I dove quite a bit before I ever got certified and never logged any. Then came my cert. and I kept up with it through probably 3 full books (at 50 per book). Back then I don't remember having to get them signed by any divemaster (heck, I was really my own dive master most of the time) I would just log who my buddy was. Did a lot of solo diving and usually fudged it with a friends name to not feel guilty. Then I moved back to Florida from Hawaii (couldn't justify reupping just to keep diving in paradise) and the ship my stuff was shipped back on showed up minus a few containers. During a storm, cargo had shifted and some containers (semi trailer sized) went in the drink. Yep, it was my luck...my stuff. In with all my books I had also placed my logs. I was devistated, because I'm usually really lazy when it comes to paperwork...I never write on the back of pictures, wait until the end of the week to get my job paperwork in, etc. But I had painstakingly logged almost 150 dives that had taken place all over the world. Places like Diego Garcia, that only Navy personnel can dive (and sneakingly at that), Phillipines, Guam, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Thailand, Maldives, Pago Pago, Madagascar. I mean if we made port somewhere, I was in the water! I even dove in Hong Kong harbor! It went in my log book as "fun with a dead, bloated dog in zero vis" after we bumped into it while doing a hull survey. We had a swim call near Guam over the Marianas trench and a friend and I convinced the Captain to let us go down and "keep an eye out for sharks" while everyone else swam. The vis must have been 1000ft or more. It was positively dizzying, the feeling of utter emptyness. We went down to about 180 ft. for a few minutes and looked up at the ship (Knox class frigate, 430ft. long) and it looked so small bobbing up there. Anyway, what I am saying is that all my memories (adventures) are only just memories now. I can't show them to my kids when they get old enough to dive. I'm bitter about that, I guess. Now I still log everything electronically, but I don't bother adding notes and such to it. Just the bare bones profile. I wish I did have an idea of how many dives I've actually made. I don't know why; I feel comfortable with any diving situation and don't need log books to prove it to anyone. I never even did a "boat dive" until my wife refused to do anymore beach dives with me. She hates schlepping equipment as much as I hate DM's who try to tell you where, when, and how deep to dive. Oh well, as I get older, the dive boat thing is starting to grow on me, just as long as they keep their hands off my equipment, dammit! There's a place for dive logs, no doubt. Especially for tech divers, cavers, wreck penetrating divers, etc. But for rec divers, IMHO, they are just a bit of nostalgia. So far, no one has asked to see my log book to prove whatever it is they think I need to prove, but a lot of people I've talked to on boats say it's something they have experienced. The first time someone asks for mine, I guess I'll just reach for my laptop.