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My buddy just got back from the bahamas doing some cave diving and this is the video he sent me of a dive. Cave diving, while incredibly cool, terrifies the poo poo out of me. http://vimeo.com/45391840
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Jul 9, 2012 00:58
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In addition to pinching and blowing, also work your jaw around. Back and forth, side to side, diagonally as much as you can. This also works the muscles in your face/head and can pop your ears. I'm lucky enough to where i don't pinch/blow my nose to clear, i just move my jaws forward and they pop. Neti pot won't hurt, but i doubt it'll help. Just practice, get comfortable in the water, and go real slow. Like, as slow as you humanly can.
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Jul 20, 2012 22:40
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ZoCrowes posted:Just got home yesterday from my 5th Blackbeard's Cruise out of the Bahamas. Took 22 other people with me on a trip leaving out of Nassau. We had a grand old time. I'd love a detailed trip report. I've thought about going on one for a while. I've heard varying things from "OH GOD SO MUCH RUM" to serious hardcore diving. It seems like a bunch of fun, but i'd love to hear from someone first hand about their trip.
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Jul 23, 2012 07:14
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Mao posted:I'm looking for some advice from people who know a lot more about this than I do. Take the more cautious dentists approach. If he says your are out a month, stay out a month. Its not worth it to try to push the body healing. The dive shop should be able to let you finish all the pool/class work, and then do your open water cert dives at a later date with another class. I know its not a wisdom tooth, but i found this from DAN Diving and Wisdom Teeth DAN Divers Alert Network : Diving and Wisdom Teeth Here's what my diving dentist buddy, Dr. Lary Stein, has to say: "In general, you need about 2-4 weeks healing time following extractions. If these were difficult, horizontal impactions, with a lot of bone removal, I would use the more conservative time of 4 weeks. Really difficult extractions or unexpected surgical complications could mean up to about 6 weeks. If you have had complications such as "dry sockets" or sinus exposures then the healing time might have to be extended--your oral surgeon should discuss this with you. If you are still taking a prescription pain medication don't dive and, in fact, if you are still having significant pain for more than 3-4 days, have your dentist or oral surgeon check the site/sites for a dry socket. One theoretical concern is the lower extraction sites. These sites receive a great deal of force from the jaw. The forces are concentrated at the angle of the lower jaw. Clenching on the regulator tabs could lead to a broken jaw. This is not documented from the literature on diving but it is a documented complication during extraction. Again, speak to your surgeon. You may be still have some tenderness in the jaw joints from the surgery and holding the regulator may make this worse. Take it a day at a time and don't push yourself. If you are have pain, stop diving. I you cannot comfortably hold the regulator in your mouth I would recommend that you DON'T dive." My opinion is to play it safe and wait like the cautious dentist said.
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Jul 27, 2012 16:22
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So i really want a set of the Apollo Bio Seals for my drysuit but gently caress paying 120 bucks for 3 pieces of molded rubber. Does anyone know of any alternatives for a reasonable price?
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Aug 8, 2012 21:44
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MA-Horus posted:Two weeks until I'm in Thailand and diving again! What do you guys dive with, vest or back inflate BCDs? I've heard good things about both. Back inflate all the way. They are just plain superior to vests. They can push you forward in the water floating on the surface, but if you properly weight yourself (put some weight on the rear), you'll be fine. To be honest, either one will work safely, just back inflate is more comfortable since the bladder is behind you and not around you. The real big thing you want is integrated weights into the bcd, since that is way way more comfortable than a weight belt if you can help it.
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Aug 9, 2012 18:20
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All scuba gear makes pretty lovely life jackets to be honest though. None guarantee a head up position floating on the surface unlike actual life vests. Back inflates do tend to push you forward in the water unless you weight them properly. When i put 10 lbs in my ranger i put 3 in each front pocket, and 2 in each rear pocket to keep me from being pushed forward so i don't have that problem. Thinking about rescue scenarios and planning for them is good practice, but making BCD choices based upon possible rescue scenarios is a bit much. I think the comfort factor of a back inflate trumps a jackets style every time. Also, when making a rescue in a back inflate bcd, don't jack up their bladder all the way full. Thats a guaranteed way to roll them and make your life hell towing them to safety. You only need enough in there to keep them out of the water.
