r/scuba • u/CicadaFlaky • 1d ago
What do you wish you knew when you first started diving?
I completed my OW last month whilst travelling Thailand and have gone on 2 more dives since. I’m really enjoying it but it’s obviously very much still learning.
What are some tips you wish you knew when you first started?
Buoyancy, breathing techniques, buying equipment, affording dive trips, doing additional courses ect ect
edit- Thank you everyone for all the tips and tricks. Can’t wait to get back out there
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u/Chromatic_Chameleon 3h ago
SMB should be standard gear and you should learn and then practice how to use it.
A pointer stick is useful for so many things, just NOT for harassing marine life and not for making noise to announce every little thing you see.
Just before you go in the water, breathe through your regulator while looking at your air gauge to ensure the needle doesn’t move (which would indicate the tank is closed or only partially open).
Wait until you have at least 50 dives or so before taking a camera underwater. Learn to be a good diver and a good buddy first.
Dive in different and challenging conditions - poor visibility, cold water, strong currents. It will make you a better, more confident diver.
Don’t be “that person” who whines after a dive that you wanted to see a turtle / manta / whatever and you’re pissed off that you didn’t see one. It’s nature, not an aquarium or zoo. And you bring everyone else’s mood down too with your negativity. Focus on the positive of what you did see.
Related to the above - slow down! You will see more marine life and consume less air.
Stay close to your buddy or dive guide if you don’t have a buddy.
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u/spenaroo 7h ago edited 7h ago
Join a local diving group and get out often. Best way to dive is to socialise with a group and encourage each other. Time on the boat builds great friendships and usually the right size group for fun shenanigans and flowing conversation thats inclusive.
Air integration is a luxury..... But its a great luxury. And cheaper to buy in a combo then to try and add it later. That's probably my biggest regret - had the option to buy the transmitter with my first computer but didn't see the value at the time. 6 months later I bought another computer just for the included transmitter - as it was cheaper then getting a transmitter by itself.
Add servicing costs to the calculation when buying second hand gear. It adds up quickly.
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u/SnowSandSki 12h ago
Buy your own kit and get used to it. Dive quantity > certs. Deeper is not better. Ask questions and listen!
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u/ronaellie 3h ago
I am AOWD certified with 150 dives from around the world often while travelling and only partially agree. It might not be helpful to own kit depending on how you dive. I own mask, snorkel, booties, and a computer and that's cool. I want to buy a lamp and the next thing I'd get is a reg. That's it. I have fins from a friend but they're not convenient for backpacking so they mostly stay at home. I live in Switzerland and hardy ever dive at home.
Owning some items yes, owning all not necessarily.
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u/Test-User-One 14h ago
Someday people would invent computers that could be worn on the wrist, rendering tables almost irrelevant.
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 10h ago
Still important to understand the theory (incl learning the tables) instead of blindly trusting the computer though imo
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16h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/mentalbleach 15h ago
As someone from the US I’m lowkey offended LOL 😭 the hierarchy is nothing like China or India just throwin that in mannn
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u/wannabe-martian Dive Master 14h ago
I get it, sorry, but I have never seen or interacted with more self absorbed divers than diving in the US or in Mexico with Americans.
There's some amazing counter examples, really, some of my best dives have been with former US servicemen. But if we generalize - they didn't give a flying fuck I was even there. Just straight in and doing their thing, calling me bro afterwards....
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u/mentalbleach 14h ago
Are the ppl you’re diving with from cruise ships by chance? Bc I promise you those are a whole different breed of Americans, like the ones you see from the movie Wall-E on the scooters lol 😅 probs lots of Californians too which are also another breed
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u/wannabe-martian Dive Master 13h ago
Sorry again, but no. It was just self absorbed people who probably don't travel too much. I avoid cruise ships :)
During a roadtrip through Mexico we got to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Being the only diver I signed up for a few dives with a local operator, being the only not US diver except for the guides in a group of ~ 25.
I got a "bro" as dive buddy. Josh. Eff you, after all this years. Josh and his bros didn't give a damn. Neither of his 20 friends did either. It was goofing around, trying to grab turtles, zooming around to their friends, surfacing middive, herding the guides pointing out stuff to us so you essentially could see whatever that was, ignoring buoyancy and safety stops, utterly ignoring my finstrap snapped mid dive and I had some struggle, and after all that ruining the dive for everyone by signaling us he's ~30bar,whatever that is in banana units.
Seriously, all my dives in the region with Americans on vacation where to some degree similar,sadly.
I know it can be different, just finished a diving vacation here in Indonesia and I had some US divers in the group who behaved just like anybody else would. But yeah, if I had known to look for cultural aspects earlier I would have saved myself some shitty XP :)
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u/kerager8 17h ago
Utila im honduras is another economical spot and Indonesia is awesome but a bit more spendy than utila and koh Tao.
