Paul Humann Reef Set books - detail detail details

[thespoons]

I'm looking into buying the various reef set books by Paul Humann (Reef Fish, Reef Creatures and Reef Coral) for the Florida Caribbean Bahamas region.

The problem is in all the different bindings. There appears to be a regular hardcover version, as well as a version that's more water-resistant. There may be even more versions than that. And now I'm trying to get it cheap off the internet, which is problematic since you can't pick up the book and make sure it is what you want.

This one looks to probably be the non-durable hardcover regular paper set. If you look here under "formats", they list both a "vinyl bound" and "plastic comb" format. For the plastic comb, it says "A more flexible binding than the metal spiral format." Of course, the vinyl bound is the only one available and it does say 3rd edition under the details.

It seems the latest editions are 3rd for Reef Fish and 2nd for the other two. I THINK if I get the 3rd edition of Reef Fish, it will always be the water resistant binding. But I'm not sure. I'm also unsure on what the binding variations are for the other two books for 2nd edition. Ugh, so complicated. I want to save some money (plus, they're hard to find here in Minnesota at a local shop anyway), so I think I'll have to order them. But I'd like to avoid paying to ship back books that turn out to be the wrong binding.

FYI, I'm also looking at buying the 4th edition dvd version.

Anyone have any hints, tips or corrections to what I posted? Thanks!

Edit: And then there's this set, which looks to probably be the right ones (3rd and 2nd eds, with vinyl covers), but at $135 total it's not exactly a great deal. Granted, you get a nifty travel case.

 

[seaducer]

I bought mine individually, but it looks like my set is your first link. The hardcover is flexible, sort of like a hard field guide.

These books are very durable, but I would not bring them on a boat. Bring pictures or a good memory back to the dock to look them up.

These books are expensive, but if you are into fish, they are as valuable as a regulator and the rest of your gear.

 

[Damselfish]

So I'm not sure which ones you are trying to get? If you are thinking of getting the waterproof ones and traveling with them, I wouldn't bother. I used to take mine when traveling, but I wouldn't take any version on a dayboat. And I stopped traveling with them years ago when the weight limits dropped from 70->50. Nearly any dive resort or liveaboard I've been on has had one or more sets kicking around for people to use.

(Now if I was a dive op buying a set for customer use, I could definitely see a more water resistant version being a good idea as people will inevitably be dripping on them.)

 

[cwhitpan]

There are the Main guides which everyone has said is the semi rigid cover, and they are great for detail work.

They also make the waterproof pages with minimal information, and are pretty small, perfect for travel, and they run $7 on leisurepro. This is a good idea if you don't have a good memory or are not good with a camera yet! You can mark it up with a grease pencil underwater even.
Reef Fish In-A-Pocket

Great books and info, I would just get the whole 3 set, you will get them anyway trust me!

 

[thespoons]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

seaducer: I'm not looking to take them on a boat. We're looking at making Bonaire a regular visit, so shore dives will probably be the bulk of it for a while. I want ones to keep in my room (damned truck thieves) so I can refer to them after dives. As such, it'd be nice not to be worrying about dripping on them while leafing through them during an interval in my wet skin. Near as I can tell, the binding doesn't really drive the price much. It's just a matter of figuring out what is being offered at any given place.

Damselfish: I think I pretty much covered it above. Since we don't have a full set of gear, the weight limits have not been a problem for us.

cwhitpan: Thanks for the recommendation. I'm pretty obsessed with figuring out what I'm seeing (it's the only way I can remember it a year later). I might not go so far as to take them on a dive, but for a snorkel it might be worth it. Getting a camera - now that's a whole 'nother topic.

 

[Bonairetrip]

I agree that these books are great.

As far as DVDs go, I would suggest the ReefNet series. I spoke to them a few weeks ago and they will a reef creatures (plus sponges, I think) come out soon. Price was still TBD.

 

[thespoons]

Interesting info! Maybe I'll wait on the DVD to see if I can get a package deal.