How to Pack for a Scuba Diving Vacation

By | Diving Destinations, Knowledge Base

Scuba Equipment Bag

Pack Smartly for Traveling with Scuba Gear

One area of scuba diving education that seems to get little attention is how to pack your gear. My very first scuba diving vacation was when my wife and I got married in Hawaii and did our honeymoon in Tahiti. I toted a full sized, scuba suitcase from Chicago to Maui to Honolulu to Papeete to Bora Bora to Moorea, then back to Honolulu and finally Chicago. Each leg of the journey, I had to pay extra for the weight (and extra bag) of scuba gear. I carried way too much unneeded stuff. In today’s economy, the airlines are looking for any reason to bend you over and nail you in the keester with luggage fees. So planning how you pack, can save you some money in the future. [Read more...]

The Myth of Free Parts for Your Regulator

By | Knowledge Base

Attention new divers or divers considering purchasing your first regulator. You’ll want to read on. When I was a new diver, I wanted to purchase my own equipment. So, like many people, I went online to research what I wanted. My instructor used a Scubapro MK25 with a S600 second stage. He raved about it. So I purchased a set from Leisure Pro. The day after I got my new regs, I took them to the dive store down the street to set them up. The owner asked where I got them and I told him. He then lectured me on how bad LP was and that my regs were purchased on the gray market. Not knowing what that was, I assumed it was bad. He also told me that I would have to pay for parts for the annual service. If I purchased the reg from him, the parts would be free. So, fearing death from my LP regulators and the high cost of their service, I promptly returned them to LP and bought a lower quality set of regs from the dive store. [Read more...]