Newbie in Wisconsin

[JaveStack]

Hello all,

New diver as of October 2017, got my OWD in Belize with my wife on our honeymoon. We both absolutely loved it.

Currently in process for developing further:
1. Building up our rigs
2. Deciding what training to do this spring to learn our new gear and build our skills.
3. Planning local dives in Early Summer to practice what we learn (Probably a lot of Lake Michigan since its very close and my wife is worried about close encounters with snapping turtles in the low-vis lakes we have. I've heard good things about diving for beginners in Pearl Lake, IL.)
4. Planning trips to Key Largo and Indonesia for Late Summer and Winter.

Open to Advice:
1. What environmental gear would be good for summer diving in Lake Michigan? (7mm wetsuit? hood?)
2. Best way to find air fills away from dive shops? (not ready to buy my own compressor, local paintball and FD's wont do liability.)
3. Best SSI classes for continuing education? We were thinking equipment techniques, perfect buoyancy, science of diving, and wreck diving to start?

Thanks in advance for the help I am sure we will get from this forum as we continue to learn!

 

[zider]

Here's my 2 cents....

1) If you have any plan to dive in the midwest, you're going to be more comfortable in a drysuit. This includes summer diving as well. Do some research and you can get good entry level suits for a reasonable price.

2) In my experience, you'd be out of luck. Pretty much your only options (excluding paintball) are the ones you've already listed. Use your local dive shop for your fills. Spending money in the shop helps promote their operation while also helping to get you connected to other divers who may running charters out on the lake.

3) Save your money on classes and spend it diving. You will get WAY more for your money by actually diving rather than spending time in a classroom. I've always contended the worst thing a new diver can do is take advanced OW right after OW. The more experience you have, the more you will get from the courses.\

Good luck!!

 

[JaveStack]

Here's my 2 cents....

1) If you have any plan to dive in the midwest, you're going to be more comfortable in a drysuit. This includes summer diving as well. Do some research and you can get good entry level suits for a reasonable price.

2) In my experience, you'd be out of luck. Pretty much your only options (excluding paintball) are the ones you've already listed. Use your local dive shop for your fills. Spending money in the shop helps promote their operation while also helping to get you connected to other divers who may running charters out on the lake.

3) Save your money on classes and spend it diving. You will get WAY more for your money by actually diving rather than spending time in a classroom. I've always contended the worst thing a new diver can do is take advanced OW right after OW. The more experience you have, the more you will get from the courses.\

Good luck!!

Thanks for the advice!

In terms of point 2, I wish I had a local dive shop for fills. I'm looking for unconventional options as the nearest dive shop is a 2-hour round trip. Maybe if we skip the training and spend the cash on a compressor instead... I'll keep looking. I think there may be a dive club around here that shares a compressor amongst its members, I've heard whispers about something like that.

 

[Marie13]

Pearl Lake just does fills. No rentals. Haigh Quarry near Kankakee, IL does have rentals. That may be an option. It’s my home quarry.

I’m comfortable down to low 50s on the Great Lakes with a 5mm, but then I’m something of a polar bear.

There are several Milwaukee charter ops for Lake Michigan, but come down to Hammond, IN for more beginner friendly shallow wrecks.

I’m in the Chicago area.

 

[JaveStack]

Pearl Lake just does fills. No rentals. Haigh Quarry near Kankakee, IL does have rentals. That may be an option. It’s my home quarry.

I’m comfortable down to low 50s on the Great Lakes with a 5mm, but then I’m something of a polar bear.

There are several Milwaukee charter ops for Lake Michigan, but come down to Hammond, IN for more beginner friendly shallow wrecks.

I’m in the Chicago area.

That makes sense. We plan to own all of our own gear and a few tanks (though dry suits werent in the plan yet), so its okay if they don't do rentals.

I like the idea of wetsuit diving for simplicity and I think I could survive in a 7mm, but my wife is very cold blooded. If dry suits become necessary, we will probably start with rentals with our local charter options before we commit to it.

I will definitely keep that in mind, the Chicago/Indiana area is 100% doable for a weekend trip. we also have family along the coast of SW Michigan, so all of southern Lake Michigan is fair game.

 

[TMHeimer]

Fills--See what deals shops offer. Like a "fill card" where you pay for a whole bunch and then each fill is like $6 instead of 7 or 8.
--exposure suit-- A frequent scubaboard question. Everyone's cold tolerance is different. Check water (and air) temperatures where and when (what time of year) you'll be diving. As you know, you get a lot colder in water then at the same temperature on land. My GUESS would be a 7 mil wetsuit would be fine from late Spring to late Fall, but I am no expert on lakes. In shallow lakes temperatures fluctuate with weather way more than they do in the ocean. Some suggest renting a suit to determine your tolerance.
--courses-- AOW right after OW can be fine for some. It was with me. Depends on your comfortability in water and familiarity with your equipment and diving in general.

 

[JaveStack]

Fills--See what deals shops offer. Like a "fill card" where you pay for a whole bunch and then each fill is like $6 instead of 7 or 8.
--exposure suit-- A frequent scubaboard question. Everyone's cold tolerance is different. Check water (and air) temperatures where and when (what time of year) you'll be diving. As you know, you get a lot colder in water then at the same temperature on land. My GUESS would be a 7 mil wetsuit would be fine from late Spring to late Fall, but I am no expert on lakes. In shallow lakes temperatures fluctuate with weather way more than they do in the ocean. Some suggest renting a suit to determine your tolerance.
--courses-- AOW right after OW can be fine for some. It was with me. Depends on your comfortability in water and familiarity with your equipment and diving in general.

I'll look into that. The drive is what will kill me.

I think i'm going to see if we can rent some 7mm suits to see what we can handle. Try to spend some time above and below the thermocline, see how we do with temp. Although the more I read, the more it seems 7mm suits also aren't phenomenal for comfort or freedom of motion. Which makes sense.

We are both engineers, so we love classroom time, haha. We'll see what happens. I can see benefits to both I suppose...

 

[Marie13]

@JaveStack

I drive at least an hour each way to my dive shop. More if going after work during rush hour. Well worth it for a good shop (and they have an unlimited fills deal for regulars).

You might check out Wazee Lake. Old iron mine. Not sure how far it is. There’s a dive shop right there that seems to rent everything as far as I can tell from their website.

Getting your tanks so you can just deal with fills at the quarry is well worth it. I’m up to 6 now (and pony)!

ETA: a semi dry night work for your wife is a drysuit is too much right now.

 

[Midwesterndvr]

You’ll be just fine with 7mm also hood and gloves. Any buoyancy classes are definitely worth it.

 

[Adam Jorgenson]

My wife and I dive in northern South Dakota & northern MN. We use 7mm farmer johns, and they seem to work very well for us. I am on my local fire department, so I'm able to fill right across the street from my house at the department. It saves me a 4 1/2 hour round trip for refills. If this isn't an option for you, I would probably suggest getting a few more tanks to give you more dive time between refill roadtrips. Compressors are pretty spendy, not sure you would ever get your money back out of it. A lot of nice dive sites in northern MN, if you are looking for a weekend trip. Crosby mines by Brainerd are awesome! Good luck & welcome!