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Aug 15, 2012 16:48
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TANZENTURTLE posted:I noticed a while back that some people where talking about having done diving in quarries, im guessing because they live in central US states or similar circumstances. Can anyone elaborate what diving in a good quarry site is like? Do they deliberately hatch sustainable ecosystems to make them attractions? Yo. Not so much ecosystems, but sunken equipment/planes/cars/boats. They make underwater parks with a bunch of sunken poo poo to see. Fish life is pretty barren usually
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Aug 26, 2012 04:55
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fordan posted:There are two types of divers in the world: those who pee in their wet suit, and those who lie about it. I definitely pee in my drysuit all the time.
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Aug 28, 2012 03:34
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SlicerDicer posted:My catheter came off last dive, I already peed part so screw it.. I pissed the hell out of my drysuit then just flushed it with saltwater at surface once I took it off. That sucks. I've been lucky my catheder has never come off. That would be slightly unpleasant.
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Aug 28, 2012 17:04
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Bishop posted:As has been said, most of what you do in a quarry is skills practice and looking at the poo poo they sunk in it. Trucks, boats, planes, helicopters, etc. One of my favorite stories is a quarry owner who had a semi that he wanted to put into the quarry, so he just drove it down the ramp into the water while wearing dive gear. I'm sure the EPA approved of that one... Skip forward to about 2 minutes in this. http://vimeo.com/44831221 I wasn't in this but in lake Travis we sunk a 3 story house boat i rode down to 100 feet. It was a controlled descent with lines from the surface so we didn't kill ourselves but that was an eerie feeling. Also, don't dive at athens scuba park. Its run by a registered pedophile.
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Aug 28, 2012 18:59
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BiggerJ posted:I'm not considering getting into diving, but out of curiosity and for the benefit of anyone who is: what suggestions would you give to anyone who's considering getting into diving? How much money should be saved beforehand, things to keep in mind when arranging travel and while actually traveling, etc. Where do you live? A lot of the people who own gear are people who have active local dive communities who get to dive a lot. If you get certified and are only looking to dive on vacations a few times a year, buying your own gear isn't really that economical outside of snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, fins). Now say if your on coast, or have a big lake nearby and can dive monthly? Then its worth it to buy your own gear. If you want to save money beforehand 1,000 bucks is a good starting point for everything. This would get you a certification and a full set of gear, with some of it being used. I hate scubatoys, but this can give you an idea of what a full gear setup costs http://www.scubatoys.com/store/search_results.asp?iLevel=2&subcat=32&txtsearchParamCat=18&txtCatName=2 (minus snorkeling gear)
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Aug 29, 2012 18:33
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Bishop posted:That link to scuba toys led me to this. Hmmm I REAAAAALLLY want that rapid diver system. I float the river a lot, go kayaking, camping etc around water but never want to carry a full set of dive gear. I could easily lug that thing around in my backpack and mess around in the water for a few minutes to get my diving fill and go back to another activity.
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Aug 29, 2012 19:06
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fordan posted:And rocks from the shore as weights? Without thermal protection I sink in fresh water so Id be ok. It'd be a summer only toy. And yes, its 3 on my toy fund so I might have one in a year or two.
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Aug 29, 2012 20:16
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TLG James posted:Night Dives rule! what's your budget?
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Sep 1, 2012 05:46
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TLG James posted:50 bucks? Reasonable? I can bump it up a bit if needed. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...cCTtuZZIDBnCBAg A lot of tech divers I know use this as their backup light. Its a good light and would fit your budget perfectly. I use the older 180 lumen dorcy model as my backup and I love it.
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Sep 2, 2012 03:48
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From my experience, it doesn't matter about what agency you get certified in regarding the big three. NAUI/SSI/PADI will all certify you safely to recreationally dive. The big thing in your certification, in terms of your education of yourself as a diver, is your instructor. There are a few poo poo ones at my shop who i refuse to work with, and there are some fantastic ones. I always recommend going into the shop and asking a whole bunch of questions. As long as its not crazy busy, dive shop employees will talk you to death about gear, training, dive experiences, etc. Learn about the dive shop, learn about the instructor, and you'll get a handle on the quality of dive education you'll get.
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Sep 4, 2012 07:09
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BiggerJ posted:I'm impressed by all the traveling you guys do. Is traveling to third-world/developing countries risky or dangerous at all? It can be if you travel stupidly. I don't have a lot of firsthand experience, but i know there are ways to present yourself, and basic travel etiquette to keep you safe. Also, a lot of times in those places tourism is their main industry so they place a pretty heavy police presence around the touristy areas. When I did a cruise we stopped in progresso, mexico for a day. Police escort to and from the boat. All the day tours had police/military escorts. The public beach by the restaruant had police cars every few blocks and had foot patrols. We understood it was a very poor town, and that if we ventured out of the area we could be in trouble. When we got to cozumel, we felt completely safe wandering around on our own and doing our own thing since cozumel is a much popular tourist spot. It depends where you are going.
