>>85309
Any good dive sites out of Texas/Alabama?

>>85309
>And the obvious question, what's better? PADI or SDI?
As a professional PADI is the best agency to have if you want to find work because it's the one with the most market share even if their support and systems suck ass, simple as.

As a recreational diver it does not matter what agency you get certs under because they are all internationally recognized under the same ISO standards.

>>85388
Good to know

File: Untitled.png (572 KB, 2051x1128)

572 KB PNG

Just bought a 13 CF Catalina Tank to refill my HPA tanks with for use with paintball guns. It's used and needs Hydro/VIP - how soon should I expect it to esplode? Do I really need to pay some scuba faggot $50 to look at my new tank? That's what I paid for the whole thing... Also did I get ripped off? Picrel.

Furthermore, if it's 13 cubic feet does that mean it's 156 cubic inches? That means I can fill my 48 ci HPA tank with this scuba 3 times before the scuba is depleted, right? How do I know when it's full? Since it's 3000 PSI should I just pump it to 3000 PSI and consider it full? Thanks.

>>85587
When was it last Hydroed?

>>85669
Heh... Looks like it was made in the mid 90's and there's no hydro sticker on it. Pumped it to 500 PSI and it seems okay. I think I'll go for it - not gonna pay $50 to hydro a $30 tank. Hopefully if it explodes I don't get injured. Unless someone in this thread has a horror story about their tank bursting.

>>86185
>Carry a pressurized bomb on your back while exploring the most uncharted part of the world which is known to have all sorts of monsters.
>Oh, and there's no air

>>86175
The weakest link is the Valve and yes those things have absolutely come flying off and they are like a slug round coming out of a shotgun.
If it hasn't been hydroed in 30 years I wouldn't take the chance honestly.

>>86185
It's equipment intensive and can be made out to sound really bad like >>86200 does but in reality it's probably the calmest "extreme sport" out there.

it's solid

>>85587
>Furthermore, if it's 13 cubic feet does that mean it's 156 cubic inches?

No. One cubic foot is 1728 (12x12x12) cubic inches. So a 13 cubic foot tank would be 22,464 cubic inches.

>>87850
I am three inches tall and let me tell you I would be fucked.

Deep records?

>>88127
Does it really matter?
Tec diving is more a logistical and financial barrier than a skill issue.

>>85309
So just got out of the army and SCUBA has always been something that as interested me, how are the career opportunities? I am an leaf if that makes

File: 807.jpg (830 KB, 2502x2803)

830 KB JPG

>>88628
if that makes any difference*
Fucking hit submit by accident here is a funny image to make up for retardation.

Got certified in 2019 to dive on vacations. Pretty solid hobby.

I don't recommend diving through hotels/resorts unless they require certification. Spent 20 mins of a divd waiting for newbies to reach the 30ft bottom and surface.

>>88628
The pay is shit unless you've been in the industry for awhile and have skills that are hard to come by like being qualified to service gear.
Don't have any experience with commercial diving in non-tourism industries.

File: 2.jpg (594 KB, 800x600)

594 KB JPG

>>85309
>Hairy or funny stories?
>My first ever dive I ever did was at a location called "The Poor Knights".
>An island chain off the coast of New Zealand, it's quite famous as a nature reserve and religious site, and you can get fined thousands for even setting foot on the island at all, so the whole place has huge animals.
>So, dive instructor takes us down. This is a guided dive, because I'm not trained ATT. >Takes us around, gets comfortable, lets go of us to find cool shit.
>Does actually find cool shit, moray eels, rare creatures, even a turtle from the tropic currents.
>One of the more common ones? Picrel.
>A bit less bright and more blue, but the size of a small child.
>Now I'm thinking to myself 'yo this is either a Stonefish, or a Scorpion fish. The venom from these things can leave you in debilitating agony for weeks, can easily be lethal if not treated quickly, and is the most painful and potent fish venom in the world, and the blue-r ones were always the stonefish.'
>Scorpionfish have spines, stonefish have these barbs in their mouths they can shoot out at passing prey or things they find scary or dangerous.
>This one is the size of a small child, backed up into a small cave.
>The diving instructor is about three feet from its face.
>We're at least ten meters down, and I'm sitting on a rock, not panicking, but thinking to myself "Okay, so when this dude gets stung, how do I go about rescuing him safely without giving him the bends or letting him accidentally drown himself due to the pain?"
>He does this multiple times.
>Get back up to the surface and have a debrief and all.
>Casually drop this fact to him. He finds it touching, but hilarious, and elaborates to me on the local climate causing patterning changes making the scorpionfish look blue.
>Also tells me that I'm way too competent for a discover dive, and that the next time I see him, I'd better have a scuba license.

