SCUBA: explore the underwater world, online (2024)

Newish divers here, my partner and I are having a mild debate. We did a shore dive today and got to our safety stop, did that and still had around 600-750psi left. We were still over a shallow reef so he wanted to stay down (at safety stop depth, 15ft) as we swam back towards exit point. His logic is at that point the dive is basically “done” and it doesn’t hurt or isn’t unsafe to get very low on air because all you have to do is surface, and might as well stay under to make swimming back easier and watch more fish. Just kinda curious on this.

(This is all assumed well under no deco limits, which we’ve always been)

I don't usually shop with them, preferring instead to deal with DGX for things I can't get locally, like probably most people here, but they had a good price on a few pieces I needed for an upcoming trip, so I figured I'd give them a shot.

Three times now I've been on their support chat asking why my order hasn't shipped and three times they've told me I'll have a tracking number by the end of day. One of the support staff told me that the Jacksonville store had it and that they don't have a shipping department, so essentially won't ship unless there are no customers in the store. I will now not have the most critical piece by trip time (initial order was 18 days ago) because they just don't wanna.

I'm sure some people have had decent experience with them, but based on how disorganized and lazy they are, especially in the face of an issue, I won't trust them again.

I’m a bit confused on the preflight interval after diving… I think I have a pretty good understanding of dcs, diving physiology, and boyles law but still it doesn’t make sense to me that when diving we can move between multiple atmospheres of pressure in minutes yet when flying we are recommended to wait 18 hours + before moving less than 1 atmosphere

Sorry this is a sh*tty post, I know I could do more research and what not but I figure my fellow redditors might enjoy the question

Hi all, I’m looking to get a BCD for my 13 year old son who is 5’4” and 100lbs. and I’d love to hear some thoughts on choosing the type of BCD. I have used a backplate/wing setup forever but when I was in my teens I had an old Sherwood jacket style and seem to remember that it would float me high on the surface but always felt bulky.

With my son’s thin frame and light weight what are some good options?

HiI’m going to buy an x deep ghost. Deciding on some options. One is whether to get steel or plastic cam strap buckles. I remember reading somewhere that the plastic ones were more difficult to get the tank on. But I can’t find where I read it.I called a shop nearby who is an XDeep dealer. They recommended the plastic ones but I’m still leaning toward the steel as I don’t wanna wrestle with getting the tank on and off. Am I misremembering what I read?

He also recommended that I buy the Zen instead of the ghost as he says the ghost is for small women and children. Complete BS I know as he also said I should get a dark gray or black one and I want something in color. I’m a big guy at 6’2” 240 but everything I read indicates the ghost would fit me fine.

I have a good grasp on compartments and how they work. I understand that each compartment has a half-time that specifies the amount of time it takes for a compartment to be half way saturated represented by an exponential decay function Q(t) = Qf(1- e^((-ln(2)/halftime)t)) where Q is the saturation level, Qf is the depth, and t is the amount of time that has passed. What I don't get is how the M-Values are calculated, I understand that the shorter the half time the higher the M-value, but what is the actually mathematical formula for deriving that M-Value? Another thing, I assume when divers go to extreme depths for extended periods of time that if they ascend to 20ft without other decompression stops that they will get DCS. How do these deep divers (or their computers) know what depth to perform these decompression stops and for how long to do them?

Edit: misplaced parenthesis.

Hey guys.

Im going to travel to Egypt in August for a little over two weeks. Im gonna be on a liveaboard dive safari for around 8 days. Starting in Hurghada and ending in Hurghada. Then i want to fly to Dahab in the south of Egypt and do freediving for another week. For this vacation i need a large roller bag. It will be my first vacation where i bring my whole gear with me. I want to have anough space for all my scuba / freediving gear and my personal belongings like clothes, wash bag & maybe some supplements.

Most importantly i want a quality bag that lasts long time. As we know airport workers sometimes treat the luggage very badly. Ive added some screenshots of the bags that im currently taking into consideration. I look for features like high quality YKK Zippers, heavy duty wheels, quality fabrics, robust build etc. I also know the brand Stahlsac. But i havent taken a closer look at their products yet.

What do you guys recommend? Do you have experience with some of these products?

My scuba gear consists of:

Wetsuit, Boots, hood, fins, divelight, smb, reel, regulator with 3 gauge console, jacket bcd, two masks, snorkel, dive computer. Maybe more freedive gear like a seperate wetsuit & longer freediving fins. Thats why my future bag has to be long enough to fit these type of freediving fins.

If you guys need any more information to help me. Let me know. Thank you for your help!

Mares cruise backpack pro

Mares cruise backpack pro

Mares cruise backpack pro

Mares cruise backpack pro

Mares cruise backpack pro

i own a scubapro steel comp mask. i test out the fit on my face and if i could equalize properly, and so i bought it.

the problem is it keeps fogging. my instructor already use a lighter on the glass (burnt it twice), i also put a toothpaste in it overnight, and putting baby shampoo before every dive.

i have used it less than 10 dives but after a couple of minutes underwater it starts to fog up again. unlike my old mask, though i didn't use it a lot as well but after burning the glass only once and putting toothpaste overnight, it doesn't fog up anymore however im having trouble equalizing so i had to buy a new one.

should i ask the shop to have it replaced? maybe there's something wrong with the mask. or is there any option to defog this?

For those that have been which wrecks are your must dives and why?

Heading out early next year and prepping already. Will be there for ten days of diving. Going sidemount with deco experience so most boats are in play.

I might be going to China on a work trip next year and is hoping to get some dives in. Most likely in June

Anyone know any good dive shops in Guangzhou and Beijing?

Thanks!

Hi all,

So the place I went to, the instructor told me that it would just be me and him (I was hoping for a group class to get to know other divers). I would like to know the experience of those who have done private courses especially women (I am one myself).

I have an older Mares Dragon jacket style BCD I purchased in 2010. Honestly, didn't really know wings were a thing at the time when I was buying as I was a newly certified diver. I still have it and dive regularly, it hasn't failed me over the years. As a 6'2" skinny guy, diving with my BCD always balanced me in a feet down diving position wasting gas trying to stay horizontal... Since completing the buoyancy PADI class and getting to work 1 on 1 with the instructor, I really dialed in my bouyance and I now dive with a 3lb weight zip tied to my BCD behind my neck. This seems to work well but theres still times I need to try and fight a vertical position. Maybe I should try more weight in that location, but having the 3lb permanently mounted there is already a pain in the ass when swapping tanks (I do pull the weight pockets before swapping).

Anyway, one of my primary diving partners uses a backplane and wing setup and his buoyancy always seems to be spot on. Over the last year, I've slowly replaced all of my diving gear except the BCD. Do any of you have opinions or suggestions on jacket vs wing when I eventually get to replacing my BCD?

Pros vs cons for those of you who have dove with both options?

Thanks!