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Sep 4, 2012 18:18
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Loving Africa Chaps posted:Found a local club where i've moved so about to start diving in england You don't need scuba specific undergarments. The one piece jumpsuits are nice since they won't bunch up and stuff, but i use surplus military stuff or poo poo i've found at sales. You want material that can keep you warm when wet (AKA NOT COTTON) and wicks moisture away from the body. Polartec fleece is the best material for this. It looks fairly ghetto, but i spent 40 bucks on it and i've dove in 40 degree water whereas if i bought a name branded dry suit undergarment? It would have been 150 bucks easily. Obviously, the colder water requires more thermal protection, so you might need to layer up for cold english water a bit. Crunkjuice fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Sep 5, 2012 |
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Sep 5, 2012 19:59
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That is really loving cool. Is there software on the gopro for the timelapse? How do you coordinate lights turning on/off for the photos as i assume they won't/can't stay on for 4 days? How many photo's are you taking total? Whats the goal of the photoshoot? Seriously, give me some more info here dude. Thats rad as hell
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Sep 12, 2012 07:43
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Missle silo's are more challenging/technical dives than they are actually fun. They are cold, 0 light, no recreational bottom dives which require you to actually know your poo poo. I've done one, and it was an experience yeah, but by no means was it a fun dive. My enjoyment of the dive was in the travel with my dive group, getting geared up, touring around an abandoned missle silo in full dive gear, and getting to play in my drysuit. The actual dive was not fantastic, and not the easiest dive in the world.
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Sep 18, 2012 07:26
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pupdive posted:Not to be confrontational, but the first thing to think about before becoming an instructor is that we really do not need any more instructors who already know everything teaching. We have more than enough of those, and that is the reason why we cannot get octopus's moved to the left side of rental gear, and why we still have tank valves turned back, and why we are still training with snorkels, etc. etc. Because we are tied to the way things used to be, for largely no good reasons other than inertia. I've never seen anyone taught to have a tank valve facing towards the rear of their unit (if thats what you are talking about). You teach with snorkels because snorkels are useful in rough water, and you keep octos off the left side because its a big entanglement hazard with your inflator hose and possibly console during an emergency. None of what you said is an actual scuba problem, led alone inhibiting "progress"
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Sep 18, 2012 16:01
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Finch! posted:A mate of mine is building up to a 200+ metre dive in a cave (Sra Keow) and has asked me if I'm interested in being a support diver. I said no, because I'm not experienced enough. He said that didn't matter, there would be something for me to do even at recreational depths with only a cavern course as extra training I don't have. Unfortunately we haven't had a chance to talk since as he moved across the country to Phuket. Jesus, you need to get the hell away from this dude liability wise. My most polite way of saying this? gently caress this rear end in a top hat. Do nothing with him training wise. He's an rear end in a top hat and i give no fucks to his level of training. If he's lying about his training level to anyone, he deserves no diving business.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:11
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Finch! posted:Which guy - my friend, or his mentor/instructor/employer? The way you worded it it sounded like he wasn't a cave diver and doing stuff way beyond his training level. If he's a certified cave diver, thats another story. Also, tech diver at 15 what the gently caress. He might be one of those prodigies in diving like those kids that sail around the world at 13 or something, but cave diving before your 20's down to 240 meters? To be that young, to have that much cash to go that far into diving (trust fund?), it all just sounds really really fishy and i wouldn't associate myself with it.
