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I'm not familiar w/ SSI/NAUI, but yes, a minimum of 40 dives is required to begin the divemaster course for PADI. The zero to hero programs will get you in the water and have you doing a bunch of dives daily so you get to 40 quickly, but before you can begin the actual DM program, standards...

I agree with everything that everyone has said. Personally I wouldn't rush into doing a DM unless you want to help out with classes - go out and dive instead. I noticed you in Austin, so a few things I'd recommend. 1) Both Scubaland and Toms have dive clubs (Dive World probably does as well)...

Granted I haven't dove the UK, but my approach when boat diving is the following. Just before jumping in, I'll connect the deco cylinders to one another with their top bolt snap and then connect the bolt snap of one to the d-ring on my crotch strap. With one hand on the top of the cylinders to...

I agree with divealpha, give a micro 4/3 format a look. It's going to have many of the pros as a DSLR (such as no shutter lag) at a significantly lower cost. It's also a smaller format so lenses/housings etc will weigh less (a plus when it comes to travel) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another vote for "that's a great reg"... I own 4 Mk2/R195s for deco regs. I will say switching to them at 210' takes a little more effort in terms of breathing than the Mk17s I use for back gas, but that is to be expected at that depth. Also really easy to break down and rebuild. Sent from...

Or you could make gas choices that would allow you to switch to your 2nd deco gas and not have a high risk of an ibcd hit. He asked for an example, I provided one. He asked for another, I provided that. I'm not going to continue to debate the fact that planning a 330' is a bit more involved...

Fair enough and I see what he was actually saying now. No, I wouldn't lug something like that as a travel gas JUST to have it as a travel gas. I was just clarifying the purpose of a travel gas which is to be able to maintain consciousness not necessarily be normoxic. If you were using 15/55...

That's an option and if it was available you bet I'd absolutely be borrowing my buddies left over gas. BUT I was also taught to plan for worst cases. What if something goes wrong? What if we get separated? I want to have planned my dive knowing that I can still execute my dive safely.

The point of a travel gas is not to have something normoxic on the surface but to be able to maintain conscientiousness, which only requires a ppO2 of .16 ata. 15/55 has a ppO2 of .16 at 2' and is breathable JUST under the surface so not nearly as outrageous as you make it sound. One solution...

Let me elaborate a bit more now that I'm not responding via a phone. If you were diving the gasses that I mentioned last night/this morning - 12/65 for your bottom gas, 18/45, EANx36 and O2. These aren't the prescribed "perfect" gasses, but they meet the requirements that you've mentioned...

I completely agree. It's not a set of gasses I would ever pick for multiple reasons, but you asked for one that kept your END under 100 and so that's what I gave you at 1a when I couldn't sleep. But fine, I'll play one more time. Let's say you added another deco gas to switch to at around...

Sure. Use a bottom gas of 12/65 to 330' (your END at 330' will be 94') with gas switches to EANx36 at 100' and O2 at 20'. At all times, your END is no greater than 100' but you risk an ibcd hit at 100' when you do your first switch.

And my point is making those reasonable gas choices are part of the planning. Which is where a 150' dive and a 300' dive differs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sure. However he had stated that there wasn't a difference planning a 300' dive vs a 150' dive. Gas selection is a part of dive planning. When planning a 150' dive ibcd is less of a concern given that you'd be breathing a pretty light trimix... It does play a role in your planning for a 300'...

The planning differs quite a bit wrt isobaric counter diffusion. In the 150' range it's not really much of a risk. That changes when you start getting closer to 300'. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If taught and done properly it's not an added nuisance to do it in SM. In my trimix course last month, we were in SM with 3 stages with no problem... Very doable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Epoque - if you find the perfect instructor, agency does not matter. You are taking the instructor's course, not PADI's course. My TMx cert is DSAT for the only reason that the instructor that I chose is currently processing cards through PADI for TMx. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Epoque - One of the reoccurring themes on SB that you will see repeated quite often is to take an instructor not an organization. When it comes to tec, I don't think this could be any more true. From my experience, the better instructors have developed their own course. It will cover the...