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I had a one of these which was comfy for hour long + snorkels, it might be a bit too bulky down the bottom for you. http://www.aqualung.com/products/air_dry.html

If you're a university student most of the universities have dive clubs, and many of them organize regular reef trips between semesters. Great for meeting people too. They're designed for student budgets. :) Generally very friendly people. The other thing is that if your schedule is flexible...

Personal experience: Buddy panicked at the surface. Flailing about, nearly broke my nose. We're a good distance from shore, and the sea is getting a bit nasty. I got the ditchable weights off. Instantly the panic stopped. My only regret was that the weights weren't easier to ditch. I...

I'd be interested to hear about how they do stack up, and presumably you'll soon be able to tell us first hand!

One observation I've not seen in this thread: Most dive businesses are woefully undercapitalized! Where I live we have 20 odd dive shops in the city. Many or most of them are tiny holes in the wall. Numbers have antiquated, worn-out rental equipment. Many haven't had their shops...

It looks remarkably similar to a lot of the ocean divers taiwan regs. See for instance: http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=169510

But it doesn't take many bad fishermen to wreck it for the good ones.

If it's for study most of the universities have dive clubs, many of which are pretty good.

God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen, God save the Queen! <da-da-da-da!> Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us; God save the Queen! :eyebrow:

My instructor apparently had a student who got bent after two dives of 45 minutes in 10 metres of water with a good 2 hour surface interval. See your doctor!

I've had a great time in Byron (about 2-3 hours south of Brisbane) at about this time of year. I personally find Cairns to be a bit of a hole, but found both Port Douglas (1 hour north) and Townsville (3 hours south) much nicer.

I'm in Sydney and there's numbers of people with drysuits in winter, and further down the coast (still 500 miles north of Mebourne) I've seen drysuits in summer. I'd take the drysuit.

Walters guide is excellent, but more briefly: - see how you feel about the instructor, the quality of the training comes a lot more from the instructor than the certification agency. - Don't be afraid to spend an extra 20% for better training. - The more dives you need to get your cert...

An interesting statement. As a potential customer the corporate objective of "creating a level playing field for retailers" seems a little bizzare. I'd prefer an objective of something which would make me want to buy their product. As it is I doubt I will walk into a retailer and ask "but...

As another data point, from (hire) scubapro Mk2/R190 I get horrible dry mouth, but aqualung calypso (or any other reg) it's not so bad. I've no idea why this is the case.

The most important skill that I didn't have at the end of my OW was general watermanship. These skills will probably be out of left field for many but: - Reading and interpreting weather reports - Skindiving - Bodysurfing/dealing with swells - Swimming!

Thanks very much for that, that's just what I wanted to know :)

A query: I'm wondering if sealed first stages tend to have less corrosion and gunk on servicing? Is there any benefit outside of cold water diving?

Ahh: And I should add, I don't think there's a irukandji anti-venin, I think it's box jellies only.

There is now an anti-venin, I believe all ambulances, clinics and hospitals in the region have it. November to May approx; summer in North Queensland. Whatever you do decide to do, it's important to take this risk very seriously. There's a death about once every two years, and many...