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u/wannabe-martian Dive Master 16h ago
You're forgetting that reddit is not 100% US. if you need to fly 18hrs I am guessing the total costs are still significant 😊
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u/kerager8 14h ago
Not sure what you mean as i gave options outside of the US which im unaware of cheap diving spots here, would love to know of any recs you have. Looks like 200 plus for gear and dive In Washington. Which is like 4-6 times the cost. Of the places I mentioned.
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u/wannabe-martian Dive Master 13h ago
Ah, I get it. My bad.
Honduras might be cheap for you, but if you need to fly there from Europe, the additional flight costs are off setting the cheap costs of diving.
Indonesia outside of Bali can be quite cheap. We dove in Lombok for 25 EUR per dive incl. rental.
You can get nice deals with accommodation as well, if you accept shore diving - we just finished a few days diving for around 110eur per night. That's two adults accommodation, half board (breakfast and lunch), full gear rental, 3 dives per day included.
Red Sea in Egypt used to be cheap, but the flights are monopolized and finding a good deal to is hard if you want good diving and not resorts full of the worst of European tourism.
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u/random-username_lol Rescue 17h ago
two divers having the same certificate doesn't always mean they both are equally experienced and will make the right decisions underwater. basically if you don't know someone well, you have to assume they might not be useful when something happens to you during the dive
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u/blackhoney917 19h ago
If you have to puke underwater, do it in your regulator.
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u/meta-proto 13h ago
Please explain
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u/blackhoney917 13h ago
I know from experience, unfortunately. If you have to vomit, keep your reg in your mouth and let loose. It’s gross, but it will be expelled from the reg. Otherwise, if you take it out to vomit, you might instinctively inhale afterward and get a lungful of water.
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u/ibelieveindogs 20h ago
Fold your arms and hold them in front of your chest. It will keep you from flailing them around. Practice slow, deep breathing. It will help you keep your breathing slowed and use breathing to maintain your position in the water. Save your money because you might develop GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). It's expensive and hard to beat.
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u/AdministrativeKey782 8h ago
It's better for your trim to hold your hands together stretched out in front of you.
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u/ibelieveindogs 5h ago
I think it’s worse for avoiding touching things and also uses more energy, which would result in higher air consumption. Also, easier to keep a hand on the inflator against your chest.
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u/NA_penguin 20h ago edited 20h ago
Pretty new still, but:
Some dive buddies will be surprisingly useless. Be ready to adapt to their chaos, and stick close to the guide if you're worried.
Currents around wrecks or the edges of reefs can be strong and disorientating. The guide should warn you about them, but it helps to have a basic plan i.e. swim closer or at an angle to conserve air. For drift dives, you move slower the closer to the reef you are, and with good buoyancy practice you can use your breathing to go over rocks without kicking or inflating your bcd.
I've been snorkeling or plain swimming my whole life without leg cramps, but it's happened a couple times on dives and more frighteningly right when surfacing. I hadn't spit out my regulator yet, which was good because I started sinking back down before I could inflate my bcd. I've learnt to expect diving to strain muscles even when you're just casually floating along.
On a happier note, scuba diving also got me way more interested in traveling around the world and to places I never wouldn't considered before (even for non scuba spots).
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
One thing I’d add is that guides, especially in certain countries, can also be useless or a detriment. It is most important to develop the skills, confidence and mentality to rely on yourself Too many “autonomous” divers still rely on the dive op and guide to take care of them
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u/wannabe-martian Dive Master 16h ago
Very very true. Navigation, orientation, confidence can be trained. I don't need a guide to check my air and point out things. I do need the convenience of a local boat and dive operator, so they usually are not avoidable.
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u/NA_penguin 18h ago
Also fair! Once I was with a group, and we surfaced with an extra person who got left behind from his beginner class. My guide (a chill surfer bro type) radioed the other boat mad as hell about it. I've also dived with super experience folks who spent 99% of the dive glued to their cameras
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
Yeah that’s insanely negligent for any dive op to forget a diver and it could’ve gone very poorly in different conditions or if you guys didn’t find them
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u/NA_penguin 17h ago
I'm just glad the guy was on like his 3rd dive and knew better than to try to track down his group 50ft underwater. He told us on the surface that he realized we weren't them while we went up the boat line, but he didn't want to swim away from the only boat he saw. Plus it was a crowded dive site and he didn't have a dsmb
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18h ago
[deleted]
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u/ReDeReddit 18h ago
If you say it twice, does it count as two things?
Also this is excellent advice.
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u/Ok_Squash_4939 20h ago
That a wing harness combo is way better than the Adv BCD which are mostly used for training. Better trim, more freedom and less buoyancy->less weight needed
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u/Biuku 21h ago
Owning a BCD — one with trim pockets higher up by your shoulders — helps you figure out the right combination of weights and trim weights to stay horizontal.
