Any SCUBA and/or snorkel people here?

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

What are you likes/dislikes about the activities? Especially snorkeling.

Thanks!

[Tipys]

Pm Jim Wallace he isn't on here much anymore but he is working on becoming a Dive Master.

[Dietrich_R1]

What are you likes/dislikes about them? Especially snorkeling.

thanks!


U talking about the people that do it, or the activity??????

1) Big excuse for a vacation! Dive in the morning, find a hammock & a beer in the afternoon! Very relaxing!!!!!!

2) Getting certified is really cool to do with a friend or S.O. It's a couple hundred per person, but since it's drawn out over x amount of weeks, it's actually not that bad.

A) Just be careful not to get suckered into purchasing everything!!!! All you really need is a mask, fins, snorkel (optional), & booties. The rest you can rent. Of course, if you don't like the idea of your skin touching where someone peed then buy a skin!!!

B) PADI (Pay Another Dollar Immediately!!!)

[chanke4252]

I'd get a wet suit as well personally.

scuba is way more fun than snorkeling, but a bit more of a commitment to get certified.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

U talking about the people that do it, or the activity??????

1) Big excuse for a vacation! Dive in the morning, find a hammock & a beer in the afternoon! Very relaxing!!!!!!

2) Getting certified is really cool to do with a friend or S.O. It's a couple hundred per person, but since it's drawn out over x amount of weeks, it's actually not that bad.

A) Just be careful not to get suckered into purchasing everything!!!! All you really need is a mask, fins, snorkel (optional), & booties. The rest you can rent. Of course, if you don't like the idea of your skin touching where someone peed then buy a skin!!!

B) PADI (Pay Another Dollar Immediately!!!)
Oops! I meant the activity.:) I worked with an Engineer at WG and work with one now who're both avid divers and snorkelers. In fact, the one I'm working with now might be partnering with me to create some new products. So, I just wanted to get feedback on what people thought.

What new equipment would you who do it like to see? Anything stand out?

Thanks

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I'd get a wet suit as well personally.

scuba is way more fun than snorkeling, but a bit more of a commitment to get certified.
What don't you like about snorkeling? The limitations? Getting water accidentallly?

[Dietrich_R1]

What don't you like about snorkeling? The limitations? Getting water accidentallly?

Can't get deep enough & stay down long enough to see much... Unless you're in paradise!! But you're still limited. In Costa Rica all the snorklers were extremely limited & got excited about seeing a "fish" while I was down swimming with sharks on every dive!!! Even in Bon Aire, which is a dive/swimming paradise snorklers are very limited cuz once they've found something it's time for them to come up.

One idea for you would be to create a portable "Kind of like a Hooka System" for snorklers???? Maybe something inexpensive that could get a snorkler down to 20-30 feet. Something lightweight also. It would have to "Feel" weightless.

Anyway, just 1 idea I crapped out while on pain meds. Hell, they probably have something like this already?

http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-152/030873/Air-Line-Model-R360xl-Hookah.html

[willb003]

Scuba is fun I got a BCD tank and stages for 80 bucks off of craigslist and it all works good, had it serviced good to go.

[asp_125]

Snorkeling is a great way to start, and places like the Mexican Riviera have great reefs and shallow dives to get used to it. Warm clear water and lots of sea life. Add a small life vest and you can drift along with the current. A wet suit, lets you extend the season and be more comfortable in cooler water. The downside to snorkeling is that you can't really stay under that long or that you're too buoyant without a weight belt.

[asp_125]

...
One idea for you would be to create a portable "Kind of like a Hooka System" for snorklers???? Maybe something inexpensive that could get a snorkler down to 20-30 feet. Something lightweight also. It would have to "Feel" weightless.

Anyway, just 1 idea I crapped out while on pain meds. Hell, they probably have something like this already?

http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-152/030873/Air-Line-Model-R360xl-Hookah.html

In Cozumel they had "Snuba" ... kind of like the old time deep sea diving suits with the fishbowl helmets. You could "walk" along the bottom and be supplied air via an umbilical to the surface. But I like the freedom of being untethered.

[dirkterrell]

I'm a full cave certified diver and an on-call rescue/recovery diver for overhead environments. I haven't done much snorkeling.

Dirk

[chanke4252]

What don't you like about snorkeling? The limitations? Getting water accidentallly?

It just isn't that much more fun than swimming in the ocean with a mask to me. I mean it's cool, but scuba is like snorkeling x10000 in terms of how awesome it is. It's one of those activities that sort of completely wipes your mind clean once you know how to use the equipment. Snorkeling you really don't get low enough to get below the effects of the waves, so you are constantly bobbing up and down, which makes me feel sick personally.

Plus, if you scuba, you get to play with fish and sea life that you will totally miss if you snorkel, which is awesome in itself. Grouper (sp) fish are awesome if you are in an area that has them. They're like giant underwater dogs that follow you around and want you to play with them. Very cool.

I havent done scuba in a few years, but I really want to get back into it at some point.

[puckstr]

What are you likes/dislikes about the activities? Especially snorkeling.

Thanks!


The only dislike is when it ends.
Dawn and I are heading to Cozumel at the end of the month for R&R.
Much Sun, Booze, and snorkeling:)

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Tried scube once, had a bad experience. My friend up in Kanada who'd been diving all his life from a family of divers who own 3 stores up there showed up at a party at the cottage with all the gear. About 3-ish in the morning, both of us hammered, he explains everything to me, including all the "don't do this or you could die" things. Well, around 7-ish we get up to go, and the water's murkey, I felt totally claustrophobic, and it just wasn't happening. I want to try it again with real lessons, and not recovering from a major drinking binge.

The Snuba sounds like a lot of fun to start with, great idea.

Thanks for all the info, and keep it coming!

[BeoBe]

i have not 1 dislike about scuba.. i love it to death and wanna get into dive rescue or the eco dive around here.. If nobody knows about the eco dive its where they pay divers to go to the bottom of the lakes and what not and fish out whatever is on the bottom ie: motors, chairs and anything and everything else you can possibly imagine..

Fun stuff!

not so hop into snorkling but it can have its fun.. would just rather dive

and yea i dont think id wanna dive hungover.. depending on your depth that could be a very bad thing!

[Dietrich_R1]

Would there be a way to create a Snuba/Hooka like system for snorkelers...

Imagine a inner tube floating with a flexi pipe attached. The hose would sink down to the bottom of let's say 20'. It could be adjustable to. From there the snorklers could swim up to it, grab some air & swim around. The snorkeler would exhale old air & inhale fresh air from the pipe, much like a snorkel. From there the system is portable. It doesn't have to be much, just something to keep them at depth.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Would there be a way to create a Snuba/Hooka like system for snorkelers...

Imagine a inner tube floating with a flexi pipe attached. The hose would sink down to the bottom of let's say 20'. It could be adjustable to. From there the snorklers could swim up to it, grab some air & swim around. The snorkeler would exhale old air & inhale fresh air from the pipe, much like a snorkel. From there the system is portable. It doesn't have to be much, just something to keep them at depth.

If you're going to do that, just do the hookah or SNUBA thing, that way you have a constant supply of pressurized (neccessary at that depth) air. Plus, it'd be a constant pain getting the mouthpiece in every breath.:)

[Jason ON]

I grew up snorkeling (grew up on east coast of Florida) and have SCUBA dived as well, although that's few and far in between. I love the water, so I have nothing bad to say about either, but if you're in water more than 20 feet deep, then SCUBA is your deal. Gods, I wish I lived somewhere I could SCUBA regularly.