Buying two of eveything or "stagger"

[SandyRobinson]

Computers - I'd recommend one for each of you - the same one as others have suggested. If one goes out, you still have one assuming you make the same dives/profiles. Not the best scenario but maybe OK if you are not pushing the limits and you stay together.

Lights - I'd recommend a primary and a backup for each diver. The Princeton tec 40 is a nice inexpensive backup light. For a primary, I prefer a 3 or 4 cell LED at the most - maybe a UK C4 or a Photon Torpedo if still made. I just do not like to illuminate the entire reef. Also, I would forget about the big bulky lights - too much of a hassle. The Intovas are great lights but if you buy the ones with push buttons, make sure you rinse them well with fresh water as the salt seems to 'stick" in the button. In Coz, I have used my 3 AAA Intova light and it was more than enough.

Training - I actually completed my AOW at SCC in the early 80s when it was the Galapago Inn. Our night dive was in front of the hotel which was fine. Our navigation and search and recovery dives were also there. It just did not seem right doing these last two dives in 100+ viz.

The shore dives as I remember were OK. They are certainly not as spectacular as the reefs but at night if you are patient, you will see a lot. I actually preferred the night shore dives over the day shore dives

YMMV.

 

[blake7]

Folks are making good points on lights that can be overly bright for night dives. Most modern LED lights have a 1/2 or 1/3 brightness option which is something you definitely want to look for. That let's you have full lumens when you need them during the day, and less when you don't on a night dive.

The lower power setting can also dramatically increase the time the batteries lasts.

 

[RonFrank]

The Intova lights all have full, 1/3 power, strobe functionality. Many dive lights have multiple power options. It should be part of the spec. The 1/3 power setting also extends the batteries from 10hrs to 30hrs for lights that advertise 10 hrs battery life.

Intova offers a lot of lights so a bunch of battery options, beam widths, even strengths to 2000 lumen, but not for $40. I find the 130 lumen, 12 degree beam adequate for most diving conditions if not bright. They also offer a 12 degree beam 220 lumen for around $50-60 but it takes CR123 batteries.

 

[freewillie]

+1 on each diver needing their own gear. You should have one computer for each diver, or rent. Each diver should also have both a primary and a back up light for night dive. You will also need in addition a cayalume night stick or similar to attach to your tank. Some places frown on them since they are not as eco friendly as a smaller reusable light marker. Call SCC to see what gear they rent, including lights.

I highly recommend LED dive lights. They are little more expensive than the halogen/xenon bulb lights but since they don't generate much heat you can use them as regular lights for nondiving activities. I use mine for barbeque in the winter when its dark. Absolutely blows away any other "BBQ" light.

It's always an ongoing discussion, but IMO it's always better to pony up little extra $ buy quality gear than try and get away with something less expensive that you will eventually replace sooner or later.

As for courses. Unless there is big challenging surf a beach entry doesn't need a PADI specialty course. A hired DM can show you all the ropes and will let you get acquainted with the local shore reefs then you can do it on your own after. If your wife is nervous about night dives then consider night diver course at the resort. You may be able complete course with LDS or online then do your cert dive at the resort.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

You will also need in addition a cayalume night stick or similar to attach to your tank. Some places frown on them since they are not as eco friendly as a smaller reusable light marker.

There are a lot of people who think that cyalume light sticks and dedicated tank marker lights are completely unnecessary for night diving.
They don't put out enough light to be useful, and they can only be seen from behind the diver anyway.
It is far, far better to take note of other identifying characteristics (qualities of primary light beam, fins, type/color of exposure protection, kicking style) of the other people with whom you are diving. This requires no additional equipment...just the proper attention to detail.

I can understand the use of light sticks in a large scuba class to mark various sub-groups. For instance, it might help instructors/DMs visually note that 1 red light student is missing.
A few boat dive ops here in SoCal require that some sort of marker light be affixed to the tank of every diver in the water. While diving from such a boat, a diver really doesn't have a choice in the matter and must comply with the boat rules. For the everyday, run-of-the-mill night dives which I do locally (San Diego), I would never use a cyalume light stick or tank marker light.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

^ They are nice for marking your entry point on a dark night though. I also keep one with my SMB just in case the worst happens and I spend the night floating alone and my light dies.

 

[DandyDon]

I also keep one with my SMB just in case the worst happens and I spend the night floating alone and my light dies.

Which is one of the rarest accidents that happen, but still - one reason I like a 50 hour light over a 10 hour total.

 

[Sheri SGR]

Quick female input - you can share a light but God forbid if your wife's light goes out - especially if she isn't comfortable with night diving. I'd be sure she has the larger light source with fresh batteries to insure you both have a great vacation

 

[SandyRobinson]

Quick female input - you can share a light but God forbid if your wife's light goes out - especially if she isn't comfortable with night diving. I'd be sure she has the larger light source with fresh batteries to insure you both have a great vacation

Best comment so far because if Momma is not happy, nobody is happy!

