What's inside a Liveaboard Save a Dive Kit? #scuba #askmark
SparkyABQ
@sparkyabq9941
#ask Mark Hi Mark, I carry a pretty extensive save-a-dive kit with me when I dive locally. I even have taken it when I have traveled by land domestically. My wife and I are getting ready for our first live-aboard and I remember you describing these as a floating dive shop. So my question is do I need to bring my kit, a scaled down kit, or no kit at all on the live-aboard? Great work by the way!
#scuba #scubadiving #scubadiver
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Hi Mark,
we have just booked our first diving holiday and this will of course be in Egypt (no liveaboard).
We are relatively new divers and have only ever dived in a dry suit at a nearby lake.
The weight of the fins worry us. Since we both have Hollis F1 fins and they are extremely heavy, we are looking for a lighter alternative (they should have spring straps).
Do you have any tips regarding diving holidays in general and which fins would you recommend (we have already seen the Hollis F2, are there any other options)?
Greetings from Austria
#askmark
Yes, I used to dive with F1 Fins and they are heavy to travel with. There are a few similar alternatives with steel spring straps
Apeks RK3 Fins. Fourth Element Tech Fins. Scubapro Jet Fins. XDEEP EX1 Fins. Zeagle Recon Fins. Mares Power Plana. The lightest of which would be the Mares or Apeks.
You can go lighter with bungee heel straps like the AquaLung Storm Max Fins. Scubapro GO Sport Fins.
#askmark
Hello Mark, love your videos keep them roling in :)
What do you think of the Aqualung reg Helix (99% of my diving is done in the Red Sea)
And if not going to dive for a long time over 3 month, should I remove my transmitter from the reg?
Last, are there different compasses for north and south hemisphere?
Thanks
I love the Helix Regulator, it will be perfect for diving the Red Sea.
I wouldn’t worry about removing any transmitters for storage. As long as they’re depressurized they turn themselves off.
And yes, you do get different compasses for NH and SH. But, most analogue compasses are pretty good for covering most of the glove. There was a good map to ilustrate this in the old Suunto SK7 manual of where the compasses were accurate to. Digital compasses you can calibrate before the dive for accuracy.
#askmark Hi Mark, I’m a pretty new diver and i’m working towards building my gear. I’m having a hard time finding information about SMBs (guessing they’re considered less interesting than other scuba gear) and what to look for when buying one. Do you have any tips and gotchas when looking for one?
Yeah, there are a few things with SMBs and dSMBs. Most divers carry a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy that you send up at the end of the dive.
I prefer larger, Closed Bottom dSMBs that have stitching down both sides. Cheaper buoys are made from a single piece of material folded over and stitched down one side which can lead to wear on the folded side.
And closed buoys stay inflated on the surface where open or fluted buoys may deflate if they flop down.
#askmark
Hi Mark. I’ve just got my very first set of dry gloves (Kubi) – I haven’t dived them yet, but I’m weirdly excited about it. I have quite short fingers and the outer gloves are snug across the palm but long on the fingers. As I say, I haven’t dived them yet but I can foresee this giving me some dexterity issues when putting up a dsmb etc. I could buy some chunkier liners, but I’m pretty sure that would cause the gloves to be too tight across the knuckles (and it wouldn’t do much for dexterity anyway). Do you know of any Kubi compatible Marigolds with shorter fingers, or do you have any tips for those of us who fall into the digitally challenged category? Thimbles on every finger, maybe?
I’ve never seen divers wear thimbles before… If you look at what are normally called Heavy Duty gloves, the ones with a textured surface, they tend to have quite short fingers on them.
https://www.kubistore.com/acatalog/Black-Textured-Heavyweight-Gloves.html
I’ve never seen divers wear thimbles before… If you look at what are normally called Heavy Duty gloves, the ones with a textured surface, they tend to have quite short fingers on them.
https://www.kubistore.com/acatalog/Black-Textured-Heavyweight-Gloves.html
#askmark Hi Mark, question on weight, currently diving locally with 7mm wet , 12l steel and aqualung outlaw and 2kg of weight. Going to Philippine for dive with alu 80 and shorty, what are the approximate weight to start for test dive, since alu is buoyant at 50 bar and shorty is less buoyant than 7mm
It depends on a lot of things but 4-6kg would be a good starting point. You’ll get some time for a good buoyancy check at the start of your 1st dive
I just did a liveaboard in Egypt two weeks ago (Mark, thanks for the backplate changing tips, it worked) but I brought a quite extensive save a dive kit. I needed to fix my weight pocket with tie wraps and the boat captain almost begged me for those so I gave half of my tie wraps to fix the boat😂 I also fixed 4 sets of rental equipment for friends including a new mouth piece that the crew apparently didn’t have (not one🤯) and one mouth piece was so ripped my friend kept breathing water. Yes he should have checked on the first day but he was inexperienced with those smaller pieces of equipment. So it’s not a save YOUR dive kit but can function as a save OTHER people’s dive kit AND a save the boat kit😂😂
batteries for sure dive computer, transmitters, flashlight
dvds of movies you enjoy
Hi there mark! I’ve got another question for #AskMark if I may.
It’s regarding teaching of family members!
So myself as a DM, and my dad ( Master Instructor ) are both in status teaching. My dad has taught me to dive, and I’ve assisted on teaching my mum to dive, and have been asked to do both my sister and her fiancé’s DSD’s. I understand that legally ( fee’s have been paid so I am in status ) I can teach them. But I wasn’t sure if there would be a conflict of interest if they then went in to do an OW class with my dad for example as the certifying instructor?
What are your thoughts on teaching family to dive?
It depends on the situation and the Instructor. I don’t see much of a problem with teaching family members to dive as long as it doesn’t detract from the safety of other students. You also can’t cut your family member any slack neither, they need to perform the same skills at the same quality as everybody else for their safety also.
I’ve taught family and friends before, you just need to treat them like any other student.
#ask Mark, your videos have been extremely helpful in me researching. My wife and I are getting ready to sign up for our open water course. Should we buy a dive computer to use during our course? Also is it worth it to do the nitrox course at the same time? Thank you in advance for your knowledge.
It is unusual for Open Water students to have their own dive computer and one will be included by the dive centre during your course. But, there’s nothing wrong with investing in your own gear. Just be sure that you’re investing in the right computer. A nice mask is a good idea if you don’t have one yet as school masks aren’t great.
Nitrox is a great course to sign up for as soon as possible and will flow nicely after your OW. You’ll learn more about how breathing different gas mixes can allow you to stay down for longer and how they can affect your decompression.
Hey #AskMark,
How are liveaboards about traveling with hard cases. I don’t mean the people, but the luggage. Will they hate you when you rock up with a large Peli case full of SCUBA equipment?
Loving your videos as always.
It depends…
Some liveaboards have more space than others and they can hide one or two large Peli cases but if too many divers bring them they may need to be stored somewhere more public. Most liveaboards will manage to find some space but you may need to store it on the dive deck or one of the common areas if it doesn’t fit in your cabin.
@Scuba Diver Magazine So check before you pack. 😁
Yeah, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not unusual for a diver to turn up with a Peli case. They can attract attention at airports as well. Peli cases usually have expensive gear inside…