Posted: 6/19/2015 5:48:23 PM EDT
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I dove with dad from the time I was 10- back in '68. I got an Open Water cert. in '76 when I was 18 so I could go diving with other people than just dad. I lost interest in the early '80s- we dove lakes and the muddy bottom of one looks like the muddy bottom of all of them.
My brother just recently got into diving and got certified and wants me to dive with him. He went on a cruise and had a couple of dive excursions in the Bahamas. Next January we are going to either Freeport and Nassau or, if the cruise line doesn't show an excursion in Freeport, we are going to Cozumel, Belize and Grand Cayman. Either way it will be fun. I went through the tune-up book, and I guess it all stuck with me through the years. The answers seemed basic and easy. I go for a pool checkout tomorrow morning. From what my brother told me his Open Water class covered much less material than mine did back in '76. I have to get used to "new" equipment that just didn't exist when I left, mainly BCDs and dive computers. I found a used Zeagle Ranger BC and am buying a used Oceanic Delta regulator from a local shop that is currently being serviced. My brother bought a few Oceanic Geo 2 computers and I am going to try one of his before buying one. The local shop has 80cf tanks with valve and full of air for just under $200.00 so I will be getting one or two. I need to replace my mask, fins and snorkel and am going to try several before buying. When I was actively diving all of my equipment was U.S. Diver's Aqualung. That was top of the line gear then. Dacor was good and ScubaPro was too. Now it seems U.S. Diver's gear isn't up to the same standards. I see a lot of people using Cressi- who I had never heard of before. What are the good brands now and what should be avoided? How do my choices look so far? Edited to add: The regulator comes with an oct and full set of guages. I will post the details after I pick it up. The cost is only $200.00 and that includes the rebuild. |
| You should be able to find AL80's for cheaper than that with a current hydro and visual inspection. I bought three in private sales (two Craigslist, one from a friend) for $100 each with fresh VIP and a couple years left on the hydro date. I even found an AL30 in need of hydro for $40 on there that looked like it had never been used. |
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I will check around but for a new tank with fresh visual and hydro, valve and fill I don't think it's too far out of line. The used tanks I have found locally on craigslist look pretty rough and old. I don't mind supporting my local dive shop-within reason. I couldn't pass up on a Zeagle Ranger for $175.00. I passed my refresher dive this morning easily. The closest I came to having to an issue was snorting a sinus full of water when I had to demonstrate breathing with my mask off. 
Using a BC already seems easy and better than how we dived back when I was first actively diving. |
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Stupid question but, you're not looking at buying tanks to take on your trip are you?
Good (affordable) brands: Scubapro and Apeks/Aqualung Meh gear brand Sherwood I think U.S. Divers is more like what you'd see on the shelf at Wal-Mart these days. BC... depends what you you're comfortable wearing. Some people prefer vest style... some like backplates. If you're going to be traveling with your gear you may want to consider that for the difference in size and weight when packing it. There are a lot of computer options. Get on youtube and watch some video reviews and/or download the user manuals and see which ones have what you want and are the easiest to use. My wife has a Suunto Zoop. I hate it. I have a Suunto D4i that's good and a Shearwater Petrel which is awesome especially for the price. Plenty of brands to check out on LeisurePro or DRIS Depending on how much diving you're planning on doing it might be better to (a) buy new gear so you know it's not going to shit the bed on you because the last guy didn't service/maintain it properly or (b) rent gear from the resort/dive group you're going through. Definitely worth trying different gear out before committing to buying anything. Even if you're getting something for a "good deal", you might be wasting your money that could go toward something that you like better. Dive shops usually have a few different types of gear and the instructor or DM might let you try their gear if they're cool. |
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Quoted:
take a refresher class. Good point. If it's been that long some things have probably changed and some things you have more than likely forgotten. Been on several orientation dives with people that said they'd been diving for 20 years and they look like a drowning dog underwater. There's not shame in needing a refresher. |
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I am not even considering taking tanks. I will be taking my BC, regulator, mask, fins and snorkel. I will feel much more comfortable using my personal gear. Yes, I did take a refresher. When I went in the pool it felt very natural to be back underwater. My brother, nephew and I are planning several local dives prior to the trip- some just the 3 of us and some with a group from a local dive shop. We may- may, see about getting our AOW before the trip. There is a lot of good info in the specialties offered with that certification. One specialty I originally looked past now seems very interesting- the Peak Performance Buoyancy course. The other courses will also be useful but that course will help in every phase of diving. |
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Definitely consider getting your AOW... and top it off with EANx (Nitrox) which you can do online.
Most vacation/resort dive shops will want to know what your highest level of certification is, how many dives you have, when your last dive was, and if you have DAN insurance (also highly recommended). If you don't have your AOW or Deep Diver Specialty you'll be limited to 60'. Depending on where your trip is, you might be cheating yourself out of some of the better sites by not being able to deeper. Recommend just doing the entire AOW vs. the specialty though. Good idea to do some local dives to get more comfortable. Keep in mind, if your local dives are in fresh water and your trip is in salt water, you're going to need to adjust your weighting. Most resorts will just throw extra weight on the once a year divers to make it easier, knowing they'll just inflate their BCs once they're down. But it's much better to be properly weighted to get the most out of your buoyancy and not be dropping to the sand like an anchor. |
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We are going Cozumel-Belize-Roatan, although right now it looks like they are not offering a dive excursion in Belize. My brother and nephew are thinking about going through NAUI for their AOW. My nephew has his OW through them but my brother got his OW through PADI about a year ago in Belize- I think. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to changing to NAUI? |
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I wouldn't worry about buying your own tanks unless you have a very specific reason to. Annual vis and 5 year hydro costs vs. tank rentals can add up, not to mention the initial cost of the tanks themselves.