 

[RetroBlader]

We just came back from a week in St. Lucia (stayed in an all-inclusive resort, but diving 2 tanks every day), and soon we will be spending a week in Scuba Club Cozumel in February.

My main question: Should we buy two of everything (most likely entry-level for both), or should we try to "stagger" (i.e. buy a basic model and a more advanced model, so if we were ever going to upgrade, we can upgrade the basic model and wait a bit longer to upgrade the more advanced one)?

We just got back from our 7-day trip to Scuba Club Cozumel (red-eye flight landing only 8 hours ago), but I just want to post a follow-up.

First of all, many thanks to all who took the time to respond. My wife and I considered every single suggestion made (we even made an Excel spreadsheet of who said what) before making our purchasing decisions.

We also visited 2 different local dive shops, as well as emailed Scuba Club Cozumel several times to ask specific questions.

In the end, we decided on the following:

In case you are wondering, here are the models we are looking at:

1. Computer: Since the Gekko is no longer available, Mares Puck seems to be the cheapest computer that offers Nitrox. (Stupid question: We should each have a computer, right? We will be doing all the dives together, and we vowed to stay closer together after reading the "how far should you be from your buddy" thread....)

Dive Computers: Suunto Zoop x 2
- Since we may not get to dive for a year or more after this, we decided to buy only one Zoop, and rent the 2nd one while at SCC. (We emailed them and found out that was the model they rent.)
- We figured if we ended up liking it, we can buy a second one later. On the other hand, if we hated it or if we wanted to move up to a higher-end model, this "staggering" would allow us more flexibility.
- In the end, we really liked the Zoop, but also our decision to buy-one-rent-one. It allowed us to study the manual and get to know it before the trip. During the trip, there was still a learning curve (good thing the boat rides were so long -- I had lots of time to re-read sections of the manual), but I could set/read my wife's computer without additional task-loading.
- Of course, we each used the same unit everyday -- it was not hard telling them apart. We've cut the strap of the purchased unit to my wrist size, while the rental one was marked "Cozumel 1B" and had a full-length strap (which was very annoying because the tail-end would cover up part of the face, so eventually I folded it back and secured it with a twist-tie).
- The 3-button design did make setting (and checking log) much easier. In retrospect, I can't imagine trying to operate a computer with only one button (e.g. Mares Puck, which we also considered).

2. Dive light: I've heard good things about the Princeton Tec Torrent and the BigBlue CF-250.
- Princeton Tec has the combo pack (one "laser gun" and one Torrent), and is available from within Canada (not having to worry about shipping across the border is a big plus): Light Packs Ultimate Dive Set: Amazon.ca: Electronics
- BigBlue CF-250 is available from B&H, a NYC camera store which I've dealt with many times in the past and trust 100%.

I know people suggest carrying minimum of two lights, but since we will be staying very close (my wife is still a bit nervous about doing a night dive), and we will only be doing a few night dives, do you think we can get away with me carrying the big "radar gun" light and her carrying the Torrent (or vice versa) and be each other's back-up light?

For what it is worth, I'm also considering getting the FIX Mini BuB Light Saber to put on my Canon S95/WP-DC38 housing, so there will be some redundancy:
FIX Mini BuB Light Saber with YS Mount and Rotary Hotshoe Base [fix.bub.set] - $128.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

We considered all the advice (and they were many, not to mentioned widely varied), and in the end, decided to have two lights each (a decision my wife really appreciated, even though we were never separated on night dives, nor did any of them malfunction).

We are both budding UW photographers (but we knew to put safety first, "no damaging coral nor disturb creatures" second, and photography third), so we each had a main light (Liquid Image 5.5W 60-degree wide-angle Side Light) mounted under the Canon camera housing:
Shop Liquid Image Products - XSC 5.5W WIDE SIDE TORCH

Our secondary lights are Intova products. She had the Intova Wide-Angle Torch (IFL WA) while I used the Intova Technical LED Torch (ITAC):
Intova Nova Wide-Angle Waterproof Torch IFL WA B&H Photo Video
Intova Tactical LED Torch ITAC B&H Photo Video

Our main considerations were:
- portability/compactness: we thought the popular radar-gun style ones were too bulky, particularly given airline luggage restrictions
- brightness: the Liquid Image offers 300 lumens while both Intova lights produces 220 lumens)
- wide-angle coverage (to better assist photography): Liquid Image had a 60-degree coverage; IFL WA and ITAC both 43 degrees
- rechargeable battery if possible (to save on battery cost but also bulk of spares): Liquid Image uses rechargeable Li-ion batteries, which is great -- we didn't hesitate taking them down even on day-dives, since we can top them up easily

For night dives, I usually use just the camera-mounted Liquid Image to see/scan (plenty bright and certainly plenty wide). However, when I need to take a photo, I can turn on the Intova (handheld in left hand) and point at the same spot for added brightness. With the 2 lights, things were so bright that the camera rarely had to fire its built-in flash.


[to be continued]