What is scuba diving's orange shovel?

[Archangel]

I think what eventually gets lost in these types of threads is the difference between something that looks/sounds like a good idea but isn't (in some poeple's opinions anyway), and good equipment that just doesn't fit someone's personal diving style. The problem is trying to figure out which is which after a while. I always tend to discount opinions from people who just dis a given item, but offer no better alternative. Someone much brighter than me once said "Intelligence is knowing that only half of what you hear is true, Brilliance is knowing which half." For all those trying to use this forum to make gear choices, I hope you are brilliant.

Now Mike, I saw you on the boat, and man you were babe catchin' studly.

. . . so I will take your eloquent prose as you are definitely brillant. . .

it has been far too long, lets go diving my friend.

 

[Archangel]

Ok, the above post was my response to a post that "Archangel" posted in response to another of my posts. Archangel's post has been removed and my post was edited to remove my reference to Archangel's post.

What is this all about? Archangel's post made a comment about a "snot nosed” noob (Me) making comments about experienced divers technical gear.

Surely, the "snot nose" thing can't be enough to remove a post.

What am I missing?

By removing reference to Archangel's post in my post it makes my post read like I am responding to the original poster of this orange shovel thread.

Anyway, sorry for the hijack.

Yea, I got mod-ified and then Heffey got pseudo modded from my modification.

Heffey, I owe you a beer!

Safe diving all,

 

[sambolino44]

First, I go hiking a lot, and I finally got my orange shovel, and I'm glad I did because it works a lot better than a stick and my knife stays sharp now. My wife remains unconvinced, but I don't care.

Second, yes, I'm a boob, er, noob, but I don't think this snot-nosed thing is going to go away. I guess I'll just have to get into the habit of a major rinse swish as soon as I remove my mask.

Being a boob, er, noob with an orange shovel, I'm sure I'm not one to offer suggestions on this thread, but, not knowing what the heck I'm talking about never stopped me from posting on this board before, so...

Snorkels
Jacket-style BCs
Big Honkin' Knives
Neoprene mask straps

All of which probably falls under good equipment that just doesn't fit someone's personal diving style.

Now that you mention it, I might start taking my orange shovel diving with me!

 

[Jocasseegirl]

Trimix on a 100ft dive always makes me laugh

unless the trimix diver just did a 300-foot dive 2 hours earlier and graciously agreed to accompany a new diver (me) for a shallow dive around the cove . He always dives a rebreather - why switch to a tank just to do a shallow dive?

 

[dmdoss]

tank wraps.

 

[jim T.]

Dive Tee Shirts can be handy when travelling on a Cruise Ship and you want to meet the other divers who are on board before you meet them on the excursion dives. This works especially well in the gym on board.
Gives you a chance to find a competent buddy ahead of time.

I'll never completely give up my snorkel. When using doubles with a long hose it's in the way, but I'll probably get a folding snorkel for my drysuit pocket once I get my pocket. It's nice to be able to flip over once in awhile on a long surface swim and give some other muscles a chance to take over. Should one ever have to ditch their rig a snorkel
can be a very nice thing to have with you.

I like seeing a whistle or air horn on someone's rig. It shows that they're being realistic about what can go wrong on boat dives in current and are making an attempt to be prepared for that possibility.

What is the problem with multi windowed clear skirted masks? Unless you're photographing, etc. Why wouldn't increased peripheral vision
be an asset? I've personally never had a problem with reflected light off the mask lens, etc. even in the Caribbean.

If something has a practical/safety application in diving I can't see anything wrong with it myself.

 

[wedivebc]

unless the trimix diver just did a 300-foot dive 2 hours earlier and graciously agreed to accompany a new diver (me) for a shallow dive around the cove . He always dives a rebreather - why switch to a tank just to do a shallow dive?

If you're talking about Charles then that's different
RB divers use trimix in the pool as well. It's way too cheap not to.

 

[hantzu701]

tank lights for night diving
and yes, I got snookered into buying retractors.

Lucky for me, I already had neon yellow knee pads from rollerblading, so I didn't need to buy those.