Recommend me a dive school

[kelstorm]

serious? hmm. okay. I'll consider then. thanks (=

Generally, SG has the cheapest dive gears in SEA. But u might be able to get a good deal in Aus during the summer or winter sale... but take note, their wetsuit might be 5mm... which is too hot to wear in our local waters, including M'sia.

[nleong]

our spit!!! not phlegm...

Hahaha, remenber the 3 of us doing the "who can spit more" during of our dive in Dayang a month back ?

[kelstorm]

From the sounds of it, u miss my spit... think i give u more next time.. hahaha.. accompanied with phlegm, with compliments from me. hehehe..

[Waltha]

From the sounds of it, u miss my spit... think i give u more next time.. hahaha.. accompanied with phlegm, with compliments from me. hehehe..

sounds like you guys had a lot of fun (minus all the spitting).

guess i have to go to the dive school and ask a bunch of questions first. more critically, need to get my kakis to go with me!

[kelstorm]

sure thing.. when u get your certs, can chio us go diving.. i'm sure ppl like hammerhd and me dun mind sharing some of our spit with u.. hahaha...

[nleong]

and mine too

[kelstorm]

and mine too

dun be disgusting.. hahaha.

just a word of caution, before u decide to use your spit as anti-fog, it is good that u use Listerine Pocketpaks.

That way, u are sure that your spit had been sterilized and free from germs and also, u have a nicer smell too..

[hammerhd]

nah i use shampoo. better and no icky smell..

[kelstorm]

nah i use shampoo. better and no icky smell..

ok lor.. i upgraded to minty toothpaste..

[hammerhd]

eyes burnt lah.

Use johnson shampoo better

[wolfie]

hi there...

I'm also in the midst of plannin' my OW course... Takin' the tip to get our own masks & fins, any suggestion on the model for a beginner (eg: open heel or norm fins?) and place to get reasonably priced equipment?

[hammerhd]

i suggest the Mares Xvisionfor mask,snorkel no need lah

Fins suggest u get mares quattro for beginners or jet fins but 1 ting is u have to get used to jet fins very heavy

[wolfie]

ok... i noe wat's Mares Xvision but i've nv heard of mares quattro (can't find it on the mares website) or jet fins... care to tell me more? oso... what's a good place to get equipment? thanks

[hammerhd]

it is a pair of fins

check here

jetfins r from scubapro

[kelstorm]

hi there...

I'm also in the midst of plannin' my OW course... Takin' the tip to get our own masks & fins, any suggestion on the model for a beginner (eg: open heel or norm fins?) and place to get reasonably priced equipment?

IMO, the model and make of the mask varies from individual to individual. For me, i prefer to have single-pane mask, while others might prefer double-pane mask like the X-vision from Mares. Some double-pane masks can enable u to change to prescription lens, which is useful if u are wearing glasses. Alternatively, u can wear contacts and select the mask based on design and color to suit your wetsuit etc.

I'm using Tusa M14.. big field of vision.

For snorkel, it is good to have coz in the event where u are out of air and the snorkel can keep u breathing. Also, u can go snorkelling. U dun have to get a very expensive one. If u are daring, a rubber hose will suffice.

For fins, i recommend getting open heel type, where u need to wear booties. Firstly, u might end up diving in a place where u might have to do beach entry or walk to the speed boat like in Redang and Perhentien, while lugging all your gear. So, u dun know what u might be stepping on. But at the end of the day, it is your own preference.

For fins, u can try out first during your OWC. usually it will be paddle fins. From there, u can decide whether u wan to get split fins or paddle fins. But it is good to perfect that finning technique then decide which fins suit u best.

U can try going to Lucky Plaza, there are abt 3 dive shops in Basement 1 i think and concourse in beach road as well.. there are also 3 dive shops.

[hammerhd]

Snorkel can buy if u want

But for me i dont like snorkelling much as snorkelling ###### up ur off gassing.

at beach rd there can go sports centre which is behind the POSB ATM

[kelstorm]

But for me i dont like snorkelling much as snorkelling ###### up ur off gassing.

are u for real? I never knew that.. gosh, u learn something new everyday. Are u sure abt this, Joe?

