanks. Might be different if we are talking about a dive Op, as they may want to see some history that shows the diver is capable of doing the dive they are booking. But for tank rental? That shop's only responsibility would be making sure the tank is filled and safe to use. What happens after that is really none of their business as long as the tank is returned.

 

[pauldw]

If you feel rusty in your dive skills, take a refresher.

Where I am, it’s possible to get a refresher class where after some verbal review, you get in the pool with an instructor, and the entire session is the instructor working with you and your refresher group (if you’re there with a group). However, there are also dive shops that say they do a refresher class, but they tell you to just come down to an open water course’s pool training session, and get in the water as sort of a hanger on. When signing up, I’d make sure I’m getting the former sort of refresher, not the latter.

 

[Boarderguy]

I was in an LDS recently and was told that within the industry, the recommendation is now for ANY diver who has been out of the water for 12+ months to take a refresher...that you wouldn't be allowed to rent tanks without a current logged dive. Smelled a bit funny to me.... Thoughts?

That's an easy fix. Show them your log with a dive you wrote in from 5 or 6 months ago. How many of us take a log with us when going to an lds? I don't, and I haven't been asked to show s log when renting tanks in the Seattle area or Hawaii. Then again I only rent tanks if my wife is diving. I don't have enough (yet) for both of us to do 2 dives.

 

[poseident]

Appreciate the input. I think you've all verified my suspicion that there is no "new industry standard" that I hadn't heard about. There aren't many agreed-to standards on anything, much less something that would immediately impact a large segment of the diving public.

Happy bubbles

 

[Eric802]

Well, I had a brief break in diving between 1998 and 2022, so once I decided to get back into it this year I did a refresher course. It was helpful - felt more comfortable jumping into some guided shore dives on vacation a month or so later. So in my experience, a refresher course is helpful after a 24 year break.

 

[Scratch_Monkey]

I would agree with others who've said "it depends". My wife was newly certified in 2019 and then didn't dive for the next two years because "you know why". We went diving in March and she took a refresher and enjoyed it, however, the week after her course we spent time in the LDS pool so she could practice and I could re-acquaint myself with my gear.

I don't feel I need a refresher but I did feel better using my gear and getting back in the water in a very low pressure situation.

When we go diving next year will she re-take a refresher? Not likely. But will she and I review stuff and get our gear out and stuff in advance of that first dive? Sure.

 

[SlugLife]

Yep. Sounds like BS. Might be shop policy, but I don't understand why. I can't see the shop having any responsibility to verify that just to rent tanks. Might be different if we are talking about a dive Op, as they may want to see some history that shows the diver is capable of doing the dive they are booking. But for tank rental? That shop's only responsibility would be making sure the tank is filled and safe to use. What happens after that is really none of their business as long as the tank is returned.

For rented equipment, they have an interest in property being returned, which might mean ensuring someone knows how to use the equipment and is not some random guy off the street thinking they can scuba-dive with zero training.

However, I've always been of the opinion that scuba-fills are none of their business, aside from (legally) ensuring it has hydro. I've talked with several tank-technicians who say VIP is a scam.