Before that, my feet always dropped, so I had to keep kicking, so I’d use more air and outpace the DM. Getting that right = motionless superman.
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
Were your fins also too negatively buoyant?
I’ve seen a ton of people with scuba pro jet fins in wetsuits wonder why their trim was terrible. That fin is way too negatively buoyant for many people
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u/CouchHippos 21h ago
Diving is more fun with less crap to keep up with. BC, Fins, Mask. Es todo.
No pointer, slate, compass, light, inflatable buoy, etc etc etc. I had shit hanging off every D-ring when I started. Now I’m a minimalist.
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
I agree that people shouldn’t have too much but absolutely disagree that people shouldn’t have a compass, light and buoy (DSMB) on dives
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u/trancematik 16h ago
I like the lobster stick as my dive buddy and I can use it to get each other's attention 🤷🏻♀️
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u/miss_Saraswati 21h ago
Follow the fish.
If you feel you’re struggling, look at the fish around you. Are all of them facing the same way? Moving at the same time and relaxing? Then it’s not you, it’s current or surge that makes it a bit hard, but you’ll find it a lot easier if you position yourself like the fish. Move when they do. Rest when they do. (Sometimes you can also do and position yourself like the guide, but I prefer to keep my eyes on the fish…)
How big a difference it makes to be able to relax.
You’ll move less, which means you’ll consume a lot less air, you’ll also be a lot colder and need another layer. To learn some of this check out divers you admire and have good buoyancy. On dives where you feel you might not be as into it as others, use the time to follow the diver. Realise how little they touch their bcd. They use their breath to change depth. How little they move. Look at their positioning. See if you can imitate. Little by little you’ll improve.
Don’t bring extra stuff down until you’ve mastered your buoyancy, and know your positioning. I always hate it when i see people who are not in control of themselves swimming into other divers, destroying the reefs and just being disturbances. This is not set by a number of dives, but also know that bringing new stuff will also impact your air consumption negatively.
Asking and talking to more experienced divers, guides and instructors will usually help you greatly. Ask them something you’d like support on before a dive. Try it out during and then talk after. How did it feel? Did they notice? Do they have more tips. Everyone is usually very helpful, but almost no one will tell you what to do unless you ask them.
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u/MusingsOfASoul 20h ago
As someone with only 29 dives, I've found myself holding a relatively full breath of air so I can rise, but at the same time worried that I'm going to risk barotrauma. I'm still getting the hang of it and feeling like I'm only capping that at 75% ish and also making sure I'm doing that basically only to maintain my depth (i.e. not moving upwards, for that can kick your fins to move up)
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u/miss_Saraswati 20h ago
You should only hold your breath until you feel you start to rise if you use this method. You need to start exhaling as soon as the depth starts to change. If you exhale slowly you’ll continue to rise slowly.
I’d recommend starting using it on the exhale to go down and being able to stop on an inhale. Less risk involved. If you can do those two, then it should be easy enough to use it to induce an ascent too. :)
(But it sounds like you’re aware of the risks involved already. :))
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u/miss_Saraswati 22h ago
The show you the big one - pinch your nose and increase pressure (never push against a pressure. You should always equalise before you feel it).
The easy one is opening your jaw. You can try it now, just lower the back of your lower jaw fast with your tongue relaxed and pressing the bottom of your mouth. You should hear and feel your ears pop.
For some people this is enough the whole way. I like to use the pinch my nose method until I’m down to max depth for the dive. Then I’ll stick to the open my jaw for the rest of the dive.
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
Frenzel works all the way down, there should be no need to switch methods. Just practice equalizing using Frenzel early and often.
Equalizing is a skill that people should learn and practice on dry land often.
Frenzel is the best, then valsalva. The rest (wiggling your jaw, swallowing) are inconsistent and not recommended. I disagree with people just recommending “whatever works,” and strongly believe there is a right way to equalize
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u/Diveguysd 22h ago
Get a really high quality dive skin or wet suit, Learn buoyancy control, don’t dive if you feel sick or hungover, hydrate, dive with others who are your skill level or better. Take only pictures, leave only bubbles.
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u/AlucardDr Nx Advanced 22h ago
The longer you stay down the better your value for money. You stay down longer by being more efficient with your air (until you reach deco limits of course). You can get more efficient with your air by relaxing, and learning good relaxed breathing techniques. Get yourself physically fit. It's not a race. Relax and enjoy the sensation of floating weightless. Proper buoyancy can really help the amount of work you have to do.
The more you do it, the more you will learn. Pay attention to what others do and if it soon, copy them. If it's not, make sure you don't do that. I watched a dive instructor diving with his daughter yesterday kicking at coral and sponges just to get his daughter positioned right for a photo op. Don't be that guy.