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Sep 19, 2012 21:55
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The valve thing isn't a problem if you do a proper pre-dive check. You inhale a few breaths, and you check the purge on your regulator and blast some air through it while watching the air gauge. You will 100% notice if there is a problem. That guy claims 1 in 50. I've taught hundreds of students and i've never seen it once. I also teach instead of doing one slow long breath, take 3-4 sharp inhales. That way if there's a problem, each breath is strong enough to move the needle and you can tell. Also, people may or may not be using tanks from decades ago. Some tanks from the 70's are still good, most from the 80's are. Even if technology has increased, there are older tanks being used constantly which i wouldn't necessarily trust all the way open. Progress with octo's you say? Don't loving use one is my answer. Use an integrated alternate air source and eliminate a hose all together!! Its better than any octo setup (regardless of what side you think is better), and in an emergency, you give the out of air diver a known working (your primary) regulator. But if you are using an octopus, the octo doesn't interfere with your primary air source at all. You hook it it under your arm, and have it clipped off. Your primary hose should be of appropriate length to go directly from the tank to your mouth without excess slack. There is nothing on your right side to get entangled with. This is assuming the diver has the octo properly attached to his gear and isn't just letting it dangle around like a retard. This doesn't have to be a dick measuring contest about who's the better diver, but in my thousand plus dives, a few hundred of those teaching students, and the 3 rescues i've been apart of, i've never seen an incident with a tangled octopus. Your snorkel argument is also poo poo. Divers likely to be stuck at the surface for a while? Divers who get caught in a current, get lost and separated, or who are injured somehow, or are in classes. Snorkels are emergency safety gear, and I teach it as such. I also tell my students to get a roll up snorkel and stow that bitch in a pocket, so it isn't a problem and they have it if they need it! I'm required by PADI to have a snorkel while teaching, not wear it on my head. I always tell my students i have a roll up one in my pocket. Problem solved.
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Sep 20, 2012 16:43
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No idea about hog regulators. GoPro's are becoming very popular with recreational divers. Their video quality is great and are tough little bastards. There are a few people here who have them so they can chime in with more info on them, but as far as i've seen they are fantastic.
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Oct 7, 2012 23:42
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Do the discover scuba. If you still have issues and still want to try to dive, go to an ENT doctor and talk to him about options.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:23
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Loving Africa Chaps posted:Dry suit lesson tomorrow The biggest thing you're gonna have to get used to is diving in a bubble. I like to sort of lock my knees above me and frog kick when diving my drysuit, that way i minimize the air in my legs and help my buoyancy out. You'll spend most of your time figuring out your buoyancy so just play around with it for a while and you'll find what works for you. Also, unless you have a lovely instructor, or he's teaching you tech diving techniques, do NOT use your BCD for buoyancy control underwater. Use your drysuit only, and use your bcd as flotation on the surface. Trying to manage two different buoyancy systems is not necessary for recreational diving. Only in tec when they have shitloads of weight due to stage tanks does it become necessary. Be really careful with your seals when putting them on/off. They can stretch a bunch but if you tear em, you're screwed. Getting in and out of the suit is stupid akward the first few times, you'll get used to it. GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE YOU DIVE. I'm assuming you aren't using a p-valve or adult diaper. Having to pee in a drysuit sucks. You can pee in it and wash it out later, but thats just awful. Drysuits rock man, have fun. Crunkjuice fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Oct 15, 2012 |
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Oct 15, 2012 21:21
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I've made a few ghetto rigs out of some 1 inch nylon webbing and some zip ties. A stitched one to go around my hand, and another small stitched ring around that. Then i can just zip tie my light down two or 3 times through that second loop and boom, ghetto as poo poo hand mount for pretty much any sized light. I'm sure if i spent any time on it i could make a a little beefier/more secure, but it im only really teaching/recreational diving so it doesn't need to be super tough/overbuilt.
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Oct 24, 2012 17:37
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SlicerDicer posted:Well just remember if you tear a seal you are going to have a very fun time getting to surface.. Also remember that only adding enough to offset squeeze and using wing for the rest is far easier. Just my advice gas in feet sucks. I agree with this. That's pretty dangerous to rely on only your drysuit for buoyancy. Backplate and wing is industry standard for tech divers and drysuits. Not diving with a wing/Bcd for comforts sake is dangerous and stupid.
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Oct 28, 2012 21:42
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http://www.ourwater-ourfuture.com/ I hate pimping stuff, but this is important to me. Please read through and make your own decision, but i ask you divers to please sign this. This lake holds an unbelievable importance to me as a diver. It was the basis of my training , and is over 90% of my thousands of logged dives.
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Oct 30, 2012 04:46
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pupdive posted:I am going to disgree with this pretty strongly. Online learning for the Open Water course is really the only way to go. Is keeping track of a paper book difficult for you?
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Nov 19, 2012 17:45
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Dive watches are antiquated. They were used when you needed to time your dives, but with the evolution of cheap dive computers, they aren't necessary. They are however, still kicking rad and if you want to wear one then by all means be a classy bastard.