>See him at the same place, a year later.
>Have my scuba license.

>>92144
Instructors are taught to be prepared to deal with the absolute biggest retards you can possibly imagine (AKA Chinese Tourists) on DSD dives so when they get anyone that's actually normal it's basically a gift from god.

>>92144
>"The Poor Knights".
Ha I've dived there, it is amazing and a legendary location anyone should go if they have the chance, when I went I saw 2 huge rock lobsters

>>88628
When I was learning to become an open water diver there was a police officer on my course who was learning to dive so he could be the guy who does searches in bodies of water (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_diving) so you could maybe look into that, it'd fit with some of the skills you have from the army I bet

>>88127
are retarded. below ~350FSW you're already breathing super hypoxic mix and you're ongassing helium faster than nitrogen. Your risk of oxygen toxicity or HPNS go up exponentially. Gabr is a liar and Gomes is fucked up, and everyone else is dead.

Wrecks are fun

>>88628
Dangerous and high paying.

Specifically saturation divers and underwater welders etc..

Unless you wanna go with instructor but I'm guessing too many people doing that already

>>94487
Being an instructor only pays well if you have some rarer qualifications like being a tec instructor or a service technician.

>>85587

there really are retards on this site. 500 psi will maybe maybe give you 15 minutes of dive time. Not worth setting up all the gear to dive for 15 minutes. get a fucking job

How safe is drift diving with a charter? Never done it before, so I'm a bit anxious. Only going down to 70-90 feet. How do I stop being a bitch about it.

Any good diving in Alaska?

It's fine

>>96218
He says he wants to use it for paintball guns not diving at least read the entire post before making yourself look like a retard.

>>96522

It's safe. As long as your remember your training. You can't worry. The changes of something "getting you" down there are slim to none. You don't get nervous driving to the site, but you are far more likely to die in the car than underwater. The boat ride can be gnarly if there are swells. You will have to gear up and move to the back of the boat while the boat is rocking. Getting back on the boat can be a pain if the boat is rocking. Hopefully the boat has a christmas tree style ladder, so you don't have to worry about removing your fins before getting on the boat. You will be fine. Make sure you are correctly weighted, so you can get down, but enjoy the time down there.

>>96522
How much you paying?

>>85309
I just took my first 2 dives in Jamaica and got certified. I wanna dive more!!! Jamaican bros said I had gills and never panicked or got weird. I loved it guys

Scuba diving is not extreme, it’s relaxing if anything. More like hiking or riding a bike, that way I feel like it belongs on /out/. Also 4chan beers can only afford mcdojo memberships and skateboards, diving is too expensive.

>>98437
Scuba diving is one of the sports where you can be eaten. Its relaxing 99.9% of the time, but then you get the teeth

>>96551
maybe if you want to work

>>92192

It's the same at skydiving places, or shooting ranges that allow tourists.

They all have a set of "Chinese, simplified" instructions ready to go, dumbing everything the fuck down.

>>85309
We should have a spearfishing general

>>98438
Freediving is extreme.

Scuba becomes extreme after some depth I guess

File: IMG_6731.jpg (3.88 MB, 4000x3000)

3.88 MB JPG

thread is lacking pictures
i'll post some from my trip to mexico

File: IMG_6789.jpg (3.17 MB, 3500x2625)

3.17 MB JPG

>>99918

File: IMG_6790.jpg (3.98 MB, 4000x3000)

3.98 MB JPG

>>99919
nurse shark that was hiding under a rock

File: IMG_6954.jpg (2.46 MB, 3500x2625)

2.46 MB JPG

>>99922
went diving in some cenotes, was pretty cool but my camera kept spazzing out because of low light conditions

File: IMG_6811.jpg (3.96 MB, 4000x3000)

3.96 MB JPG

>>99923
and the usual turtle

>>99923
>>99922
beautiful! what camera you using?

>>100172
Canon Powershot G9 with an old and bulky Ikelite case

How pricy is scuba diving (license, equipment, oxygen etc...)?
I want to do some stuff related to diving but I don't want to spend a lot of money. Should I just go diving?

>>85309
>Which is better?
BSAC , PADI is a tourist diver badge.

