Post your best diving tips!

[Whale Whisperer]

For those of you with Scubapro Jets, drill two holes no larger than 1/8" into each side of the foot pocket preferably close to the toe area. This will make removing the fin abit easier because there's no vacuum effect.

 

[shellig]

Don't forget to take your motion sickness pills early and don't eat or drink things with high acidic levels such as OJ, cranberry juice etc before the dive. You can guess how I know

OOOOOHHHH - OJ for breakfast...now I understand why I had a problem (only once and did not understand why)!!

 

[J.R.]

For those of you with Scubapro Jets, drill two holes no larger than 1/8" into each side of the foot pocket preferably close to the toe area. This will make removing the fin abit easier because there's no vacuum effect.

DUDE! I've got an old set of jets (from somewhere around 1980)... good as new... now they'll be better than new... much obliged...

My best dive tip...

"The most important piece of equipment you take into the water with you is the grey stuff between your ears... use it often."

J.R.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Make sure your dives and surfaces are equal in number....

 

[shellig]

If you take your fins off to climb the ladder, do not hand them up, put them on your wrists. I have been knocked off the ladder and quickly washed away from it by the waves when the wind kicked up at the end of the dive. I was SO grateful my good friend told me this tip!

 

[Bryan]

Dont pee in a drysuit when you dont have a pee valve

Along the same lines, I've read that it is important to make sure the connection to the pee valve has been made before use.

 

[Bryan]

For those of you with Scubapro Jets, drill two holes no larger than 1/8" into each side of the foot pocket preferably close to the toe area. This will make removing the fin abit easier because there's no vacuum effect.

Alternatively, you can skip drilling the hole and fill your Jets up with water and carry it in your fins like they were buckets. Then, when you get back to the tarp, you can rinse the sand and dirt off your feet/boots.

 

[MyDiveLog]

I know it sounds weird, but I carry a bug tube of KY jelly in my dive kit. My drysuit has neoprene seals and, after folding them back, I rub a little KY jelly between my neck and the seal. It helps the neck seal slip a bit when I turn my head underwater without leaking ... before the neck seal occasionally "puckered" and let in a bit of water. The KY Jelly also works great on the zipper of the dry suit: it is smooth and washes off when you dive, which keeps sand, etc. from sticking to it. I also use soap instead of wax on the zipper for the same reason. It also makes a decent mask defogger in a pinch. My dive buddies all cracked jokes on a dive trip to British Columbia but, pretty soon, most of them were using it to don their drysuits or to help their rock boots slip into their fins.

I also carry a small folding metal compact, with a mirror inside, in my BC pocket. The thing cost me about 25 cents at a garage sale, but is small (2" x 3") and keeps the mirror from shattering. I use it occasionally to watch the Garabaldi's reaction when mating (they attack their own image!), and like knowing I have a mirror just in case I'm ever stranded at sea .. and my whistle and air horn aren't working.

Rather than buy any fancy wetsuit cleaner, I just wash my wetsuit in a large tub with a handful of regular wash detergent mixed in. I let it soak for an hour, hose everything off, and the suit smells like new.

If you can afford it, the California Dive Box is a great way to carry all your gear and your tank in one place. Rather than buy their "wheel upgrade," I spent $30 at the hardware store for a new axle and two solid 8" buggy wheels, which makes it even easier and quieter to pull. Plus, unlike with the conversion kit, the wheels CAN'T go flat.

If you can't afford the Dive Box, go to Target and buy one of those unfoldable luggage rollers for $15. I put a padded board on the bottom (using a piece of old wet suit to make the pad) and, with a couple of bungy cords, it works well to haul two tanks around.

Finally, if you dive with a wrist-mounted computer, save the arms from an old wetsuit. I cut off about 6" from the arm, cut a hole that my drive computer fits through, and now have a secure way to make sure my dive computer doesn't come unlatched while diving.

 

[Thalassamania]

Finally, if you dive with a wrist-mounted computer, save the arms from an old wetsuit. I cut off about 6" from the arm, cut a hole that my drive computer fits through, and now have a secure way to make sure my dive computer doesn't come unlatched while diving.

I attach all my wrist instruments (being sure that the the others are far enough away from my compass) to the sleeve and then pull it on in one piece and keep it in a small pelican box for protection.

 

[Whale Whisperer]

If you can afford it, the California Dive Box is a great way to carry all your gear and your tank in one place. Rather than buy their "wheel upgrade," I spent $30 at the hardware store for a new axle and two solid 8" buggy wheels, which makes it even easier and quieter to pull. Plus, unlike with the conversion kit, the wheels CAN'T go flat.

Man that Dive box is nice! To bad you can't haul two tanks or doubles!