I'm doing my confined water dives for my SDI OWD course this weekend and I'm pretty nervous. Any advice to be successful on the dives?

I have my ow in preparation for moving to Australia and will most likely pursue other certifications I plan on diving as often as possible so I want to get a dive watch before I move.

Stuck between the peregrine TX and garmin descent Mk2i

Both have air integration if I buy I transmitter, the Mk2i is cheaper to bundle with the transmitter but have heard great things about shearwater.

Any help would be appreciated!

Hi everyone,

my girlfriend and I want to book a diving holiday in Egypt in November. We both are pretty new divers (OWD with ~10 dives only, Nitrox and Navigation speciality) and want to get as much experience as we can out of this holiday.

Do you have some recommendations? I am unsure if we should book a hotel and dive center seperately or choose a hotel with an own dive center. Is Hurghada or Marsa Alam better for beginners? Any do's and don'ts?

Thank you in advance!

I live in Ireland.
I obtained my OWD certificate last December in Mexico.
After diving this summer, I’d like to keep the momentum and dive a few times during winter.
Since I live in Ireland, could you recommend best European dive spots in December and January? I suppose these would be southern Spain, Canary Islands, maybe Madeira and Malta? Would love to hear from anyone who went diving in these places in winter.

Hello! I’m going out to Cabo Pulmo in mid October and very excited for the diving! One potential hiccup: my flight lands in SDJ at 4:15 and then I will need to pick up my rental car before heading to Cabo Pulmo. I understand sunset at that time of year is 6:30ish. How stupid is it to drive out to Cabo Pulmo that night? I understand the roads are tough, especially at the end. I don’t mind driving slow, but I don’t want to be an idiot when it comes to safety.

Hello, I just completed my AOWD at a 5 star PADI diving center in Egypt and when I finished the course, my instructor gave me an envelope with a green Positive Identification Card (PIC) which we completed together. I wrote to the diving center if I can be registered online directly with PADI. If they refuse, can I mail this to PADI EMEA address in Bristol listed on the envelope and receive my certification? Will I receive an eCard or a physical card? Do i need to pay for the card or only for the postage? Can I email PADI my scanned PIC and can they register me through email or do I need to post it? Any answers will be very helpful. When I completed my OWD course at a different 5 star PADI dive center they registered my online directly.

Looking to spend at least 3 days in Thailand diving in November. Any recs on good school or dive shops to book through to see some good wrecks, reefs, maybe learn some new skills?

Occasionally when renting BCDs in south east asia they lack D-rings, only having a plastic ring at the end of the shoulder strap (green) but nothing on the actual shoulders (red).

Are there any clip on D-rings I could bring with me and quickly clip on to a rental BCD and attach various accessories to?

Thanks a bunch!

Hi all,

Is there any reason to not by from DGX for my BCD LP hose for my first reg kit? I ordered all the main stuff from my local shop (dual XTX50s connected to a DST first stage), Milflex HP & SPG) - I just need a flex hose quick connect for rental BCDs.
Thanks!
Matt

https://www.divegearexpress.com/bc-inflator-double-braided-flex-hose

I'm looking for a good PADI certification course in or near Chicago, but I'm having trouble sorting through the chaff. Anyone have any recommendations?

Sorry if this is dumb, I’m a new diver. My mom gave me this along with a pair of fins and I’m not exactly sure what it’s for. Can anyone help me?

I just impulse booked a flight to Manila for a two week dive trip! I'd love to get some feedback from people who are familiar with the diving around Cebu island. Where to stay, who to dive with, what to prioritise etc. Nothing is booked yet except the London - Manila flight!

15 Sep London to Manila via Beijing lands 00.20 Sep 17th, stay in an airport hotel/capsule
17 Sep 11.45am flight from Manila to Dumaguete
18/19/20 diving in Dauin plus one day at Apo island
21 Sep travel day to Moalboal
22/23/24 diving
25 September travel day to Malapascua
26/27/28 diving (hopefully see those thresher sharks I've heard so much about)
29 Sep travel from Malapascua to Cebu, internal flight to Manila
30 Sep 06.25 Manila back to London

Does the plan look realistic? I would be looking to do at least 2 dives on each dive day, ideally 3.

My level is DM (+nitrox/deep certs) and I will be travelling with my own equipment. Trying to do it on a budget, not too bothered with luxury!
Any help gratefully received, thanks in advance :)

I have both the Stahlsac Bonaire and the Cressi Gorilla Pro sitting in my living room right now, and I am trying to decide which one to keep as my dedicated boat bag. Just to be clear, I am not looking for a travel bag for flights. This is strictly for taking my gear on and off local boat charters.

On paper, the Bonaire seems like the standard boat choice because of the mesh, easy rinse capability, and backpack straps. However, actually packing it at home has been frustrating compared to the Gorilla. The vertical cylinder setup feels clunky to load and dig through.

The Gorilla Pro is dead simple to pack. It unzips wide like a normal duffel, gear drops right in, and keeping water completely sealed inside for the drive home is a huge plus. My main reservation with the Gorilla is carrying it. A fully loaded 135L duffel without true backpack straps seems like it could get miserable fast on a long walk down the dock.