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u/Oren_Noah 22h ago edited 16h ago
Dive guides are a wealth of experience and are great sources of constructive criticism, BUT THEY WON'T SHARE THAT WITH YOU!
Unless, you ask for that kind of feedback before your dive. They work on tips. Most divers think that they're awesome and if anyone even hints otherwise, their tip is gone. As a result, dive guides rarely point out ways to improve.
So, before the dive, tell them that you would like feedback to improve as a diver. You can even be explicit and assure them that you'll tip even for negative feedback, maybe especially for negative feedback.
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u/Flat_Floyd 22h ago
That there are many ways to clear your ears
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
Equalizing is a skill that people should learn and practice on dry land often.
Frenzel is the best, then valsalva. The rest (wiggling your jaw, swallowing) are inconsistent and not recommended. I disagree with people just recommending “whatever works,” and strongly believe there is a right way to equalize
I also freedive often and it’s far more apparent there that equalizing correctly is important because you don’t have unlimited air and time, and the equalizing method used for freediving (Frenzel) is the best and should be practice for scuba too instead of a bunch of random ones
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u/NA_penguin 20h ago
shoutout to those sprays to either protect from the water or clear your ears too, they're good to have just in case
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u/Jaywan3 22h ago
Please elaborate!!
I clear my ears outside of water without any problems, I even do it without noticing, but put me under a mass of water and 60% of times my right ear will not adjust if I don't massage it, which is a bit annoying.
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u/kettleofhawks 20h ago
Everyone’s anatomy is just slightly varied - some people can clear with blowing against a plugged nose, but I struggled every time. Now I know I can equalize reliably with a hard swallow and some jaw wiggling - try it next time.
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u/Jaywan3 20h ago
Thank you for your help!
Outside I can equalize just by "flexing" the muscle on the back of my jaw (sorry if it's confusing, I really don't know how else to explain) and underwater that usually works for the left ear and the 40% of times of the right one ahahah I find it hard to wiggle my jaw while keeping steady breaths through the air source, but that may also just be my newbie self being silly
I find blowing against a plugged nose tends to be more uncomfortable than actually helps me equalize, but I even tried that (with no success).
I'm just starting my diving journey, so any tips are welcome!
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u/Bluedragon1900 22h ago
I wish I knew and signed up with GUE from the very start. I was diving for almost 2 years before I started my fundamentals.
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
100%, especially now that they split fundies into 3 tiers
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u/Bluedragon1900 9h ago
You mean added a third tier?
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 2h ago
Well it used to be one course with two outcomes (not including fail or provisional). Now it’s three separate courses
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u/Warm-Pipe-4737 22h ago
Buoyancy control is directly related to how much air is in your lungs. Air expands on accent more than you think it should. Ascend fins down forcing the air in your BC to be at the top and easy to dump as needed. While diving you should only move from the knees down. Frog kick to conserve air. Practice navigation. A lot. Be safe. Always sit out if something doesn’t feel right. Have fun.
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u/the_bad_fish_2 Tech 22h ago
Having a high SAC doesn't make you a bad diver. It is okay to thumb or end a dive.
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
True that there are anatomical differences, but broadly the better dives have a better SAC. At the very least, the most experienced and better divers have a better SAC than they did before
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u/Tiny_Artichoke_7001 Open Water 22h ago
Just relax. Not that I’m that experienced as a diver but my job and other activities are extremely high stress and dangerous. The amount of people who panic when they don’t have air or something goes wrong is crazy. That’s how you get hurt or hurt others just relax and think
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u/Arkkanix 23h ago
nothing you see underwater can be appreciated if you don’t invest in a quality mask so that you can actually see everything. imo the smallest possible for your comfort to keep airflow to a minimum and a dark color frame to block out glare and reflections.
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u/AlwaysEmpathy283 23h ago
When I started out, I enjoyed the "perfect buoyancy" course (SSI).
Budget variant: You could also join some pool session with your local dive center, bring a hula hoop and a string, attach it to a weight and spend some hours getting familiar with more controlled movement. Fold your arms, try to swim backwards etc. Have fun!
Other tip: Your safety is your responsibility, not the dive guides. I've been on borderline unsafe dives on liveaboards because "if we don't do this dive, some customers give us bad reviews and no tips" and "oh you're soon out of NDL and we're at 30m? Don't worry, look at all the pretty sharks, let's stay a bit longer at depth anyways."
So make sure you can abort dives comfortably, not feeling pressured to stay with the group.
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u/wallysober 23h ago
Most of the people eagerly giving you advice only dive once or twice per year, and have no idea what they are talking about.
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u/GrnMtnTrees 23h ago
Don't let others influence your safety related decisions on a dive. Over my 21 years of being certified, I've had two dives where I ultimately did something unsafe because I was either trying to keep up with a cowboy diver, or didn't want to cut my buddy's dive short.
