Log book dinosaur?

[AdivingBel]

I think the biggest problem you had was looking at a specific cross-section of divers. Vacation-only divers don't log dives. They don't care to. It's not their "hobby." It's fine that they care less than the more dedicated ones.

Funny, I'm just the other way. I do most of my diving while on vacation. I log my dives not only for the diving , but so also as a bit of a travel journal. If I dived locally or alot more often, I could see myself not logging dives. I log digitally including downloads from my computer and periodically print out updates to my paper logbook as a hardcopy backup. My wife is an artist and she made me a very nice logbook cover, so it would be a waste not to use it. I really like digital logs because I can link media to specific dives. Everybody is a little different.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Hi all,

When I was first trained I was taught always to use a logbook. But I pulled it out in Cozumel this weekend and this was met with exclamations of surprise and awe. Do people not use logbooks anymore?

Many people log their dives, but fewer and fewer seem to use paper books. Electronic logbooks are gaining ground. I love my old-fashioned paper logbook.

I don't take mine out on the boat--it stays home unless I think I might need it with me--so other people rarely see it. I like the feel of the pages--each one represents one dive--and the thick stack gives me a sense of accomplishment. I like taking a pen and writing things in my own handwriting. I use a computer all day at work, and this is one of the few opportunities left to use a pen and actually WRITE something. In addition to depth, time, temperature, gear, etc., I always write a few things about the dive, or the dive operator, or boat, or dive buddies, or whatever. Sometimes I'll sketch out a rough map. I'll never give up my paper logbook. It gives me a lot of satisfaction that an electronic log would not.

 

[rivers]

I can't be asked to log my dives. So I don't. I know people who still log every dive, on paper in a log book. Nothing wrong with either method.

 

[shoredivr]

Hi all,

When I was first trained I was taught always to use a logbook. But I pulled it out in Cozumel this weekend and this was met with exclamations of surprise and awe. Do people not use logbooks anymore?

I do. I like to sketch maps and other things in my log book. The technology for current computer logs will be obsolete in a matter of time. I prefer to consult the paper pages that need no battery or power source to operate.
17 years diving.

 

[Storker]

I guess the dive log is most useful when you start out as a diver (let say the first 50 dives) to make notes on what worked and what didn't. as you get more dives under your belt stuff like weighting and gear configuration is something you just know, and don't need a log to remember

Although I generally agree with your post, I take exeption at the number you're quoting.

I still have use of my log in terms of " what worked and what didn't". I have two drysuits and also use different amounts of undergarments depending on the water temperature. I also have different tanks. Throw in vacation diving, with different thickness wetsuits and also different tanks, and we're talking about more combinations than I have data storage for in my head.

For a run-of-the mill Sunday dive, I don't need to check my log, but for anything outside the standard, I have to check my notes


--
Sent from my Android phone
Typos are a feature, not a bug

 

[rhwestfall]

I have a void in my log book because I thought it was "so cool" to have my dives on my computer (started diving before PDC's were mainstream).... Computer OS requirements changed, manufacturer went a different direction with software, computer became obsolete, and all is gone....

I have returned to paper for the purpose of weighting, exposure, SAC, etc. being the tool to update my diving strategy....

perhaps after thousands of dives, it might be unnecessary, or essential because I won't remember anything....

I like my paper logs, but I do fill them out usually days later, with "mission critical" stuff recorded on a slate at the dive location...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I still log my dives ... I'll be hitting #3500 sometime in the next month or so. I used to keep a paper log book, and still have those in a file cabinet drawer somewhere. But since about the first 600 or so I switched to maintaining a dive log on my desktop computer. It's just a simple Word table that maintains statistics and basic comments. I keep it mainly for my personal benefit ... I've never been asked on a dive trip to see my log book ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Dnaber]

I'm still in the 25 - 50 dive range so I like to log my dives for training and personal entries. I did just convert over to the electronic version but with the Oceanic program I can print my logs so I can maintain a paper copy for my instructors. Maybe after I log 1000 dives I may stop printing them to paper but who know.....

 

[BDSC]

When I first started diving I was very detailed about my dive logs. I would record time in, time out, the equipment I was wearing, wetsuit type, weights, depth, water temp, what I saw, dive location, dive buddy, etc. But as time moved on, I found myself recording less and less until I was only recording dive time, dive depth, and location. That was it. I do a lot of my diving on dive vacations (3 to 4 trips a year) and have been to Cozumel, Roatan, The Caymans, and Bonaire numerous times. After recording in my log book a dive at Karpata on Bonaire for the 5th time, I finally figured out that wasn't really anything new to say.

I recorded my dives up to #500 and that's when I quit. I'd estimate that I have around 50,000 dives at this point but I could be off by as much as 49,000.

 

[DaleC]

I get why some people may want to log dives but I really don't get why people think they need to log dives, as if there were something unique about recreational diving. Do you log each time you ski, kayak, bicycle or drive a car and get someone to sign off on it? I logged my first 100 because I thought I might need them as a prerequisite for a course but now I just log my dives via my videos. If someone wanted to see my logbook at a resort I could always refer them to my website or youtube channel. Hey, here's Sundays dive (shameless promoter):

[video=youtube;98-Tw07K4k8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98-Tw07K4k8[/video]