The scuba diving thread

[Supa Dexta]

Just thinking I may get a set of equipment.. I've never done it before, but with the ocean at my doorstep I wouldnt mind having a set of gear to go explore a little bit..

I've been keeping an eye on used gear, but I may just use an online store to get a set, suggestions?.. I just have to do some homework on what to get and where to get it....

Tips?

[arian_ma]

Where are you living? NS? You'll probably need a dry suit and such to dive there. I'm not too familiar with the diving there...but personally I'm of the type to go for reefs and generally warmer water climates so I can't help you much with that info.

In case you're going with a dry suit setup, I'm pretty sure that the certification for it is completely different than a wet suit setup and costs quite a bit more as well.

Diving is amazing no matter what kind you get into.

[Supa Dexta]

When I am in NS, I'm the north shore, so the water is decent.. Surface temps in the 70's... Wont be diving very deep around there.. 30-40 feet tops maybe.... And only in the middle of summer, so a wetsuit would likely do me.

[D'z Nutz]

I was just about to start a thread on this too.

I got my PADI certification earlier this year in Jamaica and just came back from a dive in Mexico a couple weeks ago and I'm fucking hooked. I'll probably be doing another dive in Florida before the year's over.

I searched and it looks like there's a few experienced divers on here. Anyone recommend any of the dive shops here in Calgary? I'm thinking at the very least I should have my own goggles, snorkel, and flippers.

[C_Dave45]

I'm going to go for mine as well. Looking at that place in Marda Loop. IIRC, they have a dive tank plus do a couple of "open water" dives for your course. I've heard of some places that will rent all the gear you need (minus your personal fins,mask and snorkel) on a "per season" basis.

[TYMSMNY]

Should probably go get your cert first. I did my in class sessions at the now called Talisman Centre and did my pool stuff there as well. For my open water test I went to Horseshoe Bay just north of Van. Not much to see but got it done in a dry suit.

I would probably rent your equipment for now.. it's pretty expensive just to purchase it for the sake of it. If you want, just purchase a mask and a pair of fins but those can be rented as well.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by C_Dave45
IIRC, they have a dive tank plus do a couple of "open water" dives for your course.

Yeah, four open water dives are required for your open water certification (at least for PADI. I think NAUI is 5). If the water wasn't so fucking cold here, I'd go for my advanced open water certification over the summer.

[Phenix]

I did all my basic certs here and also sat in on a bunch of rescue diver courses.

I get sick of all the heavy equipment and all the prep you need to do. It's more fun just to grab a torpedo and throw a large spare air tank on it and fly though the water.

So much fun

[FraserB]

I did mine through Adventures in Scuba on Macleod by the Canadian Tire. Definitely do your open water cert dives in the summer, I did mine in the last week of October in Chaparelle, cold as fuck.:eek:

[Aerobat]

The Dive Shop by the back alley is definately the best dive shop...adventures in scuba is way overpriced..i have my advanced open water and a dry suit course..going to costa rica, antigua and all over the carribean this october...whale sharks ahoy!

[austic]

I prefer Aqua sport in marda loop. They just has a massive sale this past weekend...

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by austic
I prefer Aqua sport in marda loop. They just has a massive sale this past weekend...

Damn it, that would've been really nice to know...

[austic]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I was just about to start a thread on this too.

I got my PADI certification earlier this year in Jamaica and just came back from a dive in Mexico a couple weeks ago and I'm fucking hooked. I'll probably be doing another dive in Florida before the year's over.

I searched and it looks like there's a few experienced divers on here. Anyone recommend any of the dive shops here in Calgary? I'm thinking at the very least I should have my own goggles, snorkel, and flippers.

You should prob add a wetsuit to your list. Renting them adds up quickly and if your mostly warm weather diving you can get away with a 3/2mm for not a bad price.
I would check out aquasport and see if anything is still on sale.

[Freeskier]

Originally posted by Aerobat
The Dive Shop by the back alley is definately the best dive shop...

This. The one in Marda Loop is also really good. If you're looking at diving on the east coast, I think you'll end up in a dry suit at some point, it's just a lot more comfortable. Under PADI, drysuit diving is a specialty course, but some shops can even do your open water certification or advanced open water in a drysuit, so you get both certifications at the same time.

I would highly recommend starting with mask, fins and snorkel. Having these fit correctly can make or break a dive. Having to clear your mask every couple of minutes is just a pain in the ass and will definitely take away from the dive. If you're thinking about travelling a lot for diving, I have found it is quite often easier and more economical to rent. Most shops have decent rental packages. If you're diving from home, then getting all you're gear can make sense. You'll end up with gear that you know, that fits and that will last you decades if well taken care of.

Some things to think about when buying new gear.

Mask, fins, snorkel:
These are the very basic gear and usually the first thing people buy. There's a ton of choice and basically you want something that will fit and that you like. Fins come in every shape and size, some are more suited to a really strong scissor kick, others frog kick much nicer. Split fins tend to be pretty powerful for less effort input, but less maneuverable than solid fins.

