Possibly stupid newbie question...

[1_T_Submariner]

Radioactivenerd Welcome to Scubaboard!

As others have said Open heal fins are more versitile just be sure to try as many types as you can before buying. I have seen closed heal fins on dive boats but not very often for shore diving open heal with boots are better.

If you are going to do multi dive trips you will probably want a wet suit of some type.

I have only encountered a few jelly fish and never had one touch me.


Have a great class!

 

[boulderjohn]

I find it interesting that so many people are repeating the old 24 hour wait period after diving as the "usual" recommendation. That recommendation was literally a guess DAN made before it had any data on which to base a recommendation. After extensive study (which is still ongoing), they changed it to 12 hours for single dives and 18 hours for multiple dives. That was quite a few years ago. PADI accepted that, it is in the course that way, and that is the correct answer on the final exam.

Many people do wait 24 hours just to be safe, or because they are used to the idea. I will usually come close to 24 hours simply because of logistics. On many trips, I will have a morning flight to leave. If I quit diving after a morning 2 tank dive the day before, I will usually have waited about 20-21 hours. If I want to hit the full 24 hours, I will have to quit the day before, making it closer to 48 hours. If I have paid all that money for a week-long diving vacation, 21 hours is plenty good enough for me, and I won't miss an extra dive day so that I can hit a full 24.

 

[scubafanatic]

Hi all,
I'm terribly new to diving - so new in fact, that I've only just registered for my first PADI training course. I've always been immensely excited with the ocean and with whats under it, and have been snorkeling numerous times, but due to some reason or another, I couldnt actually get started with diving till now.

A few questions, some of which I am sure are going to be quite stupid - I've tried looking through the other threads so i dont repeat anything that has already been asked, so I'm hoping these are first timers...

1) Fins: I hear open-heel are the way to go and not full foot. Any reasons why? What advantages do they have? One disadvantage that I see is that i have to buy a set of wetsuit boots with them as well, which increases the already significant cost. I had no intention of buying a wetsuit or wetsuit boots, or diving in cold water either - thoughts would be appreciated.

2) Wet-suit: Like i said, i have no intention of diving in Iceland or the Bering sea just yet - i might in the future, but i'm not going to buy a wetsuit for that right now. My main areas are going to be Thailand, Red Sea, and possibly the Indian Ocean. Do i really need a wetsuit? Would you recommend renting one?

3) Time to flight home: about how long is recommended, before you hop on a flight to get back to the cold, miserable, wet cities that most of us live in, after a dive? 24 hours, or is it safe to do a dive in the morning and then fly out in the evening?

Thanks for all the help folks!

...not to sound overly harsh...but.....can afford to travel from UK to the other side of the world multiple times yearly for dive trips.......yet bothered by the 'significant' cost of a pair of booties ??? ...am I missing something ???

 

[radioactivenerd]

...not to sound overly harsh...but.....can afford to travel from UK to the other side of the world multiple times yearly for dive trips.......yet bothered by the 'significant' cost of a pair of booties ??? ...am I missing something ???

haha...ive got family in each of those 3 places, and usually end up making a trip a year to each place...i'm also lucky enough to have to make a lot of trips to singapore for work anyway, so i dont worry too much about the cost of that.

I'm just concerned about spending too much money and then end up not liking the stuff i buy or diving as whole. I'm too big a fan of ocean life though to think that the latter is possible.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Regardless of where you dive, you can't dive without any kind of exposure protection all the time. Even tropical water temps drain your body heat over time. If you're planning on doing a couple dives a day only and only ever dive in areas and times of the year where it's warm enough, you'll probably be ok not wearing in a wetsuit, but my personal opinion is that not owning any exposure protection won't cut it in the long run. Once you get into it, more likely than not you will want to dive in waters that might be just a little bit cooler than optimum.

 

[wedivebc]

Anyone who has not peed in a wetsuit has not dived in one very much, including the guy who rented yours just before you. Buy a light wetsuit to protect against jellies and such and know you are the only person to pee in it.
FWIW I had to do a fairly long deco hang in Thailand wearing a shortie and I soon felt these little stings all over my (exposed) body. I used a full length one the next dive.

 

[Scubagolf]

1. I dive full foot fins in 75+ degree water, which means any tropical vacation diving is in my full foot (split) fins without boots.

2. I think everybody should have at the least a 3mm full suit. Very versatile and is a good starting place for the 75+ degree diving. Pay close attention to the fit. My original LDS sold me a 3mm that was a size too large. It went the way of eBay shortly afterwards.

3. After multiple days of vacation diving I always plan on close to 24 hours before flying. If I was doing one day of diving 18 hours before flying would be OK for my personal comfort level.

 

[TSandM]

I think you will be surprised at how much heat one loses, even in "warm" water, when immersed for an hour and not working very hard. I started out with a 3 mil full suit, and now NEVER dive in ANY water in less than a 5 mil suit with a 2 mil hooded vest. On my recent trip to the Red Sea, I dove dry, and loved it. I may never go back.

The comments about foot protection are right on. Not all entries are over smooth, packed sand with no shells, spines, or other hazards. If you are almost always boat diving, full foot fins are fine, but for walking . . . you need something on your feet, and that means no full foot fins for the most part.

And . . . you may find that you really LIKE to dive, and that trips to Singapore, etc., are not quite enough to satisfy the itch. People DO dive in the UK

 

[deepseafalcon]

The comments about foot protection are right on. Not all entries are over smooth, packed sand with no shells, spines, or other hazards. If you are almost always boat diving, full foot fins are fine, but for walking . . . you need something on your feet, and that means no full foot fins for the most part.

well, yes and know. Yes, besides from dive boats you usually want some foot protection. No, this doesn't necessarily mean open heel fins. You can (and should) wear neoprene socks in full foot fins, and I found mine surprizingly resilient for all but the toughest entries.
I can only emphasize the comfort and reduced weight of many full foots vs. open heels.

 

[radioactivenerd]

And . . . you may find that you really LIKE to dive, and that trips to Singapore, etc., are not quite enough to satisfy the itch. People DO dive in the UK

lol...yeah but nothing here really appeals to me as yet except for wreck diving...and i hear thats another qualification away, so thats atleast 2-3 dive trips away.