Log book dinosaur?

[pdxgal]

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?

 

[jboneng]

Many people don't log dives,
Some do digital logging of dives and,
Some do paper logs.

In the dive club I belong to I would say it is 50/50% "loggers" and "no-loggers",
and of those who log dives 50% logs dives on paper the rest do it on a PC/online.

I log dives both on paper and on my PC (the paper log is handy when I am on the boat, or traveling), the digital log contains more info like dive profile, theoretical tissue saturation, stats and so on.

Last time I did scuba in Thailand most people logged their dives on paper, there was some old-timers that didn't log their dives.

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, that said I know a woman that have been an instructor longer than I have been alive, and she still do paper dive-logs.

I log my dives because it have become a ritual, sitting down with a cup of coffee and the logbook and talking about todays dives, and also sometimes it is nice to just look at the logs and think back on those special dives. The digital log is also nice to link images taken on dives to place, date, time, depth, weather condition and so on.

 

[Searcaigh]

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 still log on paper since 1991, I know how many dives I have done, those who don't log dives don't know, they can only estimate ….. perhaps!

 

[fisheater]

I log on paper and have filled binders in my scuba cabinet.


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[MB NZ]

i've logged every single dive. now at 754. i used to keep a detailed paper log, then when i went digital, it was too much hassle to transfer everything, so just kept key information (just date and location). it is a matter of regret that didn't maintain a full log.

 

[Redshift]

I log them all on paper.

 

[Patoux01]

I know how many dives I have done, those who don't log dives don't know, they can only estimate ….. perhaps!

So except for the "I have 9581 dives and you maybe have 100, don't you dare correct my diving" point that people like to make, when is this relevant? Some people consider it fun to do their 100th dive, others don't care.

In my area, I'm the only one I know that doesn't bother logging them. I have them on my dive computer, which I occasionnally plug in my laptop. But at some point I'll wipe the laptop, and then poof, dives gone (the comments). So I don't bother.
I'll sometimes upload the profile, analyse it, and then let it be.
When I travelled north of Sydney, same thing, everybody jumped on the stamp for their logbooks.

I've had issues with people asking for my logbook, they weren't all too happy when I told them "I don't log them, but there's 50 dives on the dive computer if you want, there's a bit of freediving as well sometimes", but generally speaking they were able to tell the difference... Most twinset divers know what they do, roughly.

Cheers

 

[victorzamora]

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.

 

[Stoo]

I've logged all of my 5085 dives although most entries in my wetnotes books are mostly just a record of the dive... the basics.

I began using a Shearwater last year, and started to slack off on logging, but have since duplicated these entries in my logbook.

Being a relatively old fart, one thing I know is that "technology" changes and it fails. If having a record of your dives is important, it's pretty hard to beat a paper record. I still have all of my old log books, and I would bet money, that if am still diving 40 years from now (at age 99!) I won't be able to find or access or read the Shearwater record. By then we'll be using butt-implanted deco transfibritators for diving and they'll be using an entirely different technology.

By way of evidence.... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/481956-40-years-later.html?highlight=years

 

[boulderjohn]

I I have done, those who don't log dives don't know, they can only estimate ….. perhaps!

And if an estimator tells you how many dives he or she has, if it is more than about 50, assume it is quite an exaggeration. It is not that they are lying--it is just hard to believe it takes as long as it really does to accumulate dive totals, unless you are a professional working at it every day. If I did not log dives and had to estimate, I would probably estimate hundreds more than I actually have--it just feels that way.