BCD:
There are two general types of Buoyancy compensators, jacket style and wing style. Jacket provides flotation at the back, as well as air pockets in the front of the jacket. Wing BCs have an air cell behind the diver around the cylinder, but no flotation at the front. There is a huge amount of debate as to which is better. A lot of this is pissing in the wind as it boils down to personal preference. Many recreational BCs are jacket style, and the more technical rigs tend to be wings. The short version is that wings keep you more streamlined in the water, but have a tendency to pitch you forward on the surface. Jackets keep you much more upright at the surface, but some people think it's harder to swim underwater. Basically again, you're looking for a good fit and something you like. I'd say try and rent both styles, find out which you prefer and then make a decision based on that. Keep in mind that in cold water, you need a lot more weight to sink thick wetsuits or drysuits. Therefore you need a BC with more flotation than a tropics only jacket.

Regulators:
Basically all the regs on the market are tested to the same standards, so safety wise, all are equal. As with anything, you get what you pay for. As reg prices go up, they become smaller, lighter and made with more exotic materials. If the majority of your diving will be cold water, I'd recommend getting an environmentally sealed reg, they're designed to stand up to the extreme cold of Canadian waters. If you're planning of diving drysuit, make sure you have 3 low pressure inflator hose ports. Some regs only have 2 and can only be used with a wetsuit.

Sorry for the essay, but I figured I'd give a bit of a break down for people looking at buying a setup.

[Phenix]

Chaparral is always cold as fudge. lol

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by Freeskier
I would highly recommend starting with mask, fins and snorkel. Having these fit correctly can make or break a dive. Having to clear your mask every couple of minutes is just a pain in the ass and will definitely take away from the dive. If you're thinking about travelling a lot for diving, I have found it is quite often easier and more economical to rent. Most shops have decent rental packages.

Yeah, that's why I figured I'd get at minimum these three. I want to have a set I'm comfortable with, especially the mask. When we were on a dive in Jamaica, visibility was pretty poor and I couldn't see shit. It wasn't until after everyone was talking about how amazing the view was did I realize my mask was the reason for the "murky water" even after I cleared it a few times! :rofl:



Originally posted by Freeskier
Sorry for the essay, but I figured I'd give a bit of a break down for people looking at buying a setup.

Awesome post! This is exactly the type of info I'm looking for.

[Freeskier]

Glad it helped. I've been diving for awhile now. I'm doing my scientific diver cert at Bamfield Marine Station as we speak. It's unreal, 3 dives a day for the past 2 weeks, with more to come. Feel free to fire me any questions regarding gear, west coast diving or whatever, I'll try my best to answer em.

[D'z Nutz]

How *is* west coast diving anyways? I'll be heading to Vancouver in September. If there's anything to see and the water's not too bad, maybe I'll try squeezing in a dive or two.

[Freeskier]

I haven't done any diving from the mainland, but I hear it's comparable to the island. Diving out here is unreal, so much life it's crazy. If you're diving with someone who knows the site, then octopuses can be found almost every dive. If not, then just look for piles of broken crab and mussle shells and you can usually find a den fairly easily. Visibility can vary. In the winter it's usually around 20 feet, but in summer due to algal blooms it can drop to 5-10 feet. Right now on the west coast of the island, because it's been raining so much, we've got 40+ foot vis, which is fuckin epic. That's really the only drawback to diving out here though, I've heard that Jacques Cousteau said it was the second best diving in the world after the Red Sea (lol sort of debatable IMO), but as far as I know it's generally accepted as the best cold water diving in the world. Yesterday we were diving a huge wall and saw 3 octo's, a baby wolf eel, as well as tons of rockfish, sea stars, cucumbers and shit.

[Supa Dexta]

In my limited time looking around I've been thinking of getting:

Mares X vision liquid skin mask
Mares quattro fins
And Aeris cuda dry snorkel..

Even that will get me started in the water I want to explore out my front door.

[D'z Nutz]

Thats again for that info, Freeskier!

Supa: Approximately how much will that set you back?

[Supa Dexta]

Thats from a canadian site I found, dans dive shop... Which prices on those items were pretty inline with the US shops... Came to 240. And they want 17 for shipping I think.

Edit. cancel that. After reading too many reviews of the mares mask leaking. I went with this package with the shadow mask.

http://www.scubabasics.com/Arid-Snorkel-Package.html

[Freeskier]

Supa, i've dove those fins before, they're pretty pimp. I think you'll like em alot.

Did 3 survey dives today at one of the sites near the marine station, saw 3 of these little guys on the same dive which was pretty rad.
http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/Arch06/1208740270.jpg

[D'z Nutz]

that's so awesome! I'm jealous.

So how much should I be spending on the mask/snorkle/fins, keeping in mind I probably won't get the opportunity to do many dives. Maybe twice a year?

[Freeskier]

Haha man that's a hard question. Diving is pretty much the same with any sport. By that I mean there is a lot of choice for gear styles, companies, colors etc.
Most masks tend to go for between $50 and $100. Anything more expensive and you're paying for brand IMO, and not many actual scuba masks go for less.
Fins are the same, some go for $75, but a super advanced pair of split fins might be pushing 300 (which is retarded). Price is not always indicative though.
Some shops/websites do decent deals on packages of mask/snorkel/fins, so I would probably guess around $150 - $200 for all three.

Supa Dexta's package is a pretty killer deal, and most places will have packages available. Online might be your best bet for price though. Maybe go in, find your size fins, the mask that fits etc then buy online, I've had success with that. Hopefully that helps, it's been awhile since I bought those things all at the same time.

note: with cold water diving, you're gonna be wearing boots, so you need open heel fins. Closed foot fins are for tropical diving only.

