Baby Shampoo

[Walter]

Said like a true retailer.

 

[newportscuba]

Said like a true retailer.

Not a retailer. just an instructor and an avid diver.

A retailer wouldn't have let you choose your path..they'd have chosen it for you.

 

[scubapolly]

Baby Shampoo- I take a bottle of it on dive trips (particularly live aboards)- I use it to shower on the back deck (hair, body, face). I dilute it in a squirt bottle (50/50) and use it for defog as mentioned (hundreds of dives doing this and never a problem), I use it to check for leaks, also use it for getting on neoprene gloves. I use it on the zip seals of my dry suit when switching from the gloves to the seals to make sure the zips are clean for a good seal.

Talc for the dry suit- yes you do need to avoid the scented variety, you can find the unsented at a store that sells billiards supply. I typically use corn starch... never heard of using flower like someone mentioned.

Beeswax for dry suit zippers.

Lots of hardware is much cheaper at home depot or tractor supply- just gotta be careful it is all stainless or brass (a lot of the stainless clips have non-stainless springs, and the hoseclamps can have non stainless bolts)... just gotta be on the look out. Nylon mason line is about $2 for a couple hundred yards (and comes in pretty colors). I also bought all of the stainless hardware for my tanks there. I have a trans pack and I replaced all of the cheap plastic fasteners with stainless cariage bolts and wing nuts (for less than a dollar).

Another thing- the discount hardware store is my best friend (we have Harbor freight in this area). I got a set of about 200 o-rings for about $2. I DON"T USE THESE ON REGS/GEAR etc. but what they are great for is for attaching gear. Enough force and they break, so you avoid a lot of the entanglement issues. $2 rubber mallet removing tank valves and boots.

zip-ties.... nuff said.

Pool-noodle tank ranks... do them yourself!!!! also by DIYing these, you can make them to fit your needs. I ahve ones to accomidate my stages- can't buy them premade.

I've also seen some really nice gear racks made from PVC, but I haven't done that yet.

I'm also not including all of the great instrucing materials I've gotten cheap at BigLots or the like.

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Baby Shampoo . . . I dilute it in a squirt bottle (50/50) and use it ... on the zip seals of my dry suit when switching from the gloves to the seals to make sure the zips are clean for a good seal.

I completely forgot about zip seals in my earlier post. Good call. I do the same thing to switch them out. I can't seem to get the zip seals on my DUI to lock properly unless I use a few tiny squirts of the 50/50 mix from a little squirt bottle I got for 39 cents at a craft store.

(Why would such a manly-man like Tank be in a craft store, you might ask? That's the best place to build an original Halloween costume. Really! Well, craft stores and the Salvation Army...)

Mike

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

zip-ties.... nuff said.

That's genius, is this the first time someone brought it up?

I was on a boat tonight with 4 divers and each looked at the other and said "I left mine in the car" when I inquired. Cuz my little Harbor freight o-ring that holds the spg busted. Of course I couldn't replace that because my sdk was in the car too. Luckily the boat cap'n is a good ole salt and had me zip-tied in no time.

 

[americanoregon]

My first instructor suggested using spit to defog a mask. He said the way they get the commercial defog that sells for $5 bucks a bottle is to line up a bunch of convicts and make them spit into the bottles...

 

[stonefish35]

Which is why, we use baby shampoo

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

In my Save-A-Dive kit, I have a whole packet of 200 zip ties. Very handy item.

 

[stonefish35]

In my Kit, I have cable ties, masking tape, spare mask , spare mask strap , spare fins strap etc.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Well, I have a bunch of other stuff in there too, but zip ties are definitely one of the essentials. I have spare mouthpieces, various clips, a spare hose for my computer, O-rings of various sizes, O-ring lube, a scuba tool with adjustable wrench, a wrench that fits the hose joints at the first-stage, spare mask straps, spare fin straps, etc. I keep a spare mask in my dive bag. I believe in being prepared. Chances are, even if I don't need anything from the kit, someone on the boat will.