[clammy]

I think what hammerhead mean is free-diving or skin-diving.

As a lot of us actually dive underwater while snorkelling, our dive profile will be affected. Especially when we dive deeper than say 3 meters which is fairly common when we want to investigate some nice corals or reefs.

Its recommended that we stay on the surface while snorkelling between dives, or at least get adequate interval time after snorkelling.

Any experts can help regarding this issue?

[kelstorm]

I think what hammerhead mean is free-diving or skin-diving.

As a lot of us actually dive underwater while snorkelling, our dive profile will be affected. Especially when we dive deeper than say 3 meters which is fairly common when we want to investigate some nice corals or reefs.

Its recommended that we stay on the surface while snorkelling between dives, or at least get adequate interval time after snorkelling.

Any experts can help regarding this issue?

that i really dun know... but i really doubt so, coz we are not taking in compressed air while snorkelling. However, that is just my opinion.. i might be wrong though.. maybe post in finsonline might get some answers. who is gonna post this? Joe, are u gonna post this or i do it?

[hammerhd]

i see u post liao so

I add my 2 cents..

During snorkelling 1 tend to dive down.

When off gassing bubbles are expel from the lung but when u go into depth like the bubbles r forced back into the lungs thus delaying the off gassing.

[hammerhd]

a reply from Fins

Freediving after scuba diving is highly discouraged. Reason being that after the dive, ur still offgassing, with the bubbles passing through the veinous side of your body and being filtered out by your lungs.

When you freedive, your body will be put under pressure again and what can happen is that the bubbles in the veinous side get compressed small enough to actually pass through the lungs and appear on the arterial side of your body. They will expand as you ascend and can get lodge in your joints or maybe even your brain, leading to DCS.

[kelstorm]

a reply from Fins

Freediving after scuba diving is highly discouraged. Reason being that after the dive, ur still offgassing, with the bubbles passing through the veinous side of your body and being filtered out by your lungs.

When you freedive, your body will be put under pressure again and what can happen is that the bubbles in the veinous side get compressed small enough to actually pass through the lungs and appear on the arterial side of your body. They will expand as you ascend and can get lodge in your joints or maybe even your brain, leading to DCS.

so desu neh... we learn something new everyday dont we.. so, i gather that we can still snorkel after dive, just that dun decend lor.. just stay on the surface will do... surely that should be alright, right ???

[hammerhd]

can also. but snorkelling usually exert urself cos the fins etc. so i lazy to snorkel lah. especially on LOB

[sohpg]

Hi, just posting my humble opinion here:

I've just got my OWD certification roughly about 1 1/2 months ago, and I think $$$ for the course is secondary to the standard the instructors are setting for their students. Safety come first and I think it is paramount for the instructors to remind the students that their safety are in their own hands and students are better be clear of the DOs and DON'Ts of diving. One of my friend ask me the question that if he would to sign up a course, would the dive shop guarantee his safety? I brushed the question off by laughing at him cos he is ready to put his own life if other's hand with a price!

Honestly, for people who are looking for Dive Operators offering OW courses, I think it is best for them to do some research first before deciding that $$$ is more important than what they are going to learn during their course. I would suggest the 'wannabe divers' to consider the risks involved in diving so that they are more prepared to the challenges, and also they would be able to ask the right questions when time comes. Diving is supposed to be fun, but if it is being taken for granted, there would be very much higher possibility for accidents to take place.

For equipments, I didn't buy any for my OWD, but got myself a X-vision, snorkel, tank banger and sausage before my 1st leisure dive trip. For the same reason, safety first, that's why I got the banger and sausage. My next target would be Dive Comp, then fins. The rest would depend on my financial ability in future .

Thank you for your time and...

Let's Go Diving!

Cheers! - PG

[hammerhd]

well said. But i can say usually ppl looked at the $$ b4 anything else.

BTW i heard that there is going to be a fairprice thingy to prevent undercutting from each DS

SO PPL if u want to take ur OW now take it fast or else the price is going up(And i really mean UP)

Im suprised u bought a sausage as a basic gear as ppl usually get their fins 1st rather than a SMB.

So i like to ask how u launch it?? using a spool or reel or just using the line given???