[D'z Nutz]

Thanks again! I'll keep that in mind :thumbsup:

[Freeskier]

We should have a general scuba thread. What with all the ballers on beyond who can afford to travel to all the crazy tropical dive sites, there'd be a lot of people with cool stories/pictures. I remember hearing that Calgary has the highest number of certified divers per capita in North America, not sure if that's true though.

[D'z Nutz]

So anyone ever dive in Florida? I just booked some tickets to Orlando in October and would love to get some dive time in.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by Freeskier
Supa, i've dove those fins before, they're pretty pimp. I think you'll like em alot.

Did 3 survey dives today at one of the sites near the marine station, saw 3 of these little guys on the same dive which was pretty rad.
http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/Arch06/1208740270.jpg

Wow, what a shot!! That must be mind blowing, the scenery down there...the colors.....Man I'd love to do that. (just smoked a bowl so its even more impressive!!)

[MGCM]

No way I can't go diving anywhere, something will get me and eat me and/or kill me:nut:........i have that fear of deep water, yet i can push any car to it's limits and beyond without it phasing me at all...........yea, i'm weird, i know:thumbsup:

[Aerobat]

Thanks for the useful post... Just picked up some hollis f1 fins for my 2 week divestravaganza cruise... Whale sharks in costa rica and maho beach

[Freeskier]

c_dave, not my photo. I didn't have a camera for that dive, but they are pretty cool little critters for sure. Just finished up my directed studies at Bamfield, 45 dives in 42 days woot!! Unreal diving out here, saw so much cool shit, wolf eels, ratfish, lots of octos etc etc.

[MGCM]

Originally posted by Aerobat
Thanks for the useful post... Just picked up some hollis f1 fins for my 2 week divestravaganza cruise... Whale sharks in costa rica and maho beach

lol anytime :thumbsup:

but I do admire the courage it takes to do this activity and wish I could conquer my fear of deep water so I could see some of the amazing things that it has to offer me.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by Aerobat
Thanks for the useful post... Just picked up some hollis f1 fins for my 2 week divestravaganza cruise... Whale sharks in costa rica and maho beach

That sounds awesome! Can you give some information about this cruise?

[97'Scort]

I dive in Hawaii as often as I can (Kona on the Big Island). My parents have a place there.

There are TONS of endemic fish there as well as eels and big mantas. One of my favourite eels is a Dragon Moray (I've only seen 3 in the wild):

http://www.themarinecenter.com/media/photos/B6AC1E4CFEA64B648CB3DF9E6D59D328E.jpg

and garden eels:

http://www.marlin1charters.com.au/pic/P4300068.jpg

[l/l/rX]

went diving in bali, don't have my dive certificate, went down with 2 other guys who did. We went down about 18 feet. Pretty cool first experience.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanta/4008178610/in/set-72157622450876811/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanta/4007414357/in/set-72157622450876811/

[Freeskier]

A couple from my sci dive/directed studies courses out at Bamfield.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs021.snc4/33424_607929428616_122504750_35904641_6310905_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs036.snc4/34153_607929817836_122504750_35904670_6091059_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs016.snc4/34153_607929822826_122504750_35904671_3846610_n.jpg

[Dumbass17]

sorry this thread kinda made me laugh at diving in lakes, it must be so very cold!
i did my padi open water certification in koh tao thailand and it was unbelievable. i dove some more in thailand and then again in indonesia. it's SO nice not having to wear a wetsuit cause the water is so warm. then i dove again here, australia, in june and it was FREEZING. i don't know how you guys dive in lakes haha.

but yeah, definitely dive in se asia. it's so amazing. i have never seen so many fishes and turtles. the largest turtle i saw had a shell about 4feet long and i was about a foot away from it, just staring in awe. also saw a few grey tipped reef sharks or whatever they are called.

i can't even being to describe how awesome diving in se asia was. there's so much to see

[Freeskier]

Word. Diving lakes kinda blows. They tend to have a lot less life than the ocean, I've only done 2 lake dives and I'm just really glad I live so close to such epic diving. Cold doesn't really bother me though. Drysuits FTW

[interlude]

Quick question about diving.

I am going to Egypt in Sept. There are a couple people in my group that has not completed any PADI training. But they were able to dive in the bahamas with a dive master. Is this a package thats usually available at a dive center? If so, what is it usually called?

I have done the in class training, but havent done the open water yet.

[Dumbass17]

sometimes you can get a 'scuba introduction' course at dive shops. depending on how sketchy the shop is they may allow these trial divers to dive to different depths. for instance, i was in spain and one friend had her open water diver certification, and me and another friend did a trial dive. the shop let us dive to 18m for almost an hour. they shouldn't have let us do that but we did.


and once you're in egypt (or beforehand) you can google/read some reviews of the shop and then just tell them your situation once you're there. i've been to several diveshops and most are very professional and friendly.

best of luck

[interlude]

Originally posted by Dumbass17
sometimes you can get a 'scuba introduction' course at dive shops. depending on how sketchy the shop is they may allow these trial divers to dive to different depths. for instance, i was in spain and one friend had her open water diver certification, and me and another friend did a trial dive. the shop let us dive to 18m for almost an hour. they shouldn't have let us do that but we did.


and once you're in egypt (or beforehand) you can google/read some reviews of the shop and then just tell them your situation once you're there. i've been to several diveshops and most are very professional and friendly.

best of luck

Did they train you?

