Explaining DIR Rule #6

By Duane Johnson | Feature Posts, Knowledge Base

Understanding the Hidden Arts of DIR

If you have been on the various scuba diving internet message boards, you probably have seen all kinds of junk written about DIR. One of the most common things written are the “rules” surrounding DIR. Many people make wide speculations about these “rules”. Most specifically, DIR rule #6 gets the most attention. This “rule” has been widely blown out of context. Let’s take a look at the “rule” #6 in detail. Hopefully, you will understand what the meaning behind it is. [Read more...]

How to Pack for a Scuba Diving Vacation

By Duane Johnson | Diving Destinations, Knowledge Base

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 Economy and the Scuba Industry: Loss-Leaders are Killing the Scuba Industry

By Duane Johnson | Scuba Business

“We don’t make any money on our open water classes. We hope that the open water students will buy equipment from us once they are certified.” I first heard this type of statement was during my PADI IDC when we were discussing course pricing. As a business person, this didn’t make much sense to me, but I could understand the rationale that a business uses a product or service to drive sales of other products or services. That was six years ago. I’ve had plenty of time to think about this and the more I ponder it, the more I have realized that this mentality is slowly killing the scuba diving industry. [Read more...]

Choosing Components for Doubles

By Duane Johnson | Equipment

I get asked many times about what kind of doubles people should get when they want to move into technical diving. Should they get 130s, 100s, 120s, or aluminum 80s? There is no one right answer for selecting which size tanks. However, special consideration must be made in regards to selecting the manifold, valves, and bands to build that set of doubles. [Read more...]