Your scuba tanks are prone to marine and weather elements that wear the tank down both from the outside and inside. By the end of their dive certification, all divers are made aware of the necessity of periodic inspection of scuba tanks if they choose to own one (or multiple) instead of renting them. Now, scuba tank inspection generally goes through two stages: the visual cylinder inspection (VCI) and the hydrostatic inspection. In this article, I’ll gloss over the ins and outs of the first stage of inspection i.e. VCI. If you’re a new tank inspector intern or a self-sufficient diver looking f ..read more

When you see a dive mask described as “low volume,” this refers to the internal air space between the lens and your face. But what does volume mean in this context and how is it measured? And what even are these masks doing all the way out here in the scuba diving community instead of free divers? The volume of a mask is quantified in milliliters (mL) or cubic centimeters (cc). It represents the total amount of air that is contained inside the mask skirt once it creates a seal against your face. Standard mask volumes tend to range from 300 – 600 mL. Low-volume masks have an air volume of aroun ..read more

Alright, so picture this: you’re ready to dive into the big blue, all set to explore its glory to the fullest. But hold up, you have to lube up and get into that dreaded neoprene wetsuit first. A real turn-off for some. What if I told you that you can ditch that clingy neoprene sausage casing and dive in au naturale? Yep, you heard me right – scuba diving without a wetsuit! Is diving feet first into the blue depths without a wetsuit recommended, or even possible? It is indeed possible to scuba dive without a wetsuit if you’re diving in warm waters, and are careful enough to not brush yourself ..read more

The question of how tight a wetsuit is supposed to be is something that has plagued novice scuba divers from the beginning. They often conflate the terms “snug-fit” and “tight-fit” while looking for wetsuits. The advice to buy a snug-fitting wetsuit right from the bat is simply wrong. Wetsuits should always be slightly tight-fitting at the time of purchase and they will become snug-fitting over time due to the stretching of the neoprene fabric with use. How Should a Snug Fit Wetsuit Feel Like? While donning a brand new wetsuit it IS supposed to feel a bit tight and uncomfortable, especially a ..read more

Cavern dwellers among you will be familiar with the concept of dangling your cylinders from your hips during subterranean activities. It always used to be an additional skill, something that was taught after competence with back-mounted twin-set tanks had been established. However, a few years ago, it became acceptable practice within the cave-diving fraternity to just use side mounts without the need to dive twins. Since that time side-mount diving has increased in popularity, not only among cave divers but also among some of us with more terrestrial habits, both for technical and recreationa ..read more

It’s not unusual for me to ascend from dives with litter for the rubbish bin these days. By October famous local shore dives and wrecks are littered with fishing lines. And by spring, the lines are all but gone, ripped away by the windy winter gale to drift (the soggy ones tangle up and sink) in the middle of the ocean. For divers to get entangled in this minefield of fishing lines and nets while shore diving is pretty common. If you happen to encounter such an unpleasant scenario you might want to educate yourself on what to do to free yourself from the deadly snare by reading this guide. 7 T ..read more

Quite often you get to hear bone-chilling news of cave divers dying slow painful deaths while stuck inside some ancient crevice. Still, it’s not gonna stop the brave-heart explorers and thrill seekers from giving in to the mysterious allure of cave diving. Cave diving’s inherent danger stems from the complexity of the sport. Equipment failures, including tangled reels, broken masks, flooded lamps, and lost navigation, are the leading cause of diving accidents, according to RAID International. You can’t just go ahead and start cave diving without any prior experience or training. You can’t just ..read more

In their quest for taking in the scenic beauty of the underwater world in all its glory, divers can go to any lengths. But one problem looms large- the loss of vibrant red color with depth which makes everything appear ghoulish and unpleasant underwater. This occurs due to an optical phenomenon known as selective spectral absorption that makes colors get filtered out one by one with depth, red being the first victim. In fact, red light effectively disappears at a mere depth of 15 feet. This greatly reduces the visibility experience of an average scuba diver by sucking the soul out of the under ..read more

Finding out that your dive mask didn’t seal properly right in the middle of your dive can be annoying. You keep tightening the strap but it gets progressively worse. Your only remaining option, in that case, is to take a surface stop to drain the water that seeped in and seal your mask again. More often than not, the mask quality is not at fault but the diver’s inability to create a perfectly sealed dive mask is to blame. The principle of creating a seal around your scuba mask is quite straight forward but in practice, there are a lot of other factors to keep in mind. 7 Ways to Prevent Your Di ..read more

Often times many of you, while vacationing at some exotic beach destination find out about the alluring dive spot within a stone’s throw of your resort. And suddenly your mind is filled with the whimsical urge to take a dive there as soon as possible. But there’s one barrier: you don’t know how to scuba dive. Naturally, the first question that springs up in your mind is: Can I crash course through the scuba diving basics within a day? Sure you can! And the timeframe of grinding through the scuba basics is a mere 3-6 hours. Dive operators and resorts in diving hotspots came up with various smal ..read more