[statick]

Originally posted by Freeskier
We should have a general scuba thread. What with all the ballers on beyond who can afford to travel to all the crazy tropical dive sites, there'd be a lot of people with cool stories/pictures. I remember hearing that Calgary has the highest number of certified divers per capita in North America, not sure if that's true though.

Agreed, it would also be nice if there is a medium for folks to see who else may interested in some local diving!

I've recently started gearing up and so far have a mask, snorkel, fins and boots (6mm). Provided I can find the right deal on a dive computer and wetsuit, along with a hood and gloves, I'll be picking those up shortly.

I've only been on one dive before, in the Great Barrier Reef, off Cairns, but with any luck will be Open Water certified in eight days...

Freeskier, I understand that you dive dry, but is $350 for a 7mm farmer john setup a reasonable price? It is made by Pinnacle.

[Freeskier]

Originally posted by Dumbass17
sometimes you can get a 'scuba introduction' course at dive shops. depending on how sketchy the shop is they may allow these trial divers to dive to different depths. for instance, i was in spain and one friend had her open water diver certification, and me and another friend did a trial dive. the shop let us dive to 18m for almost an hour. they shouldn't have let us do that but we did.


:werd:
Most shops, especially those in popular tourist destinations will have a "discover scuba" type package where uncertified divers will be taken down under supervision of a DM or Instructor.

Statick, that def. sounds reasonable for a wetsuit, I know people who've paid over double that lol.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by statick


Agreed, it would also be nice if there is a medium for folks to see who else may interested in some local diving!

Isn't that the point of this thread? :)


Originally posted by statick
I've only been on one dive before, in the Great Barrier Reef, off Cairns, but with any luck will be Open Water certified in eight days...

I bet that was amazing. Sadly, when I was there a few years ago I hadn't gotten certified yet, though I did do some snorkling:

http://www.typicalfish.com/images/oz/snorkel.wmv

Maybe one day I'll make it back to Cairns.

My trip to Florida's coming up in a little over a month and I'm starting to look for some dive trips. I hear there's some great spots in West Palm beach. They've got sites just north of Orlando where you can dive with manatees, but I don't know if it's still in season for that. I need to start gearing up too. I still haven't gotten my mask/snorkle/fins yet. My focus has been trying to locate an affordable housing for my camera. I think I found a decent, used setup. I'm just not sure if I want to fork out the cash!

Here are pics from my last dive, just off Cancun. Visibility was not great that day :(

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/4641386768_7bf49a35bc_z.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/4641386828_d7738a6fb2_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4646974784_4a302b4ea9_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4654357519_d05afd7de8_z.jpg

Fucking barracudas!
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4654357583_6e6e4c0dfb_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4654976050_5a779878f4_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4654357791_1ef0f6ac4a_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4654357873_5246e23f90_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4654976392_d58971dd89_z.jpg

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by interlude


Did they train you?
in spain we did some pool 'training', it was pretty much 1/4 of the stuff you learn in the full open water diver course. we did stuff like clearing our masks etc but nothing with buyonacy. our divemaster just swam alongside us and inflated/deflated our BCD as needed. sure would've been nice to know about controlling my buoyancy simply by breathing patterns haha

[statick]

Great pictures, D'z Nuts! At what depth were those photographs taken?

What are you thinking for your mask/snorkel/fins? Here in the city, Colin from The Dive Shop and John from Caribbean Dreams Diving are both very helpful. In fact, earlier today, John nicely hooked me up with a Suunto Zoop for a very reasonable price!

[D'z Nutz]

Thanks! The shipwreck was about 80-90 feet down while the reef was about 25 feet down.

I don't know what I'm going to get for the mask/snorkel/fins yet. I was considering the snorkel package Supa Dexta posted on the first page but I can't decide on what mask to get since reviews on some of them were pretty hit or miss. I just need to find some time to hit up The Dive Shop and try out some masks to see what I like.

[arian_ma]

Wow that's a lot of light for 30m+ underwater! Must have been clear as day, even though you said it was not so clear.

If you go diving in Cairns, with the right company on some of the pristine reefs, it will ruin all other diving for you lol. It's unreal there.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by arian_ma
Wow that's a lot of light for 30m+ underwater! Must have been clear as day, even though you said it was not so clear.


No, actually there was a lot of sediment stirred up. There was a storm the night before and our dive master said we picked a bad day to go since it's usually crystal clear at that site.

[statick]

For the price,that snorkel package seems alright, but it is really nice to go and actually try on dive gear before purchasing. I didn't mention this to any of you guys, but when buying a mask, snorkel, fins and, I think, boots, The Dive Shop will give you a 20% discount.

I had my first classroom session and confined dive last night... We must tread water for 10 minutes today, yikes!!!

[D'z Nutz]

w00t w00t, i just picked up my mask/snorkel/fins this afternoon at the dive shop. I might have my camera housing by next week, and I've found a wreck site in Florida that might be worth checking out :D


Originally posted by statick
I had my first classroom session and confined dive last night... We must tread water for 10 minutes today, yikes!!!

Haha i never had to do that. Do you do it with gear?