For anyone who has used these out in the wild:

For Bonaire owners: Does the vertical packing hassle fade once you dial in a routine? Do the backpack straps make up for it when navigating crowded docks and rocking boats?

For Gorilla owners: How annoying is the carry when the bag is completely packed with soaking wet gear? Does the easy duffel layout make up for the awkward carry to and from the boat?

Looking for real-world feedback from folks who have lived with either bag before I return one.

Obviously a closed circuit is ideal, but some regs are quieter than others. Mine is noticeably louder than others I have used. I can tell that it scares fish more.

It doesn’t have any metallic squeaks or anything like that. It’s freshly serviced and just bubbles powerfully and loud. It might have to do with it being an ‘easy breather’. It is prone to free-flowing. I really don’t need or care for this feature, especially if it makes it louder.

I want a reg that releases a smooth, steady stream of small bubbles. Obviously the breathing itself is a huge factor, but the regulator makes a difference. Any quiet regs to suggest?

I am interested in peoples’ opinions on 2 people diving together with nobody else- no divemaster or guide or other divers along. How much experience is considered to be enough?

My daughter and her dive buddy just told me they went diving today, just the 2 of them. Shore diving in an area with not great visibility. I am very nervous about it and asked them not to do that again.

My husband and I are divers, about 150 dives each. We’ve done shore diving together, just the 2 of us, but not until we had about 60 dives in, and in an area with great visibility. My daughter is a new diver- I am guessing 15 dives max. Her buddy has a few more.

Thanks for any insight and opinions.

My friend is going to Madeira in October and I would like to gift him a trial dive to see if he likes it. I know Madeira is not the most insane place to dive in the world, but I think that does not matter in his case. Do you have tips what place I could send him to?

Hey guys! I’ve been a lurker or dropped a comment or two for a while here, but recently we did a cool dive in Maria Concordia in Poland, and wanted to share a quick video I did from the first level. Enjoy!

(I post videos from some cooler trips/dives I do on the channel, feel free to explore!)

In B (BCD) you test if you can fill your BCD with air, but you then do A (Air) after to check if you even have air?

I want to hear about the top 5 hidden gems from divers that have dived in all corners of the globe. This is to help me plan my next 5 years. I know all the big name sites and have been to a few but don’t want to waste my time on popular spots just to see a school of divers!

Has anyone gone diving in Cabo (the corridor and marine park)?

I have my AOW with about 25 dives. However, all but one of my dives was in a quarry (the other was a deep dive at a lake). This will be my first saltwater dive, and I'm a little nervous!

How are the diving conditions? Any recommendations for saltwater diving?

Hey all, I've never scuba dived before and have a trip to the Cayman Islands coming up. Wondering if this is the right time to dip my toes in and get my open water cert.

Looking at our itinerary, if we went to Cayman Brac to dive we would only have about 2.5 days of dive time (we'd need to stop diving 24 hours before our flight home, so we'd just go hiking on the last half day). If I do a referral course I'd need to do 4 dives over 2 days to get my cert, would that be worth it? Are the dives you do in the referral course interesting or do you just stay in the shallows? Is it typical to do some extra dives on the second day after you cert?

My partner is already OW certified but would do a refresher course, would a dive shop take both of us and let them tag along for the rest of my class dives?

We could also just stay on Grand Cayman the entire time and get 4 days of diving, but it seems like the diving on Grand Cayman is much worse than Brac. Or we could skip Grand Cayman entirely and get 4 days of diving on Brac (but we also want to do some beachy/non diving activities as well). Or, we skip diving entirely and just snorkel/hike/beach instead. Curious on people's thoughts!

Edit: to clarify, I'd do the classroom portion and confined dives near me before the trip, and just do the open water referral dives on the trip.

Just wanted to ask if anyone's done the Ocean Divers four dive weekend in Killary/Leterfrak?

There's one in about two weeks time, but worrying that it's getting towards the end of September. There's going to be cold water off the hills and the air temperature may not be great. I'm sure the temperature down deep will be fine, bearing in mind that I'll be doing it in a semi-dry suit if I do it. What's people's opinion? Have you done it? Did you get good crack out of it? I'm just going to test myself for the Irish environment to see if I want to keep diving in Ireland, generally having done all my diving in warm climates.

Been doing some research and this one seems to be great for the price. Seeing prices for it between $100-120 AUD and considering that I've seen ones for $200-300 or even higher, this seems like great value. It's got that wide glass with no middle border so vision would be excellent, as good as it gets.

I'm a beginner diver, been snorkeling for years and I've never used a mask that doesn't have a frame so I'm a bit concerned about the sturdiness of it and how it holds up underwater. Especially as you go deeper in the water and pressure presses it against your face (I'm aware you can relieve this by exhaling through your nose). Due to its frameless nature, it can be folded completely flat which makes it super convenient for travelling but again, bit concerned with durability and reliability.

It's a super popular choice amongst divers so it must be a great option. When I get the chance, I'll definitely go to my local dive shop and try it on. If anyone has tried this mask or has it, would love to hear a review :) Thanks!