Normally I wouldn't suggest buying regs and a BC until you're sure you'll be doing more diving. But considering you used to dive, you may have a better feel for that. If you want decent regs at a reasonable cost Dive Rite or HOG are a couple of good choices. Atomic and Hollis are also good. But if you're going through a local shop you may just want to get a brand they service vs. sending them off or doing it yourself. As far as fins, whatever you get, do NOT buy closed heel fins. You want open heel fins that are designed to be worn with booties. There are lots of decent open water fins, which are nice when you don't have to kick hard. If there's a current or surge a stiffer fin will give you something to push against, where the more flexible fins can just about be useless. I really like the OMS Slipstreams since they're basically neutral and don't pull your feet down like the jet fins or turtles. But in any case that's something to consider and perhaps try. You have to try them with gear on to get a feel since that adds a lot of drag. One thing I would actually suggest buying vs. renting is a wetsuit since it really needs to fit you so closely. Personally I think a 3mm is pretty versatile, but you may want a little more or less depending on the water you're diving and your thermal tolerance. I've done 90 minute dives here in 55 F water in 3mm, so your mileage may vary. This place does custom cut suits at a really decent price, for one example. A caveat, the thinner the suit, the more stretch you can get away with. So if you're just going with anything thinner than 3mm you might do ok with a rental if you're close to a standard size. |
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Quoted:
We are going Cozumel-Belize-Roatan, although right now it looks like they are not offering a dive excursion in Belize. My brother and nephew are thinking about going through NAUI for their AOW. My nephew has his OW through them but my brother got his OW through PADI about a year ago in Belize- I think. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to changing to NAUI? It usually boils down to two things, 1. The instructor. If they're good and conscientious that's far, far more important than the agency. 2. Recognition of the cert overseas. For open water in the Caribbean it probably won't matter one bit though. One thing neither of you probably have that I would HIGHLY suggest purchasing one between you is a CO meter. And then use it on every tank before you dive it. This has killed several people in the last few years. Someone I know just posted about this recently, they probably avoided one or more deaths because they were testing the tanks after they came from the fill station. Carbon monoxide is bad stuff at depth. It can come from an external source being drawn into the intake, or from improper servicing of the compressor. http://www.alertdiver.com/402 |
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NAUI/PADI won't matter when it comes down to it. They're both members of the WRSTC, and as such they will have similar standards for OW and AOW. It is much more important that you find a good instructor that you work well with. That does not mean one that will let you skate by and punch your ticket just because you paid your money and showed up on time. Find an instructor that will push you, and demand that you meet a higher standard.
PPB is a great course if you have a good instructor. Buoyancy, trim, and propulsion is the holy grail of being a good diver, and too much is glossed over in OW/AOW these days. PPB at least gives a nod to those, although to be fair, GUE Fundies or IANTD Essentials would be a better course to work on those specific aspects. Another big thing people forget when going AOW is that just because they are certified, it does not mean they are qualified. A good instructor will fail you if you need to be failed. 40m is a bad time to figure out that you're narc'd and you breathed out all of your gas AND incurred a half hour deco obligation. Being able to run a reciprocal heading and breathe off a deco bottle means nothing if you can't get to the bottle hanging on the line in the first place. 10 dives is not enough to prepare you for a situation like that. "Advanced" really isn't. It's much more dependent on you getting competent instruction and practice practice practice to live up to the name. Do the dives because you're interested in the topics, but remember that they're "adventure" dives that count towards an Advanced Open Water rating. They certainly don't teach you mastery of any of the skills, that's all on you. This is coming from someone who is a DM, technical diver, and had excellent buoyancy in blue water. Full Cave still made me look like an idiot despite all that prior training. You never stop learning and you can always improve. ETA: like CaverX said, analyzing you gas is important ALWAYS. Here's something new to the market that kills two birds with one stone. I backed, and since Analox discontinued their CO meters, and the Sensorcom is still iffy on whether it works in all situations, it's worth the coin. cootwo O2/CO analyzer |
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I have never considered myself fully qualified just because I am certified. I figure a certification means I met the basic requirements. We will be doing a lot of practice- which is fun since we need to dive to practice. Thanks for the heads up about the Co analyzer. That reminds me that I need a dive computer too. |
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Quoted:
We are going Cozumel-Belize-Roatan, although right now it looks like they are not offering a dive excursion in Belize. My brother and nephew are thinking about going through NAUI for their AOW. My nephew has his OW through them but my brother got his OW through PADI about a year ago in Belize- I think. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to changing to NAUI? My wife and I took a similar cruise with Carnival in April of 2012; Grand Cayman, Coz, Belize, and Roatan. We dove in Grand Cayman and Roatan, though we chose to book our dives independently through local dive shops instead of going through the cruise lines. It was a great experience, and the dives in both locations (especially Roatan) were fantastic. The dive shop in Roatan was called Barefoot Divers, and I would absolutely use their services again if we choose to go back. The same applies to the shop on Grand Cayman, Don Foster. Congrats on your decision to get wet again, and good luck with your training! |
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I'm pretty happy with my oceanic regulators and my Hollis BC. I used to have a Tusa reg that was good too. All the sherwood and scubapro I have used were horrible. Albeit they were rentals before I owned my own. My advice is avoid the entry level products from any brand. If you have a dive shop near by they may let you try out the gear you are looking at. It has been that way in my experience anyway. |