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I love my Atomic Aquatics regs, and they recommend servicing every 2 years.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. The consumer really has no idea what kind of rates someone like that is paying for shipping, so it's really easy for them to mark it up.

I can't answer the question about shipping USPS. However, just looking at 1 online source it is cheaper for me to purchase weights at my LDS than it is to get them from that online source, even before shipping comes into play. Are you looking at that much of a price difference that you were...

I have a copy of the regulations for Florida in my hand, printed up a month or so ago from an online source. In particular, it specifies the red & white diver down flag and makes no mention of the alpha flag. As far as distance requirements, it uses the language "reasonable efforts". Divers...

That's good to know. Surely something worth researching before just going out and doing it.

I once saw some guys doing a shore dive using a small boat anchor tied to their flag. Probably about a 5 pounder.

Also, I like the idea of attaching some type of strobe or glow stick to the flag for night diving. While I've heard the stories of dive flags being ignored whether it was day or night, for safety's sake I'd rather the peace of mind knowing I did the best I could to make it visible.

The one dive where I actually kept the flag with me, rather than just tying off to structure on the bottom, I just held onto the reel for the duration of the dive. Maybe a little inconvenient, but not that big of a deal. I would still rather just secure the entire thing and make sure I don't...

Congratulations. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the experience and learned something at the same time. One day I'm gonna get to take my AOW as well, and I hope to get as much out of it as it seems you did.

Hollis F-1 fins are next on the list for me. After that, maybe an Atomic subframe mask

Those kinds of pictures are the absolute best!

I didn't see the thread discussing the shop that charged $25 for you to try on items so I have to ask, was the $25 deducted from the purchase price if you tried on then bought from them? I've seen instances like this locally, and not with dive shops. I have a close friend in the flooring...

I dive with my son and my son-in-law, which is great but I find that they usually have that tendency to naturally let me lead while they follow. My son more so than my son-in-law. One of the things I've been wanting to focus on the next time we get to go diving is have them take a more active...

Nothing wrong with using tables. The disadvantage there is that they don't give you the benefit of adjusting your NDL's as your depth changes. However, I'd imagine diving a square profile still beats not diving at all.

From the get go I never had any issues with mask clearing or mask removal. Piece of cake, right? During OW checkout dive #1, we're in 20' of water doing skills and when I removed my mask and that 68° water hit my face I felt like I couldn't breathe. I hesitated for a few seconds and had to...

If you and your buddy are comfortable with it, I see no problem whatsoever. Last summer I got certified with my then 15 year old son, my son-in-law, and 3 of his friends. We did our OW check out dives over 2 days at 2 different locations. The next day after getting certified, we went back to...

When buying regs, remember that you will have to get them serviced on a regular basis. I don't have much experience in dealing with many different dive shops, but I've heard about some divers having issues with some shops giving them a hard time about servicing equipment that wasn't purchased...

I was thinking maybe regulator recovery, but "conserving air" throws that out.

I know you've got a lot more experience than I do, but I'm gonna respectfully disagree with you on this point. Yes, we were taught to "buddy check" during OW class and it is something that I absolutely insist on doing. IMO it's not about being responsible for your buddy's safety, or him/her...

With the climate here in South Louisiana I would be more concerned with extreme heat than with large temperature swings. I can't imagine that would be the greatest thing long-term for hoses, etc. However, your climate might not be as harsh to be a problem.