A regular diving day, what to bring?

[ScubaThor]

Food and water are absolute musts, in my book....especially if you plan on doing more than one dive. When I first started, I used to get pounding headaches after dive two...which didn't stop until I made sure I was properly hydrated. You'd be amazed how dehydrated you can get just from diving. My 2 cents.

 

[DivingCRNA]

Hey there! I just got certified and pretty much would like to start diving with friends. What does a responsible diver bring with them during their dives and also those that stay behind (such as first aid kit etc)? I'd like to make sure I got everything covered with my equipment as a recreational AND safe diver as well. I'd like to have as much fun during my dives without forgetting safety

When I started diving I was ALWAYS forgetting to bring food and something to drink. Bring a chair too!

 

[BarryNL]

This is one of the really amazing differences with tec divers. I once went round about 20 divers in a car park trying to borrow an allen key before I finally found someone who had one.

If you try that in a group of tec divers every single one thrusts an entire toolbox at you I swear, half these guys could strip down and rebuild a rebreather in a dark, wet cark park.

 

[UCFDiver131]

i gotta second the water/gatorade suggestions, very important to have. (my instructor told me that if you dont piss yourself on a dive, then you didnt drink enough water beforehand) i also like to bring some cut up watermelon/pineapple/grapes, etc. ive found em to be better snacks to eat on a surface interval than something dry.

 

[Bobbin-along]

Ummm yea. And that's why it's always good to have a dive buddy who is a tech diver.

 

[ItsBruce]

A portable DVD player is good for the SI.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

You've gotten a lot of good advice here so I'll just chime in with a few things I've noticed over the years at our local quarry dives:

Food to share is always popular
A canopy for shade is nice too, I have a 10'x10' and it gets a lot of traffic. During cold weather I have an E-ZUp shelter with sides (great for changing clothes!) and I put a couple of camping tent heaters in it to take the chill off for our wetsuit divers.
A chair usually comes in handy though I'm less likely to use it if there is a picnic table available.
A friend brings a generator that powers a small microwave and refrigerator as well as a salamander heater in the winter--I LOVE being his buddy
Carpet to stand on while changing. I used to get carpet remnants from a carpet store, they would sell you a whole box of old ones for about $10. I've also used indoor/outdoor carpet doormats (car floormats work ok too) as well as a 4'x6' indoor/outdoor rug that I bought at Dollar General for about $10. I like having a nice rock-free place to stand while getting into and out of my exposure suit. I carry a couple of extra rugs (oversize doormats) because my dive buddies kept using mine and I always had to hunt for it when I needed it
I have a bucket of fresh water for mask rinsing that sits near my gear donning spot.
I always carry a pretty comprehensive first-aid kit (tweezers are a must!) and a fairly large save-a-dive kit.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[ReefHound]

In addition to what's been said, for safety familiarize yourself with the facilities available in the area. If you need external help your first option will be to call 911 and wait, or notify some local authority. But it doesn't hurt to have a general awareness and a sheet of paper with phone numbers and location of nearest hospital, police, etc. I keep such an Emergency Action Plan for the local sites in my logbook.

Carry ID and how to contact your wife/SO as well as let someone know where you are going.