Reef hook or not?

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WetPup

Weedy Sea Dragon
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Location
Straya
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I've just booked a trip to Raja Ampat, and coming home via Ambon to check out what it's like compared to Lembeh. Just wondering whether I should invest in a reef hook for Raja Ampat though? I'm going land-based and staying on Kri, but am seeing widely variable information on whether a reef hook is necessary or not. I'll have a fairly big camera setup with me if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any advice :)
 
I cannot speak of your particular destination, but we borrowed a couple reef hooks for our Maldives trip this last Feb. We only really used them a couple of times, but I was glad we had brought them be a used on those dives the hooks allowed me to keep both my hands free to take pics.
They remained stowed away the rest of the time, and they were small enough that I was hardly aware that I was carrying a reef hook at all.
 
Since people can have different experiences in the same area depending on exactly where they dive and the luck of conditions at the time, might be why you are reading mixed messages about the need for reef hooks. I have not been there either, but if I was getting the sense a reef hook might be useful and possibly important where I was going, I'd take one. If you can't borrow one it's not much of an investment, they don't cost that much, maybe less if you make your own. Or if you're someplace they're useful, decent chance they will be available to buy there.
 
Since people can have different experiences in the same area depending on exactly where they dive and the luck of conditions at the time, might be why you are reading mixed messages about the need for reef hooks. I have not been there either, but if I was getting the sense a reef hook might be useful and possibly important where I was going, I'd take one. If you can't borrow one it's not much of an investment, they don't cost that much, maybe less if you make your own. Or if you're someplace they're useful, decent chance they will be available to buy there.

Well that's part of it. They're not allowed where I live, so none of the LDS's sell them. I can get one online, but didn't want to be stuffing around with that unless necessary.
 
It's not a lifesaver, but I was glad I brought one to R4. Some used their tank bangers instead.
My upper body is not too strong, so the reef hook helped.
 
If you require a reef hook for a particular dive site, any reputable dive operator should provide you one.

Wetpup, you will probably find a pointer will suffice, I noticed when I dive with a pointer in Oz many people don't seem to be familiar with them and use gloves instead.
 
On some reefs in RA, particularly when you are in the shallows on top of the reef, current can be ripping and a reef hook can be useful. But in RA currents are not as strong or as common as in Komodo or Maldives and so you can manage by using a pointer to anchor yourself. But whether a pointer or reef hook, you have to be careful not to touch live coral.
 
Ok, I have a pointer that I bought in Lembeh that I'm taking with me since I'm going to Ambon on the way home anyway. I don't mind buying a reef hook in addition, it's just that there's no LDS where I live to buy one. Is it safe to assume that they'd sell them in the resort's dive shop?
 
I would recommend carrying one, to put it into context when I was diving at Sipadan once in a raging current I was hanging on to a piece of rock or dead coral with one hand and holding my rig with another plus both my strobes were also swept over to one side, right next to me was a hawksbill turtle and I could not even take a decent photo of it!
 
For your original question, yeah... a reef hook should be especially handy in R4, this is the only place where I used one.
The topology of some places makes it very useful, for instance sardines reef (or Blue magic?) top of the coral plateau is where the fish is usually coming to you, but since it is beaten by current you would not be able to stay on stop without a hook, add your camera on top of that which doesn 't help(I also use a very bulky dSLR/2strobes rig), a pointer there is useless since you have your both hands at work and busy shooting.
The reef hook will als be useful at Capekri or Otdima if you want to shoot the sweetlips schools without bumping into them.

i would not say whether all resorts provide reef hooks, why don't you send them a mail . I don't remember RADL for instance providing reek hooks for other clients but to be honest, i wasn't worried about that since I had mine.
On the other hand, the one I bought was too short at least 2 m on sardines where the plan was to do a safety stop on top of the plateau, it ddin't provide me enough rope to get to the 5m depth. Hence it would probably be better that you DIY your own with sufficient marine rope or an old safety buoy rope.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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