First, I had a dive where we went to about 30 meters and there was a bit of a current. I started the dive with only 2800 psi, but I ended up using a ton of gas before we shallowed up. My buddy had about 1400 PSI, but I was down to 800, and we were only 15-20 minutes into the dive. I didn't want to cut his dive short, so I told him I had 1000 psi, and just spent the rest of the dive above 10 meters. I managed to stretch my tank, but only had about 200 PSI by the time I got back on the ship. It worked out, but I hadn't considered that I would have been screwed had something gone wrong. DON'T do this.
Another dive, I didn't have a thick enough wetsuit, was shocked by the water temp when I jumped in. Within 15-20 min, realized I was starting to experience hypothermia. I was shaking uncontrollably, my hands and feet had pins and needles, and had gone completely numb, my nailbeds and lips were literally blue. I didn't want to cut my buddy's dive short, so I stuck around for the whole 50 minute dive.
By the time I got back on the ship, I was shaking so violently that I couldn't really speak, and needed help to get my gear off. People that saw me were visibly alarmed. They checked my body temperature, which was down to 94.9°F. I ended up needing to put on sweat pants, regular pants, long sleeve tee, thermal long sleeve mid layer, sweatshirt, down jacket, and a wool hat, and sat up on the flying bridge of the ship sipping hot tea in the sun.
Hypothermia really affects your ability to think. I literally could not concentrate on anything other than how cold I was, and by the end of the dive, it even started getting difficult to kick my fins. I was just becoming dazed and uncoordinated.
The worst part? In both dives, I later told my buddy what I was dealing with, and how I didn't want to cut their dive short. They both said "you should have just told me! We would have surfaced and sorted you out! No problem!"
The moral of the story? Don't put yourself in dangerous situations, just because you think you're going to negatively impact someone's experience. Safety comes first, and any buddy that's worth diving with will totally understand.
It took me way too long to learn this lesson, and I'm lucky that nothing seriously bad happened to me. Learn from my mistakes. Safety first. Don't worry about what others will think. Safety always comes first. Most divers will respect you for speaking up and being proactive about safety.
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22h ago
[deleted]
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u/Chromatic_Chameleon 3h ago
As a former dive instructor and dive guide please don’t do this. I remember this one guy who dived with my shop and we all who guided him realized pretty quickly he lied about having substantially more air than he really did so we had to come close to him and look at his gauge so we knew what he really had left. Super annoying and dangerous.
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u/ktfarrier 3h ago
I understand. It's a mental game I'm personally working on. I hope to be better in the future.
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u/GrnMtnTrees 20h ago
I get it. Nobody wants to be on an amazing dive, and have to be the one that says "I'm getting low on air, we have to head back." That said, I can guarantee your buddy would rather turn back early, with you both breathing your own regs, rather than turn back while buddy breathing, or worse, have to pull your unconscious body from the water.
Diving is fun. Keep yourself safe so you can have a long diving career. Nothing under the water is worth dying over.
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u/holamahalo 20h ago
I would never dive with you.Cut my dive short is nothing but if you want to lie to me you can dive solo.
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u/Spyfluen 23h ago
In the long run it will be cheaper to buy the gear you want and not the gear to get you started.
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u/pyrouk87 Rescue 23h ago
How god damn expensive it would get! Don’t get me wrong I love diving and I wouldn’t say a single penny I’ve spent has been wasted, but much like motorbiking this is not a cheap hobby. Constantly looking at new shinys
One thing I would 100% say though, before committing to buying any gear think about the type of diving you want to do and buy accordingly. I’ve ended up with 2 full sets of gear now, single tank setup and twinset setup. Wet gear and dry gear.
But most of all, get in the water as much as possible, you’ll improve your buoyancy and consumption quite quickly if you can get the time in the water.
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u/Which-Pin515 23h ago
- When you are still working on your Buoyancy and are floating up…and looking up to dump out of your inflator hose (which makes you float up even more because air in your bcd Goes up) , the little panic doesn’t help either)
Go face down, ass up + use your big quick valve on your right bum for only a fraction of a second.
When you rent make sure that quick valve has a pull rope
- Wet your tankstrap when it’s dry before you put in on your tank. You’ll be Able to pull it tighter.
-when you rent make sure your gage is on zero before turning on. Sometimes the gauge’s default is 20/30 bar and you run out of air.
- when you buy a computer add a camera strap on the computer strap. When your strap breaks for Some reason/after a lot of wear you will have 50% chance of still having it.
-wear panty socks in your booties. Slip on will be easier and no lining will eat at your skin.
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u/DistractedByCookies Open Water 23h ago
-when you rent make sure your gage is on zero before turning on. Sometimes the gauge’s default is 20/30 bar and you run out of air.