[statick]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
w00t w00t, i just picked up my mask/snorkel/fins this afternoon at the dive shop. I might have my camera housing by next week, and I've found a wreck site in Florida that might be worth checking out :D



Haha i never had to do that. Do you do it with gear?

Congratulations on picking up the gear. Which mask and fins did you buy? I was actally there this afternoon for my classroom session. I've got the Mares Hera (cheapest mask on the wall at The Dive Shop) and a pair of Sherwood SPINTAs. Did you need boots with your fins?

We did the water tread and a 200m swim in nothing but our bathing suits, but I made it through somehow! Now that I've cleared the classroom and pool portion, I'll be taking my four open water dives on Wednesday & Thursday at Lake Chapparal. Then I can start diving in all the very cold lakes we have around here :D

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by statick


Congratulations on picking up the gear. Which mask and fins did you buy? I was actally there this afternoon for my classroom session. I've got the Mares Hera (cheapest mask on the wall at The Dive Shop) and a pair of Sherwood SPINTAs. Did you need boots with your fins?

I got a pair of Mares Avanti Superchannel fins. I'm not too sure what kind of mask I got. The box says Sea Sport on it, but there's no model number on the mask anywhere.

However, I'm more excited about the camera housing I just picked up :D

http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/subal_0001.jpg

[DJ Lazy]

^^ Baller!! :bigpimp:

Curious what that cost ya!... PM me if you wish.. ;)

[RC-Cola]

I'm glad I spotted this thread. I've been certified for 12 years and have about 120 dives in total. I've dove in local lakes in the mountains (in my youth, it's too damm cold for me now), some dives on teh West Coast but most of my dives have been in the tropics (Cancun, Pueta Plata, Grand Caymans, Belieze and Cozamel).

We have a trip planned for the week before Christmas this year to the Myan Riveria and I need to do a refresher course. Last time I did it through Adventures in Scuba on a Saturday and they did great job.

As far as buying equipment, I have a mask, snokel, fins, boots and a dive knife. This is all I ever bring with me as I don't dive enough to justify the space and cost of the equipment. I'd love to have my own regs and dive computer though!

I'm looking for any suggestions for places to dive near Tulum?

[statick]

Wicked housing, D'z Nutz... I've been starting to research and look around for a housing myself. Where did you pick up yours? It seems that for new custom housings, Saneal Camera is one of the only places. I've yet to check out The Camera Store, though.

I had five dives in Banff last weekend (Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake), lots and lots of fun but minimal marine life during the day.

[D'z Nutz]

I had been on the look out for a housing for the past few months, knowing my dive trip was coming up soon, so I was keeping an eye on scubaboard.com and wetpixel.com to see if anything used was coming up cause you can order a new housing just about anywhere. I posted a WTB ad on wetpixel and someone responded saying his friend was selling his old housing with a dome port. He also happened to live in Vancouver and since I was headed down there, I saved a few bucks by doing a local pickup. I was starting to get a little desperate and considered buying a second hand Rebel body since so many housings for them were available.

How was the diving in Banff? I'd love to do more diving, but I dunno if I can get past the idea of the cold water!

[RC-Cola]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
How was the diving in Banff? I'd love to do more diving, but I dunno if I can get past the idea of the cold water!

It would give you a good excuse to take your drysuit course! Personally I don't dive cold water anymore, it's not simply the cold (which isn't great), it's the lack of life, ALL the extra equipment, gear and weigths you need to have.

On top of all of those reasons you also typically have lot's of thermal clouds you go through all which lower your visibilty and enjoyability.

[D'z Nutz]

does the drysuit make that much of a difference? I'm not against the idea of trying it out, but if there's nothing to see in cold waters (at least in Calgary), forget it! Although I heard there's an underwater obstacle course at Chapperlle Lake from the fireman games a few years back?

[Aerobat]

yah Chapparal has one aswell as sylvan...id recommend the drysuit course through the dive shop..i did mine in Minnewanka last year and it was great fun...the big thing is the underwear that comes with the drysuit..do far i have a mares demon mask..some random dry snorkel, hollis f1 fins and some aqua lung boots..dive shop is having a sidewalk sale october 2 and im hoping to pick up a zeagle ranger bc..im trying to buy stuff i can use here and in the tropics..


picture from our shark dive in the bahamas in november..

[statick]

Nice shot, Aerobat! Where exactly were you? I'm planning to check out the sidewalk sale fora BC, as well. Do you do much local diving.

D'z Nutz, I'm finding that even now, most of the local waters aren't that cold. Most were a tad over 50 F on the weekend. (Keep in mind, I dive wet.) Definitely not as much life, but still things to see and things to do! RC makes a very valid point, though I still feel it is worth doing the odd bit of local diving... keeps your skills sharp too!

[Aerobat]

We were diving with stuart cove's on the southwest side of Nassau Bahamas...unfortunately the only local diving I did was for my advanced and drysuit but id like to try out the ice diving and a nitrox course this winter if possible

[RC-Cola]

Originally posted by statick
I still feel it is worth doing the odd bit of local diving... keeps your skills sharp too!

Good point, unfortunately I'm not a high roller like some of the guys here that can go to the tropics two or three times a year so I end up having to do a refresher course every time I head south.

[Hi-Psi]

I just finished my Rescue Diving Course thanks to my girlfriend who's a dive instructor living in the Caribbean(Turks and Caicos).