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Nov 22, 2012 17:27
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I could rant for pages about gear discussion and people forcing their personal gear choices on others. As long as you dive with gear thats safe, i don't give a poo poo what you do. Tech divers are the loving worst about this, and i usually end up wanting to punch them in the throat after hearing them talk. I had a tech diver trying to tell my open water student how his bcd was terrible and unsafe and scared the kid out of the water for 30 minutes until i traded him my bcd to get him back in the water. The thing was a kids medium and I dove it. Barely. There really is something about diving that brings out the know it all pricks. Bishop and SlicerDicer are legit tech divers though, they know their poo poo and aren't douches
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Dec 6, 2012 04:02
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jackyl posted:Not to start a religious war or anything, but why the hate for split fins? We're about to dive splits for our first time starting Monday and I was looking forward it. If they suck, that's fine, we paid very little for them so replacement won't be a big deal, but the reviews were overwhelmingly positive when we did some research. They just don't have enough propulsion to deal with moderate current, and kind of suck for some kick styles which are necessary in wreck/cave/tech diving. For most diving, blade fins are the superior choice. Split fins DO have some advantages though. They are a lot more comfortable on your joints than blade fins, so older people, people with injuries, lazy people (like me) like them a lot because they are easier to dive. I dive scubapro twin jets and i love them to death because i dive in no current fresh water for all of my diving. I don't need the extra power of blade fins, so why not enjoy the comfort of split fins? It all depends on the type of diving you do, but blade fins are usually the best choice. edit; Beaten by butthole rockcity apparently 
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Dec 6, 2012 22:51
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TLG James posted:Does anyone have any thoughts on the lower end dive computers? I've been eyeing the Cressi Leonardo. I know nothing about that computer, but i use a 100 dollar dive computer i bought 3 years ago still. You'll be fine with a low end dive computer.
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Dec 7, 2012 01:16
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Aquila posted:What's everyone's favorite cheap diving computer? I've heard alot of recommendations for the Suunto Zoop. Wetsuit you're really going to have to try on and see what fits you. No piece of dive gear except maybe a mask is more personal of a fit. I do know scubapro tends to be more athletic fitting than hendersons. In a perfect world where everyone had a lot of money, i'd tell everyone to get a custom fit suit, but thats just not practical unless you are the size of shaq or something. Find your biggest local retailer and try on a bunch of suits
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Dec 14, 2012 05:29
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Sir Winston Beehill posted:Thanks for all the advice on buoyancy. Will have to try them out later this week. When I started diving I would take massive breathes of air since I mentally reasoned that the longer the sound of inhaling, the better off I was. In my first week I would empty a 250 bar tank in about 20 mins. Currently I can make one last up to 40 mins. Also know depth is a factor in how long you can last on a tank. That 40 minute tank of yours at x depth will last you differently at y depth. Just get comfortable in the water. Thats the biggest thing that will help buoyancy/air consumption. Once you get over the "OH gently caress I"M BREATHING UNDERWATER THERES A FISH OH MY GOD" feelings, and you get acclimated, everything sort of falls into place. Stay calm, breath easy, and it'll come along with experience.
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Dec 16, 2012 07:02
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Anyone watch the 60 minutes on the salvaging of the Costa Concordia? They had a 3-4 minute segment on the salvage divers that was pretty cool, except for something that i can't wrap my head around unless its just them screwing up facts. They said that even with being down a lot every day, the divers had a max bottom time of 45 minutes per dive. They had 5 minutes to get up from a DEPTH OF 40 FEET to get into a chamber. They showed a dude stripping off a wetsuit and rushing into a chamber. Things i saw. They had surface supplied air and standard commercial diving helmets. They were all wearing a full length wetsuit, with a john style or second wetsuit layer (no drysuits). I'm guessing the news reported the numbers wrong, because i can't fathom any reason why a 45 minutes dive to 40 feet would constitute an immediate chamber trip.
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Dec 17, 2012 02:56
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Tomberforce posted:Must be 40 metres? I thought that first as well, but thats only 130 feet. Commercial divers with surface supplied air stay down WAY deeper for way longer than that on a regular basis. That can't be right though since the Concordia had a depth of 46 feet 6 inches, and as i understand it, it ran aground and rolled. I'm chalking this up to a news reporting error. I'll try to find a copy of the segment and post it here though. On a more intersting note. The divers/salvage crew live on a constructed barracks site on the water. Its a makeshift platform with a shitload of cargo containers/walkways.
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Dec 17, 2012 10:16
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