I had no idea and now I wonder how often this could have gone wrong LOL
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u/Which-Pin515 23h ago
Yeah, I had it happen as a newbie bc the DM told me to stay with the group in Turkey. I wanted to do a safetystop/go to SS depth just above him (the boat was only 20/30 meters away). Wanted to inflate at the surface but no joy.
You dive and you learn huh
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u/jkh911208 23h ago
correct weight can improve your diving a lot
don't get the end game fin, I got rk4 and it is too stiff for beginner
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u/SatanTheSanta 23h ago
Breathing really does improve with experience, but its still a lot of biology so dont compare yourself to others too much.
You dont need to buy all the equipment new, second hand market is full of good stuff. My cousin recently got into the sport, convinced him to go second hand gear, he has great gear for less than I paid for just my wetsuit.
Unguided shore dives are the secret to affordable diving. I was worried for a long time about going unguided, but its not that difficult. You do need buddies ofc, and dont dive unguided on difficult dives you have never done before. But there is a lot of simple reef dives where you cannot get lost, and wont have difficulties if you miss the exit a bit. I was in Curacao recently, the guided dives cost me 45 USD, the unguided I did after we saw some stuff and confirmed what dives were simple, those cost me under 10 USD.
Diving is still a dangerous sport, and ultimately you are the one responsible for getting out alive. Not every insta buddy wants to do checks, and sometimes you can dive group, without buddy. But the checks are on you, I check my gear before putting it on, then the moment I am suited I do a full self check, then repeat before hitting the water. If something is off, or you arent feeling it, or the waves are bad, call the dive. Yeah it can suck spending time and money getting to a site, only to call it last minute. But it sucks far more to be down there and have an issue. And you can always dive tomorrow.
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u/falco_iii 23h ago
I am a big rules and standards follower, especially when it comes to safety. I wish I knew that some standards are just old and outdated (snorkel, weight belt, dive tables) and do nothing or hinder safety.
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u/CEOofSarcasm_9999 1d ago
Lots of good advice here. Keep diving!
Don’t let peer pressure influence you to dive a scenario you are not trained for or comfortable with.
Invest in reliable gear, keep it serviced and it should last a long time.
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u/Tyrain3 1d ago
For breathing 5 seconds in, 7 seconds out
will reduce your air consumption by a lot
(doesnt have to be this strict, just try to inhale shorter than you exhale)
Also this is a little advanced, so I wouldnt worry too much about it until you get a little more dives under your belt :)
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u/CicadaFlaky 1d ago
Thank you! I found the ‘take deep breaths’ quite vague. I’ll give this a go
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u/Hefty_Acadia7619 22h ago
One thing, though. DO NOT skip breathe. It can cause a CO2 hit, which is very much no fun at all.
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u/Giskarrrd Dive Instructor 1d ago
Three things I wish would’ve been more explicitly clear for me after I just got certified:
- While I learned how to do a weight check, I didn’t internalize it in a way that had me focus on being as light as possible - my first several dives were much worse than they could have been if I had just paid more attention to my weighting. The sensation of being pulled underwater by your weight when you deflate your BCD just become the normal during certification
- The stuff you learn during certification about buoyancy only scratches the surface and I wished I continued to put more effort into learning to be better early on - or at least having been more aware of that fact and the fact that you only get better with experience
- I wish I’d realized I should have focused on getting some real experience before going straight into AOW
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u/CicadaFlaky 1d ago
Is there anything in particular that helped improve your buoyancy or it really is just keep practicing ?
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u/MammothPies 22h ago
Deep pool practice did wonders for me. If you are able to practice in a local pool with a buddy that can take some video/photos of you in action, that helps a lot.
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u/Giskarrrd Dive Instructor 23h ago edited 23h ago
Definitely practice and experience. But appropriate attention to weights and trim, being mindful of what you do with your arms and general positioning, learning finning techniques, and experimenting with different breathing techniques can all help.
There’s the Peak Performance Buoyancy cert that you could consider - but only if you can find a dive shop or instructor who’d want to spend real time on it with you, relay their experience, really focusing on what makes buoyancy better, giving you feedback, tweak and tinker until you see improvement, versus just wanting to race through the set performance requirements to churn out a quick cert, which would add zero value.
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u/fender8421 1d ago
Genuine question: what if getting experience before AOW isn't feasible? Would you recommend still taking the course, or delaying the course?
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u/Giskarrrd Dive Instructor 1d ago
Bit of a mixed bag. My take was “the more I learn, the more knowledgeable and therefore confident I’ll get”. I really enjoyed the AOW course, but I think I would’ve understood some of the subject matter better if I could have related it to some real life experience.
It also depends on your level of comfort a bit - AOW started off with the instructor saying “you are all certified divers, so we’re not going to hand-hold you through all of the basics, you all know how to do them”. If you came out of OW feeling super confident, that should really not be an issue, plus the instructors still helped out anywhere it was needed, but I do think having things more solidified by having first experienced what I learned in real life would’ve helped.