>>85309
GUE is best

>>101183
Join a club all you pay is membership and then you get to loan the gear. Maybe pay for air bottle refill and the entrance fee to dive site

>>102100
I don't think there are "clubs" where I live, which is weird because I live in southern Italy and I thought scuba was common here.
The only thing I found is a school, they get you a diving license but you have to follow lessons at the end of which they'll bring you to do 6 dives.
I dunno

>>85370
your bathtub maybe?

>>102669
Italians are more ballsy and will take freediving instead of the troublesome scuba.

Follow the freediving path anon.You will be happier

>>103087
I'd like to but I'm alone, the danger of blacking out isn't exactly a problem, but the cost of renting a boat everytime I want to go see a cool reef is too high unless I bring more people. With a school I would at least solve this prob

spent the last 2 weeks learning how to dive with work, love it. BCDs, Dive comps and Regs expensive though :(

>>99923
>>99919
what camera are you taking these on?
Appreciate the pictures!

>>103087
Ocean Freediving as a hobby honestly isn't logistically viable unless you happen to already grow up with connections.
Not enough people do it for it to be commercially viable to run boats (unlike Scuba) so your relying on having friends that have boats or having one yourself.

>>103898
Or you can enter throught the shore like most spearfishermen do.

Ofcourse it depends where you are you might have to swim out alot to find some depth, or you might just have to swim a little bit.


You are completely right in it not being a viable business

>>104276
Depends extremely heavily on where you live, if your spearfishing without a line sure but if you wanna just do freediving on a line your pretty much shit out of luck without a boat (The list of places in the world where you can get any kind of real depth from right next to shore while still having ok conditions is very, very small), you can't realistically swim a float line very far out.

I saw a 1 foot long leech in a lake scuba diving in and staying on the shore because the water was frozen and I didnt have a wetsuit.
Saw a 1 foot long albino crayfish too, it swam away, very trippy animal, unlike the leech which was fairly creepy. I swam next to a 7 feet long salmon once which had like 8 or 9 salmoness with it, very cool chad fish.

>>85388
>>85309
>PADI or SDI?
The answer is CMAS of course.
>>88628
Diving with/for tourists is basically a student job. You can set up your own shop, but the ones I know barely break even and have to add other activities.
Archeological diving is for volunteers, unless you manage to become an archeologist (good luck).
Saturation, welders etc. are well paid but it is hard on the body. Find yourself some in-between: police diving to find bodies, or defuse underwater bombs (lots of them in Europe). Or make it a plus on your resume if you want to work on boats or around water (pool repairing; aquatic zoo, whatever).

>>96522
Literally did one as my first dive outside of OW, bring a DSMB and stuff to stop seasickness

>>107906
I saw a manta ray while spearfishing, its tail was about my height.

Its wingspan maybe 4 meters.

Most impressive thing I've probably seen

File: Clearance-diver-ET2016-4617-03.jpg (1.31 MB, 3904x2603)

1.31 MB JPG

>>88628

Re-enlist as a Clearance Diver or join the Navy toons as a Port Inspection Diver. Get the feds to train you for free.

>>85309
so are the SMACO from aliexpress legit or better go to a licensed store and spend 3-10 times more

I've always been interested in ocean stuff and diving, but I live in a land locked city, and the deepest body of water is the local water park. How does one get into diving either recreationally or professionally? How can I get started?

>>109843
Landlocked cities generally have diving clubs, that's how good scuba is. Mine uses pools, and travels several times a year to the sea.

>>109840
If you knowingly buy life support equipment from China you deserve whatever you get.

I want to get into underwater photography. Is the Olympus TG-6 really the objectively best option? My scuba shop shills it as if it's God's gift to man, but honestly, when I tried it, I wasn't that impressed with the image quality.
Also, are underwater housings for normal digital cameras really a meme that will brick your equpiment? I have a Nikon that I love (can't even remember which one, it's old as fuck) and I keep wondering if I can't just take it underwater but I'm scared to lose it.

>>89493
My local dive shop guy used to be a commercial diver. Never wants to talk about it and when he does you can hear the anger in his voice. A lot of shit must've happened for him to go from rolling in $ from hazard pay to running a shop that barely breaks even.

>>114032
A really good housing is basically mandatory if you want to really get anywhere with underwater photography.
They are build hard and meant to hold expensive kit inside them.