It sucks though cus she's coming home on Saturday so no more free trips to the Caribbean for me :-(

[D'z Nutz]

Alright, you guys have convinced me to give local diving a try, but I think I'll hold off until next summer. I don't think I have much time to in the upcoming weeks and by the time I do, winter will be around the corner (if it isn't here already).

If you guys are looking for a dive buddy to do some local diving, hit me up!


Aerobat: thanks for the heads up on the sale. My sisters are thinking about getting some snorkeling gear for our upcoming Florida trip so this will save them a few bucks. That shark dive looks amazing! That's been on my to-do list for a couple years.

[statick]

Nice, we can have an underwater Beyond meet next summer!

[austic]

That sidewalk sale was awesome. I picked up a Mares Dragon and a Kaila for my fiance. Looked at getting a ranger but they are just too much BCD for travel and i would say 80% of my dives each year are tropical. Really good prices on Tital Lx regs but i think i will wait till Char's annual sale in april to pick those up.

[D'z Nutz]

More info on this "Char's annual sale", please... I swung by the sidewalk sale yesterday and they had some good stuff there. Too bad I didn't need anything.

I'm just packing up for Florida now. Got a snorkeling trip and a dive trip booked :clap:

[austic]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
More info on this "Char's annual sale", please... I swung by the sidewalk sale yesterday and they had some good stuff there. Too bad I didn't need anything.

I'm just packing up for Florida now. Got a snorkeling trip and a dive trip booked :clap:

Char's shop is Aquasport in Marda loop. Every year around April (not sure off the top of my head) she has a massive sale to celebrate the anniversary of the store opening. There are normally some pretty good deals to be had. Similar to the dive shops annual sale which was this past weekend.

[arian_ma]

Guys, I'm doing a trip to Central America this winter, gonna head up to Utila and Roatan islands in Honduras. In the middle of the second biggest reef in the world. I'm planning on spending 1.5 weeks exclusively diving in those places!

[interlude]

Officially an open water diver!

Certified in El Gouna, Egypt. Diving in the Red Sea was absolutely incredible. I did my certification at the Sha'ab El Erg dive site. They name it Dolphin's House, there is a reef about 8kms long. At Sha'ab El Erg there are 2 big reefs and a channel in between it, in the middle of the channel there is a big pinnacle reef AMAZING! and the dolphin's love to swim through the channel.

My fiance decided scuba isnt for her, so she was snorkelling for the 2 days. The dolphins ended up swimming under her. They were there everyday to check out what we were up to, and then swim to the other reefs in the area.

For our last dive we went to Poseidon's Garden, another amazing reef!

I think after diving in the red sea, I have been spoiled, and after watching videos of lake minnewanka (cold, dark and murky) im not so sure I want to dive there.

How is it out there, because the videos on youtube can be misleading.

Someone mentioned a sale, is the sale still going on? if so at which store?

edit:

Forgot to mention that they offered nitrox, which I wished I took advantage of. All I had to do was buy the book and dvd for 35 euro, and the course was 129 euro, and for my 3rd and 4th dive (certification) I could have used nitrox and got it all over with in one shot.

[austic]

Congrats on the certification.
Sale is over. next sale is April then October. The sales on dive gear do not happen very often.

As far as the Red Sea vs Local diving all I can say is LOL, but its alot cheaper to go to a local lake.

[interlude]

Originally posted by austic
Congrats on the certification.
Sale is over. next sale is April then October. The sales on dive gear do not happen very often.

As far as the Red Sea vs Local diving all I can say is LOL, but its alot cheaper to go to a local lake.


haha i hear you on that. But im addicted, and want to go again! I think the next time I will dive will be May next year in Jamaica. However, I am interested in the Mexico trip being offered at Adventures in Scuba in Janurary.

[RC-Cola]

If you really want to go baller, you dive in the Maldives...

Maldives Photos (http://www.google.com/images?q=diving+in+the+maldives&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=X6OrTIFxzOk5j-us-QY&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQsAQwAw&biw=1579&bih=1024)

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by interlude
Officially an open water diver!

Congats!

[statick]

Originally posted by arian_ma
Guys, I'm doing a trip to Central America this winter, gonna head up to Utila and Roatan islands in Honduras. In the middle of the second biggest reef in the world. I'm planning on spending 1.5 weeks exclusively diving in those places!

Arian, that trip sounds quite bad-ass. I'm contemplating heading there in February...

Interlude, congratulations on becoming an OW diver. As you know, there are great experiences ahead of you.

RC-Cola, I'm no baller, but my fiance and I intend to head to Maldives for our honeymoon.

It's a long shot, but if anyone is interested in heading to Lake Minnewanka or Two-Jack Lake, let me know. A friend and I are probably heading there this weekend, sometime.

Stay wet.

[Freeskier]

Originally posted by interlude
Officially an open water diver!


Congrats on the cert!