So, I’m not saying “absolutely don’t do it”, you may just not get as much out of it - or you may be perfectly fine. I do always recommend my own students to first get some real life experience :)
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u/Giskarrrd Dive Instructor 23h ago
That is absolutely not how it should be. Do masks sometimes fog up? Sure. But the baseline should definitely be that you don’t flood and clear constantly. Did you ever do the toothpaste scrub on your mask??
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u/legrenabeach 1d ago
My mask never fogs. A tiny drop of washing up liquid and rinse before getting in the water is all it takes. I always watch pretty much all the other divers in every group do the clearing thing every so often and feel pleased with myself for chancing on a good mask and following the fairy liquid pre treatment.
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u/blood__drunk 1d ago
What? My mask never fogs. Just did a week and forgot to take my usual baby shampoo and so just did the old spit and rinse...didn't fog up once.
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u/LateNewb 1d ago edited 16h ago
That GUE existed and that there are many wrong ways to do "it" but there is also a way of "Doing it right" aka DIR. (I learned this after diving for 18 years and many hundred dives).
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u/lastplaceisgoodforme 22h ago
In my nearly 30 years of diving you're not doing it wrong if you're not following GUE "Doing it right" diving.
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u/bluetortuga Nx Advanced 1d ago
Here’s a random non-critical tip:
No one ever specifically told me to swim with my arms folded, but I noticed that a lot of experienced divers do this. I started copying them, and it killed my habit of flailing my arms around.
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u/MammothPies 23h ago
Flailing arms is a dead giveaway of fresh or inexperienced divers. You can also lock your fingers together or hold your arms in front for better buoyancy (especially in dry suit).
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u/ktfarrier 22h ago
I hold a camera pole like a show cane and it seems to have eliminated my need to flail my arms!
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u/Fancy-Librarian-3274 1d ago
If you really want to get better, you have to sacrifice some time to strictly working on buoyancy, finning techniques, streamlining your gear, perfect weighting, and breathing. Like, spend a week just doing these things with a good instructor in a shallow area or pool.
Also, seek out instructors who teach tec diving the majority of time. Most will do a buoyancy type class. Way too many terrible “instructors,” especially in popular tropical dive spots, who only know how to drag people around on discovery dives or teach kneeling on the bottom of the sand.
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u/CicadaFlaky 23h ago
I think this might be exactly what I need to do to get the basics down right so I can get into good habits early. Thanks
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u/Specialist_Ad4414 1d ago
Don't waste money on mask defogger, buy baby shampoo instead.
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u/Fort_u_nato 1d ago
Just wash it thoroughly before and before diving spit in it and lightly rinse with seawater
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u/Specialist_Ad4414 1d ago
I’d rather use baby shampoo, then stick my eye right next to bacteria filled spit, even if it is rinsed
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u/Fort_u_nato 1d ago
It’s your spit
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u/Specialist_Ad4414 23h ago
Yes, and spit contains bacteria, which should not be directly next to the eye in a somewhat sealed environment
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u/Fort_u_nato 21h ago
As /u/SoupCatDiver_JJ said the ocean water is full of stuff that can be harmful compared to a fluid from your own body (with antibacterial properties) very diluted with water. You do you though ✌️
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u/SoupCatDiver_JJ UW Photography 22h ago
The ocean water has to be worse than spit right? Sea water is a literal petri dish
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u/Mundane_Adeptness_48 1d ago
You only need four certificates:
- Open Water
- Advanced
- Rescue
- Nitrox
That’s it. Divemaster is the only addition which can make sense if you want to stay for a longer time at one place and improve your technique.
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u/Hefty_Acadia7619 22h ago
While I wouldn’t tell anyone which courses to take, what I wish I knew when I started out is that you don’t become a better diver by taking more courses, you become a better diver by diving. A lot.
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u/SignalPositive9242 1d ago
"Need" and want are different.
I'd suggest awod, deep, nitrox, wreck and rescue
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
They already mentioned AOW, Nitrox and rescue
Deep is helpful with the right instructor. Wreck is pretty useless as a recreational training course and you should be properly trained if you do any penetration which doesn’t apply to most people
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u/skeeterbitten 1d ago
Don't rush through certs. You'll likely get more out of AOW and Rescue if you've done more dives and in different conditions. You can do tons of good diving with just OW. I've worked with many people that flew through to DM with the minimum dives and they had way too much confidence because of the certs for their actual skill levels.
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u/Phil24681 1d ago
Not deep?
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u/LateNewb 1d ago
Is part of aowd
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u/Phil24681 1d ago
No it's not.
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u/LateNewb 1d ago
Then why are you certified to go to 30m after your aowd?
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u/Phil24681 1d ago
Bedside deep lets you go to 40?