Is it normal to get a bit of amnesia after dives?
Just did my first deep dive of advanced OW, went to about 75ft. I only remember small snapshots of it and overall really can't account for what we did the entire 30 minutes.

>>114033
> A lot of shit must've happened

I can guarantee you 99% sure it was a woman that happened. Or a woman AND a baby lol

solid

>>114033
Hazard pay is a meme.
Commercial diving pays well because there are fuck all places in the world that can give you the qualifications for it so it's a very gatekept industry you pretty much have to luck your way into. (Being raised in one of the few places that does it etc)
That's basically all industries that pay well.

>>114032
>>114298
Okay I'm very new to this; would a GoPro not suffice for this?

>>86200
>being a massive pussy who is scared of the ocean

>>92192
Lmao ! I’m dead
I should get my cert and get some gear and start pumping money from chink tourists
How much does it pay normally to be a diving instructor ?

>>117513
>How much does it pay
Fuck all.
Don't do it unless it's something you really want to do.

Princess Penny's Pinnacle is the best dive site in Grand Cayman. Don't fall for the Kittiwake meme - it's not that great and there's some fatass tourist who will fuck it up.

File: media_FBxKAODXsAcuZ3m.jpg (187 KB, 2048x739)

187 KB JPG

>be me
>just a bog standard private in the army
>id never even thought about scuba diving
>sargent im friends with tells me hes going instructing on an army dive camp for 2 weeks on an island asks if im interested
>fuck yeah
>he gets me selected
>end up going to an island in the middle of summer for 2 weeks to learn how to dive
>dive 2-3 times a day
>its an army course so i get paid the whole time
>drinking pints in the local pub every night
>go home obsessed with diving

man i love the army

>>117512
>being a retard that doesn’t respect the fact that the ocean minus everything that lives in it which could kill you, is still a patently non permissive environment.

I hope you drown on a full tank

>>98125
taking your fins off and throwing them at people on the boat is the best part

File: Ffbms1vaUAELP2F.jpeg.jpg (162 KB, 1241x1650)

162 KB JPG

I'm an autist so bear with me. How do I gently but firmly explain to my scuba shop that I DON'T want a career with them without ruining my relationship with them?
I work in the medical field and know all about emergency med/first aid so they kept pushing me to be a rescue diver for them in exchange for being able to dive for free. I did the course, and honestly I fucking hate it. I want to enjoy myself, not work all week babysitting retards and then go and babysit more retards on my days off. Idgaf about the money either. Should I feel bad for potentially depriving them of the most qualified rescue diver they can possibly get?

>>122883
Don't waste your time if you don't want to do it, med school pays much much better than this does anyway.

May I ask where you are from by any chance? location really matters in how dive shops treat their customers.
Like emergency scenarios where your skillset would be useful basically never happen so I'm surprised they even care enough to try and grab you.

>>121888
>>121888
The Key West Facility?

my guy- you made that sound like a walk in in the park lol>>122883
>>122883
Just keep saying no and explain your case when pushed

>>123419
>>123423
Thanks anons
>>123419
>where you are from
South Africa, but the part of it that's got all the big dive sites and retarded tourists so you do get a small but steady trickle of both diving and marine life injuries, I guess I see their logic

>>115591
dive nitrox

What are the most fun SSI specialties? Don't care about useful, just want fun

Suite

>>85309
this might be a stupid question but can you just have a really long flexible snorkle with the end on a boey as a cheap alternative to scuba?

>>107906
i regret looking up what a giant leech looks like i dont want to go scuba diving anymore

>>109840
>>113117
every day im more surprised by whats available on aliexpress

I love diving. I got started doing dry suit alongside my OW and it was a blast. Made the 55F waters of puget sound totally bearable and there’s so much to see there.

>>127669
It doesn't work for two reasons.
The first one is that the tube would compress to unusable levels at depth
The second is that you can't suck air down a really long tube your lungs just don't have the power to do that.

Really long underground tunnels have large fans inside them to keep air circulating through them because if they didn't then the air would eventually get stale, it's the same principle.
I don't blame anyone for asking this question though because explaining why it doesn't work takes a bit of physics talk.

File: Screenshot_2022-12-20-12-(...).jpg (884 KB, 1080x1208)

884 KB JPG

>>128567

>>99647
Yeah but nobody does it or talks about it on this board. I remember there was one thread months ago and it did OK but only because spearos invaded it

>>127759
i also dive in the puget sound, what sites do you do?