Just got back from a road trip across the country, and had the opportunity to do a dive with a buddy at a site just outside Halifax. It was an old whaling station so the bottom was littered with so much cool shit. Found 4 old pepsi, coke and Nesbitt's pop bottles that I kept and then saw the biggest lobsters i'd ever seen. One chopped the neck off a bottle that I gave it like it was a stick of butter, nucking futs.
Overall cool dive, but super different from here on the WC

[austic]

As i am in the market for some new gear what regs and computers does everyone use? I am looking at the Aqualung Titan lx supreme for the regs and possibly a sunto cobra 3 air inegrated for the cpu. thoughts? I was looking at the sunto D4 but after a long conversation with Colin from the dive shop I think they might be too conservative. I am not into the tech diving yet soo all i would need is up to 40%.

[statick]

Originally posted by austic
As i am in the market for some new gear what regs and computers does everyone use? I am looking at the Aqualung Titan lx supreme for the regs and possibly a sunto cobra 3 air inegrated for the cpu. thoughts? I was looking at the sunto D4 but after a long conversation with Colin from the dive shop I think they might be too conservative. I am not into the tech diving yet soo all i would need is up to 40%.

Austic,

I haven't looked too much into regulators, but I did much shopping for dive computers. I'm currently using a Suunto Zoop and it is awesome. Having used a few Oceanics and played with a Liquivision X1, Suunto's offering in the range of the D4 and the Zoop are stellar. Very useable, great durability and quite reliable. Depending on how much your budget can stretch, there may be some others to consider. At some, hopefully in a few years, I'd love to pick up a Liquivision dive computer...

[austic]

Do you find the D4 too conservative?

[D'z Nutz]

Here are some pics from our snorkel trip this afternoon in Crystal Lake, Florida. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend you book a trip with Fun 2 Dive chaters (http://www.fun2dive.com/).

Ooooooh, the hu-manatee!!

(FYI, the manatee is the one on the right.)
http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0013.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0030.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0033.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0060.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0071.jpg

[statick]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Here are some pics from our snorkel trip this afternoon in Crystal Lake, Florida. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend you book a trip with Fun 2 Dive chaters (http://www.fun2dive.com/).

Ooooooh, the hu-manatee!!

(FYI, the manatee is the one on the right.)
http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0013.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0030.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0033.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0060.jpg

http://www.derrickwoophotography.com/images/public/crystal_lake_20101007_0071.jpg

Gorgeous shots! I can't wait to see what you get when diving... Enjoy the trip.

Austic, it may be just a hait more conservative than an Oceanic, for example, but for recreational diving (non-tec), I'd not hesitate in using it. Keep in mind, Colin is a purist tec diver.

[interlude]

what do you guys think about the suunto d9?

If you guys hear of any sales, please post it in this thread. I need to start shopping for basic gear, probably just going to pick up the shoes and fins. I'm not sure if I really want to splurge on regs and a bcd (too much stuff to carry when travelling)

On another note, did you guys hear about the diver that died in Lake Winnewanka. Pretty scary stuff, I wonder how the class lost this guy during dive 2.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2010/10/11/15650411.html

[austic]

for a better discussion of the death

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/355490-diver-death-lake-minnewanka-alberta-canada.html


As far as not wanting the carry the extra gear I would ask where do you do most of your diving? I would buy a set of regs over a dive computer any day. Mostly due to the fact that alot of places down south poorly maintain their regs.. It sucks spending tons of money on a dive only to get a free flow at 100ft.

[interlude]

Originally posted by austic
for a better discussion of the death

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/355490-diver-death-lake-minnewanka-alberta-canada.html


As far as not wanting the carry the extra gear I would ask where do you do most of your diving? I would buy a set of regs over a dive computer any day. Mostly due to the fact that alot of places down south poorly maintain their regs.. It sucks spending tons of money on a dive only to get a free flow at 100ft.

Most of my diving will be on vacation. So far in 2011 I have Jamaica, LA (if there is good diving), Maui and Dominican Republic planned.

As far as gear goes, I would love to buy my own regs, bcd and computer. But I think lugging around a bcd would be PITA. So I might be in the market for a computer, regs, shoes and fins. I already have my trusty Mares Demoneyes goggle and snorkel.

Do you guys have any good recommendations on regs?

[austic]

I like the Aqua lung titan lx for warm water, or the supreme version if might do some dives locally. supreme runs $850 with console and octo but will outperform most high end regs.

Diving in Jamacica i hear is hit and miss. Your own regs would be defiantly a good idea there. LA doesn’t have too great of diving but if you drive an hour south San Diego has some nice wrecks and shore dives that are defiantly worth the drive.

[interlude]

Originally posted by austic
I like the Aqua lung titan lx for warm water, or the supreme version if might do some dives locally. supreme runs $850 with console and octo but will outperform most high end regs.

Diving in Jamacica i hear is hit and miss. Your own regs would be defiantly a good idea there. LA doesn’t have too great of diving but if you drive an hour south San Diego has some nice wrecks and shore dives that are defiantly worth the drive.

Thanks for the info on SD. The wedding is in LA, but I have a cousin living in SD, so I guess I will be staying at his place for a couple days :)

I didnt have any problems with gear in Egypt, however, I have heard of some horror stories. I will look into the regs you have mentioned.. seems really pricey when I have 4 destination weddings to attend next year :( Especially since one of those weddings is mine. Money is going to be tight this year :(

Is this the supreme that you are taking about?

http://diveidc.com/pages/7049/legend-lx-supreme/

[austic]

This is the one i was talking about. http://www.aqualung.com/ca/en/content/view/243/9/

I would just wait till it goes on sale. I think it was 600 in October.
I know they are even cheaper for the non supreme version if you dont plan on doing any cold water diving it would be a great travel reg. by the sounds of it you plan on doing alot of diving and having your own gear will save you alot of rentals in the long run.