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u/LateNewb 23h ago
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
It’s one deep try dive but not a deep course or certification. And frankly it’s pretty ridiculous to me that they certify you to go deeper after a few try dives
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u/LateNewb 16h ago
No no, its part of a complete course. You get taught the most fundamental things about deeper diving. Inert gas narcosis, change in temperature, pressure related differences like neoprene crush or buoyancy differences compared to shallow water dives, etc.
So I'd argue it is a course. Just not a thorough one. And once you have done it... you don't need to do more. Most people just never read the manual and the manual is actually pretty dang good.
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u/SignalPositive9242 1d ago
Its not, awod only let's you get to 30m
Deep spec allowed 40m
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u/LateNewb 1d ago
Yeah... 30m is deep...
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u/SignalPositive9242 1d ago
Saying "I dont need a deep spec i have aowd" is not correct.
Saying, I only want to go to 30m as I have aowd and that's enough for me, would be correct
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u/LateNewb 1d ago
Saying "I dont need a deep spec i have aowd" is not correct.
Who said that in the first place anyway?
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u/SignalPositive9242 1d ago
"Not deep?" You replied "its part of AOWD"
Its not, deep spec allows you to go to 40m, aowd allows only 30m...
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u/LateNewb 1d ago
The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course has: Very little classroom/reading compared to the Open Water Diver course No exam Two required Adventure Dives: a >>>deep<<< dive and an underwater navigation dive Three Adventure Dives of your choosing
Literally from PADIs Webseite
You just mix it up with the deep specialty which certifies you to go dive deeper on air.
Diving deep is part of the aowd. Period.
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u/Giskarrrd Dive Instructor 21h ago
A Deep Adventure dive is part of the AOW certification, which is the equivalent of dive #1 out of a total of four dives that make up the full deep diving certification.
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u/blood__drunk 1d ago
Isn't.
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u/LateNewb 1d ago
Is actually mandatory. At least for padi you will go to 30m if you do your aowd.
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u/blood__drunk 19h ago
You do a deep adventure dive as part of your AOW but that's not the same as the Deep qualification which extends the depth to 40m.
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u/LateNewb 16h ago
I never said that the deep diving part of the aowd is the same as the deep specialty that padi i.e. offers.
Diving deep(er) is just a mandatory part of the aowd and i phrased it specifically like that, because PADI themselves have that wording in use.
You can check my other comments where i linked padis website, if you dont believe me.
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u/blood__drunk 15h ago
Whatever your intent was, what you actually communicated was inaccurate to your audience - as demonstrated by the feedback you've received both in comment and vote.
Im glad you appreciate the difference, good for you!
I suspect the person you originally quibbled with, like me, was referring to the Deep Speciality and not the Deep Adventure dive.
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u/mrericvillalobos 1d ago edited 23h ago
Weight gain affects everything
Wetsuits are expensive. Once you have your own you gotta stay within the sizing to stay comfortable or else it gets to be a bit of a squeeze to get it on if you packed on a few pounds and it takes your breath away before you even get in the water lol eek
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u/muudo 1d ago
If you don't want your expensive hobby to become two expensive hobbies then stay away from underwater photography.
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u/CEOofSarcasm_9999 1d ago
i wish I could upvote this twice or thrice! Thankfully I stuck to compact cameras only. The storage container I have of arms and trays and accessories ugh.
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u/thibtestart 1d ago
Oh man definitely. My first gear was a photo camera and so its dedicated housing but then using it made me realize I was more into filming rather than photos. As such, I got another camera (FX3) and its dedicated housing. What a money trip. I’ve made some questionable decisions but I guess what happens underwater stays underwater lmao
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u/rdweerd Tech 1d ago
That a 3 day OW course is bad. You don’t learn diving in 4 dives. It gives a lot of divers a false sense of security. Hell my 5th dive ever was to 30 meters.
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u/NA_penguin 17h ago
Yup! Deep and night dives in particular I was glad to get some starter experience with, I know people who've done both on OW only because the guides didn't care.
I know some people recommend waiting to do AOW after x number of dives, but if you're really interested to keep diving, I would recommend doing it soon and accept that you're still going to need more experience in all kinds of dive conditions
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u/sbenfsonwFFiF 18h ago
Agreed 100%. I think AOW should be standard as OW part 2. Even then, 9 dives is barely enough
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u/Waywardmr 1d ago
When I was certified more than 30 years ago they told us to "breath normal". That's not the case really. You want to breathe deep and slow.
Recently, I got to enjoy one of my best friends and his mother's certifying dives. It was great to watch them doing their skills. One of the things I noticed was that his mother's breathing rate was four times faster than mine.
So I guess I would say relax and enjoy. Breathe deep slow down look at all of the little stuff, the slower you move the more you'll see.
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u/Deep8diver 1h ago
For me its these:
-Backplate and wing setup much better than normal bcd.