Anyone know what regulations govern getting paid to dive (in the US)? Looking to start a data collection business and include diving as one of my methods- seems like a grey area since it isnt recreational training, and it doesnt fall under the scope of what is generally considered "commercial" diving. GUE has a few trainings for scientific diving, data collection, and photogrammetry so my plan was to start there. That being said, even if I'm trained I dont wanna get sued or assfucked by the government.

Any ideas?

>>85309
>Whats better? PADI or SDI?

GUE

Best wrecks in Florida? (anywhere in FL)

Would anyone recommend getting certified in your local large river with the intention of eventually vacationing and then having your certification ahead of time? There's a dive shop here that does that in the Columbia.

>>131520
FFESSM :)

>>85370
Texas: find someone who can take out out to the oil rigs off the Galveston or Corpus Christi coast

>>132499
Are you comfortable swimming in a river ?

In theory, you might have an advantage over others if you learn to dive in a river with a current as it could be tricky for those who arent strong swimmers.

Where are you thinking on vacationing ?

>>132499
Not a good idea.Depending on the River you have shit visibility through swirling sediment,reduced reaction time through the current if somenthing unexpected happens and additional exhaustion if you have to stop for whatever reason.
Given that newbies also cant tare for shit and are often preoccupied with handling their equipment this gives you extra risks with marginal benefits...its juts too many aggravating factors imo

>>92144
I had a similar experience, without the cool story.

Did my first give last year (guided) in Vietnam. Guide was super cool, we bonded over weight lifting on the ride up to the spot etc.

After the dive, we swapped contact info and I promised to get my open water so that I can come back and dive with him. Planning to do it this spring in Egypt, probably.

Tahiti's fun

Splish splash

>>121888
>>109818
>>94487
What other, less difficult to get into, dive job are there? And how would I get into any of these jobs without any military experience? I'm a open water diver with a SSI deep certification and 95 dives, diving is the only thing I enjoy that I've gotten into that hasn't been forced onto me or done to please others
>>99918
This is Mexico? I thought dugongs were only around in Melanesia
>>128567
Where's this?

>>128567
Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Great people and country

Technicly not scuba but still diving
I've done more than a bit of snorkeling during vacations as well as going deeper down.
Now I want to try it a little more serious and stay down longer with some attempts at apnoe diving.
What kind of ballast would be best?
Looking around I've found two styles that would make sense:
1. Neck mounted "pillow" style filled with lead bbs
2. Waist mounted solid pieces on a belt

Now I want to practice a bit in a pool first before I dare diving in the sea.
What would be a better choice?
Also I've heard these pillow style things can leak lead, do they even still use actual lead in these things?

File: 21.jpg (210 KB, 1348x1500)

210 KB JPG

>>140529
Depends what waters are you diving in, cold?
How thick is your wetsuit?
For a person with 70kg on a wetsuit of 5mm, 5kg is enough.
If arround 5-6kg I'd recommend using it all on your waist, preferably on a silicone or rubber belt.
If you need more weight then I'd use a vest like picrel. Forget the neckweight.

I strongly recommend joining a freediving training group (pool), you will develop the skills you need and you will learn alot, not to mention the great people you will probably meet.
I did it and now I'm addicted to freediving

Lads what SEA country has the best diving + has a reasonable amount of English speakers?

>>140584
My plan is to train a bit in a pool first to get used to it, so no wetsuit and no salt water for now.
My weight is about 65 kg.
How much weight (roughly) should I try starting with?
Maybe 1,5-3 kg?

>>140948
If you are not using weitsuit or anything else that makes you buoyant then 1kg is enough.

>>141158
Thanks, I'll give it a try

Good waves

>>140776
>what SEA country has the best diving
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Only been to Indonesia though but Malaysia and Philippines has a lot of famous sites

Anybody scubad in SEA

Anyone have any thoughts on IANTD - training with them currently. I'm doing the Essentials Course. My background is with BSAC

>>107953
I can second the bit about archaeological diving. I'm pursuing it as a career choice, but even breaking out of the terrestial field to get into maritime is rough. I've got a field school coming up, but I don't think I'll be able to actually dive for a living until I'm out of grad school. For now, I stick to shovelbumming.

Just got my OW cert last week and was wondering if I'm rushing through things in getting my Advanced OW cert in the next month or so? I'm really paying to go on more dives and figure it's a bonus I get a cert that lets me go deeper.

>>148728
The sooner the better, lad.

tfw no buddy