Skittl1321
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Dive op with great rental equipment, small boats, gear storage?
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On the HP vs LP tanks - guess it depends on your personal preference. I prefer the HPs smaller more streamlined profile that still has some negative buoyancy (about -2lbs) at the end of the dive. That vs the LPs that have about 4lbs of positive buoyancy. As far as the yoke fitting wear - really?
My understanding is that most dive shops have stopped taking wetsuits primarily for sanitary reasons. I prefer to get into a wetsuit that I have personally rinsed vs mine being washed with others...but again personal preference. My wetsuit isn't messy or drippy by the time we get back to the dock in any case.
I just checked and Liquid Blue does have HP 100s and 120s. Is that new? I haven't seen that previously. In fact, they have a cool little comparison of the various tanks. Good to see that other dive ops on Cozumel are going to steel HP 120s.
My understanding is that most dive shops have stopped taking wetsuits primarily for sanitary reasons. I prefer to get into a wetsuit that I have personally rinsed vs mine being washed with others...but again personal preference. My wetsuit isn't messy or drippy by the time we get back to the dock in any case.
I just checked and Liquid Blue does have HP 100s and 120s. Is that new? I haven't seen that previously. In fact, they have a cool little comparison of the various tanks. Good to see that other dive ops on Cozumel are going to steel HP 120s.
Liquid Blue has always had Steel 100's and 120's since the operation opened it's doors in 2002.
The new owners Steve and Kami are great people! You'll have a good time with them!
Again, I don't care about having to rinse out my own suit, but I don't want to be dragging it around with me back and forth and keeping it in my room, where I may or may not have a good place to hang it. At least give me a rinse tank and a hanger and a storage area. I'll come back in the a.m. and pick up my wetsuit and put it on the boat myself.
Apparently some do. To the OP who PM'd me expressing concern about having to schlep the wetsuits back and forth, I didn't name the dive op because I really can't stand all the "cheerleading" that automatically follows any request for a dive shop recommendation, insisting that XXXXXX dive op is the only shop, the best shop, just dive with XXXX, even when the amenities offered by XXXXX dive op don't match what the OP was requesting.
Since the OP mentioned to me in the PM that schlepping the wetsuits was a concern, I will gladly divulge the name of a dive op that both handles wetsuits and offers steel 120 tanks: Living Underwater. Is Living Underwater the best dive op? I have no idea since I haven't tried them all. But it's definitely the best, IMHO, of the 7 dive ops I have tried on the island, and Jeremy is the best DM I've ever followed in over 650 dives.
---------- Post added October 22nd, 2013 at 12:38 PM ----------
It's my understanding that most dive shops never handled wetsuits in the first place. They'll probably start when they see more of their competition handling them.
According to Mr. Dillehay, Aldora stopped handling wetsuits because they were too easy to get mixed up. Sanitary reasons were never a concern because there is no sanitary concern over handling others' wetsuits, as the thousands of dive ops around the world that handle wetsuits well know.
Clearly he needs to get the word out.
But it's heartening to see that one of the new kids on the block, Tres Pelicanos, stores wetsuits. I believe Opal's Dream does as well?
It would be interesting to see how many of the newer dive ops store wetsuits, versus the old crowd set in their ways. It's a trend as far as I can tell and when the numbers start favoring wetsuit storers, the old guard will get the hint.
Dear Mossman,
You keep beating the drum of wetsuit care without considering the complexity of multiple boats for differing skills of divers. WE have 9 boats now and make sure that we never put novice divers on boats with experts. Of course if you only have one boat, all that becomes much simpler and yes, then caring for wet suits is no problem. indeed when we first started Aldora in 1992 we did that as well. But now, we do a pretty good job of segregating divers and the problem of keeping everyone's wet suit, and set up to dive each morning is just too damn much work...and if we mess up, it really pisses people off. So, yes, if we just had one boat and took all divers to the same place it would be easy...but we don't do that.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
PS Even with a rental boat now and then, or other fill in DMs it is not a good problem that I am willing to take.
You keep beating the drum of wetsuit care without considering the complexity of multiple boats for differing skills of divers. WE have 9 boats now and make sure that we never put novice divers on boats with experts. Of course if you only have one boat, all that becomes much simpler and yes, then caring for wet suits is no problem. indeed when we first started Aldora in 1992 we did that as well. But now, we do a pretty good job of segregating divers and the problem of keeping everyone's wet suit, and set up to dive each morning is just too damn much work...and if we mess up, it really pisses people off. So, yes, if we just had one boat and took all divers to the same place it would be easy...but we don't do that.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
PS Even with a rental boat now and then, or other fill in DMs it is not a good problem that I am willing to take.
I believe I accurately summed up your position in my above post with "they were too easy to get mixed up", as opposed to the "sanitary" reason another poster mentioned.
But what doesn't make sense to me is how you manage to keep BCs, regulators, fins, etc., all perfectly matched to the divers on the boats, yet can't do this with wetsuits? If it's a problem ID'ing the suits, maybe some sort of plastic clip? Seriously, I'd rather be on the boat with novice divers than have to drag my dripping wetsuit back and forth.
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