Howdy- need a little help

[pinti]

Don- sorry, just want to comment on the 'he' lol I'm a she
I'm thinking of looking at Academy first. Certainly better quality there if not better pricing I'm sure. A tent large enough for at least 2 people would probably be best considering I don't like camping by myself. It's at least something to think about.
I didn't think you could buy stakes seperately but it makes sense. I usually bend at least one every camping trip.
We don't have a set date yet because my dive buddy is taking summer classes and I'm trying to get a job to help pay for this trip but it will be some time during the summer before next semester starts. We have everything worked out except date and final total of cost (camping vs. hotel, food, gas)

 

[electrix]

We have done a lot of camping and I started buying spikes at Home Depot they look like very big nails about 10" long have not bent one yet.

 

[DandyDon]

Hehe, I didn't know where to buy good ones so I made my own decades ago. Took some rebar, maybe 3/8" size? - whatever size is sold at farm supply stores for cattle electric fencing, cut into 24" sticks, then bent each end back into a crook to hold down tent straps, then cut in middle at an angle to yield a dull point - 6-8" long after bent ends. Then I made another set much longer for soft, sandy sites; next I painted them all John Deere yellow.

It helps if you have a shop with a cutting torch, chop saw, etc. I guess they will last forever and I never lose one.

 

[BillyandLilly]

i dont belong in the water? thats just plain offensive. i was certified through a professor too mind you and not your local 3 day dive course. it took the whole semester as well.

i was more just stating how I thought it's silly to offer certification cards in 30ft intervals.and it does not make you a "horrible diver" because u dont look at ur depth gauge. when u do hunt and scavenge a bow in one arm flash light in the other, you can easily loose track of your depth and not check your depth every 5 seconds especially if you ARE safely trained to equalize your ears you don't feel the depth difference after 15 feet down. you should have "learned" this in class. 30 feet and 60 feet make no difference its the initial 15 where the atmospheric pressure makes the biggest difference.

so restrain your hostility.

 

[DandyDon]

i dont belong in the water? thats just plain offensive. i was certified through a professor too mind you and not your local 3 day dive course. it took the whole semester as well.

I don't think she was referencing you there. I think she meant anyone who couldn't follow their training should not dive, which I would agree with.

 

[TxAggieDiver2011]

Everyone be nice now I am one of the divemasters and assistants at the school. From my name you can guess which one too. If you have any questions on the program or what we include in our classes I will be more than happy to answer. Safe diving everyone!

 

[pinti]

B&L- Don is right, I was referring to anybody in general. And yes, we were made perfectly aware of the initial 15' difference. That would bring us back to your first remark "say your having fun and you go down to 60+ before your realize. what then? panic and inflate the bc. pop some eardrums or worse wind up in the hospital." You're the one that said someone would pop an eardrum, I'm simply saying regardless of the depth, they should be able to equalize. Whether 30' or 60' they would still pass that "initial 15 feet" and would need to equalize. Not hostility dear, it's using my training.
In all honesty, we can go past 30 feet and we can go in the ocean but considering we've only trained in a lake at 30ft, I feel that is all I am qualified to do. Until further training, I will remain a lake diver. The ocean has a whole new realm of potential problems for a diver to face that a lake does not.
And because one of my DMs is telling me to play nice, I will apologize for any rudeness. I'm a fighter and it's not hard to set me off so I'm sorry. From hence forth I shall try to be a bit more pleasant in my responses assuming you will too.

 

[DandyDon]

Personally, I like ocean diving in water I can see thru with a boat that will come pick me up. Don't fear the sea; just give it due respect. Sounds like a fun outing tho. If the Texas panhandle wasn't so far, I'd load up my camping & diving gear and ask if I could join.

But have fun on your camping & dive outing, and don't screw up or we'll think you didn't follow your training. :laughing:

Have a safe trip...!​

 

[pinti]

Don- Respect is exactly what it is. I hold no fear of the ocean but I'm aware of the differences between lakes and oceans and would like to be more prepared for those differences. I haven't had to swim in any currents/waves or seemingly bottomless depths. I have no doubt whatsoever that I could dive in the ocean without a hitch but I'd rather be safe than sorry and have with me someone that has done it before. My dive buddy for this trip has done what I've done and nothing more or less.

haha I'll be sure not to mess up. I still have to get an 'okay' from the parentals so the dive trip is unofficial but if nothing else I might head back to college a week early and dive somewhere close there. Lot of good areas down there to dive. And the more the merrier! A group of divers seems more fun than a couple of divers lol. I'll let you know how it goes

Electrix- sorry, took me a while to see the latest messages about the spikes. Home Depot sounds a bit better than Academy and probably cheaper. Thanks for the tip