Regs are expensive but if you think about about it your BCD breaks you are normally ok, your cpu battery dies you are ok, your regs stop working and you are in trouble. Its one of those pieces of gear that i like to know the mintenance history of...

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by statick
Gorgeous shots! I can't wait to see what you get when diving... Enjoy the trip.

Unfortunately the remainder of my dive trip wasn't as smooth as the manatee tour :(

We left West Palm Beach at 4:30am and hauled our ass down to Key Largo (about 2.5 hours away) to make the 7:30am check-in/8:00am departure. I picked Key Largo cause the guys at the manatee tours said they had some really great wrecks down there, which is what I wanted to check out. We get there in the morning and the girl at the desk says I can't do the wreck dive because I didn't meet the minimum two +80ft dive requirement in the last year (I did one in mexico). Fuck.

Okay, I came all this way, I'll do the two reef dives. I suit up and get to the boat and they tell me they might have to call this trip off because I'm the only one that showed up for the morning and they require people to head down in at least pairs. Fuck!

Last second, two pairs come on board and we're ready to go. Sweet! We make it to the dive site, jump into the water and... the leak sensor on my camera housing is flashing. I look at the dome port and see water. FUUUCCCKK!!

I make it back to the boat and the boat crew disassembles my housing and finds there was a leak in here somewhere. My camera's a little wet, but fortunately it happened while I was on the the surface 10 ft away from the boat doing weight check and not while/after I made my descent. The camera's still semi responsive, but I think I still have to take it apart and clean off any corrosion and salt. Good thing it's just my backup camera (but it's still a pain in the ass though).

I still got to do the two dives, but I couldn't stop thinking about my camera the whole time. Saw a lot of cool stuff at the reef though.

To add insult to injury, the camera snapped off this pic before it completely choked up :rofl:

http://typicalfish.com/images/beyond/molasses_reef_2010109.jpg

[interlude]

Originally posted by austic
This is the one i was talking about. http://www.aqualung.com/ca/en/content/view/243/9/

I would just wait till it goes on sale. I think it was 600 in October.
I know they are even cheaper for the non supreme version if you dont plan on doing any cold water diving it would be a great travel reg. by the sounds of it you plan on doing alot of diving and having your own gear will save you alot of rentals in the long run.

Regs are expensive but if you think about about it your BCD breaks you are normally ok, your cpu battery dies you are ok, your regs stop working and you are in trouble. Its one of those pieces of gear that i like to know the mintenance history of...

I guess I will have to wait for the next sale. If anybody knows of an upcoming sale, please post it! :)

[Freeskier]

If anyone is out here in Victoria looking for a dive, let me know. I have to get a couple regs rebuilt and set up with long hoses, but should hopefully be back in the water in a week or two, always down to take people out, try and find some cool shit to look at.

[statick]

Interlude, the D9 is a great option. Again, in my mind, for recreational diving, it isn't too conservative. But if you're looking to spend that much, consider the Liquivision X1!

Freeskier, I'll hit you up whenever I get to your woods...

D'z Nutz, you camera is a cocktease like Katie Holmes in Batman Begins :D

[interlude]

Anybody else have experiences in Punta Cana?

[RC-Cola]

Originally posted by interlude
Anybody else have experiences in Punta Cana?

I was there with my wife in 2006. She got her resort diver that week so we didn't do anything too crazy.

The dive master from the resort took us out to a local reef and toured us on a drift dive and through some overpasses/caves. Good visibility and not too bad for aquatic life.

[RC-Cola]

So I'm heading down to the Rivera Maya in December for a week. We were staying at the Grand Sunset Princess (the hotel that blew up) and now have switched hotels and have everything planned ok.

In the new hotel we are closer to Cancun then Playa so I was thinking about making a couple of day trips to Cancun to dive with local shops. I've done a little research and found these two dive shops that seem to have good reviews (medium sized so your not cattle hered on and off the boat):

Scorpio Divers (http://www.scorpiodivers.com/)

Scuba Cancun (http://www.scubacancun.com.mx/scubahtm/)

Also, I'm thinking about picking up a 3mm wetsuit before I go down. Any good suggestions for online retailers to pick one up? Any suggestions on brand and/types types?

[austic]

Go with Scorpio Divers, Ben is great.

Just saw the post date, let us know how it went

[RC-Cola]

Originally posted by austic
Go with Scorpio Divers, Ben is great.

Just saw the post date, let us know how it went

We leave on Sunday and after a bit more research and recommendations from some others we are diving with Dive In at Puerto Morelos.

Looking at get two dive days in.

I'll let you know how it goes when we get back.

[D'z Nutz]

For anyone who wants to take photos underwater without wanting to get a dedicated underwater housing or camera...

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?whse=BCCA&topnav=&prodid=10344754&ec=BCCA-EC780-CatHome&pos=15&lang=en-CA

For that price, it's pretty tempting to try out!

Here's a review I found with videos at the bottom:
http://blog.divecamcentral.com/2009/04/22/liquid-image-videomask-310-review-2/

[davidI]

Headed to Koh Tao for a month in Jan / Feb - hoping to get in lots of dives :D