Northwest Dive Club

Ok so here is my thought process. I can't really rent lights fins mask snorkel. I bought fins mask and snorkel. But I would like to buy a main light and a good general knife.

Look in to DUstyLights if your wanting a can light. They are locally made by Dusty and are a reasonable price for a good light.

Use a steak knife with the tip broken off as a knife, costs about a dollar. You don't need a big shark sticker lol

actually I have my fathers knife. I was more worried about my daughter having one on her.

Aqua Lung launched an entire women's line early 2013. There really is a HUGE difference between gear made to fit women and women trying to fit into men's gear. A great BC is the Lotus i3 is fantastic! As for dry suits, the BARE SB women's suit is great and Whites has two: Essence (back zip) and the Fusion Fit.

CaptnJack wrote:Use a steak knife with the tip broken off as a knife, costs about a dollar. You don't need a big shark sticker lol

Best dive knives I've found. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/96342700/

I can rip through 2" webbing with two cuts or so. And if (when) it gets lost, I have a few more in my save a dive kit.

Nwbrewer wrote:

CaptnJack wrote:Use a steak knife with the tip broken off as a knife, costs about a dollar. You don't need a big shark sticker lol

Best dive knives I've found. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/96342700/

I can rip through 2" webbing with two cuts or so. And if (when) it gets lost, I have a few more in my save a dive kit.

That's a smokin' deal! Less than a dollar each. Do you use a sheath? I've been packing Vickies for a while since I can get the sheath and zip tie it to my harness for a reasonable price(reasonable Alaska price). And they're sold at our local marine supply store. Another good thing about a thin blade steak knife is the blade will flex a bit, so you can cut around shafts, etc.

I like EezyCuts better than knives, but they aren't good for tightening screws, which is about half of what I've used my dive knife for. The other half has been cutting cave line and zipties on land after doing equipment repairs.

sitkadiver wrote: I've been packing Vickies for a while since I can get the sheath and zip tie it to my harness for a reasonable price(reasonable Alaska price). And they're sold at our local marine supply store. Another good thing about a thin blade steak knife is the blade will flex a bit, so you can cut around shafts, etc.

SeaMar by Fisherman's Terminal, well know for their glove selection, also has serrated stainless Victornox knives with blunt tips for less than $10.

1) you can always get a smaller mouthpiece for your regulator, you will also develop a tolerance over time and in a year or two you'll wonder why you were bothered by a particular mouthpiece. For the most part these days, regulators are regulators. I have my personal preference but it's more based on bias and voodoo than anything else.

2) Getting a drysuit that fits and an undergarment that fits and is warm enough NO MATTER WHAT BRAND OR MATERIAL will be profound and enhance your diving significantly. Half-assing on this can make your diving miserable. boots that are too big OR too small suck.

3) I LOVE a small/short backplate for 'fit, comfort and stability' if i'm doing a long dive with dubs or the 'breather, but at end of day, a standard plate works fine for single tank standard length dives.

4) you can obsess about gear till the cows come home (goodness knows, I do my fair share) but the most important thing is to get water time and not hold back your diving because you are waiting for the 'perfect piece of gear'.

5) you will replace gear or at least add gear, there is no way around it. Posting here and taking the advice from the smart folks here can save you a couple rounds of replacements

6) a good light is nice, but don't assume that you need a canister light for it to be "good" or "accepted" (by whomever) there are handheld options these days that mount a little bitty self contained light on top of your hand which allows for full use of hand, and you don't have to add the added bulk/weight of a canister and worry about whether the long hose goes over or under. The idea of a can light comes into play when you are doing very long dives in a cave or multiple dives over multiple days and don't have option to recharge. My dive buddy Jan seems really happy with her SOLA1200 with the back of hand mount, and i've never had any difficulty seeing where she is UW, or seen her having any issues with it. (and truth be told, I've used a SOLA on a tech dive and did not spontaneously combust or get struck by lightning when I emerged from the deep, in fact no one noticed except my buddy who i'd loaned my primary canister light to so that he could do the dive..)

7) Suit heaters rock. They are added 'stuff' but once you've reached a point where you need it, they are brilliant awesomeness.

Thanks for the reply ladies, and the men have been very helpful as well. Laura, I am wonder what you like for dry suits. I know you probably have tried a few. I was looking at Whites, because they are handing out rental suits by the truck loads. But, really I will trying a few before I get one. I would like your input for fit, if you don't mind, and warmth for that matter.

A lot depends on your shape and size, and your budget. Dry suits are much more pleasant to dive if they fit well, and they can actually impair your ability to respond to problems if they don't. If you are a stock size, you have a lot of choices. If you aren't, you either need a very large budget or a suit that can accomodate a variety of bodies.

The Whites Fusion series is the latter -- each suit size can adapt to a lot of different heights and weights. And even if the suit is just plain too big, the compressive skin will keep it from air-trapping and ballooning. The Fusions are also very difficult to damage and easy to repair if you manage it. The downside of the suit is that it is somewhat more difficult to get in and out of than other suits.

If price is no object, then you're almost certainly looking at a Santi or a DUI. DUI used to have a stranglehold on the high-end, custom suit market, but Santi is giving them a run for their money. I have a custom Santi suit (as well as two Fusions) and I love it -- my husband has one, too. They have a lot of really nice features, but they are not cheap, running about twice the price of the Fusion if bought at retail.

RenaB wrote:Thanks for the reply ladies, and the men have been very helpful as well. Laura, I am wonder what you like for dry suits. I know you probably have tried a few. I was looking at Whites, because they are handing out rental suits by the truck loads. But, really I will trying a few before I get one. I would like your input for fit, if you don't mind, and warmth for that matter.

Rena, I'm DUI all the way. I have a CF200 and a CLX450. I got both of mine second hand, one from the DUI Outlet and one from someone locally that only had a handful of dives on it. Neither suit has any leaks, the CF200 was acquired in 2008 and i literally beat the crap out of the CLX450 and can't seem to destroy it much to my chagrin, as I'd really like a FLXextreme with pink camo accents, but can't justify a new suit until one of the others dies. Historically I've dove a Harvey's neoprene, a Viking pro, a Typhoon pro and a Hightide. I still choose DUI.

The CF200 is warm, bombproof, but heavy for travel and takes forever to dry, it can also show significant wear in areas that get abraded (armpit, crotch, where your harness rubs)so you need to keep an eye on those areas from time to time (prevention of a leak is key) but that said, I still have not managed to make it leak. I love my CF200.

The CLX450 is bombproof, not as warm as the CF200 reasonably light weight, insanely abrasion resistant, but you need to dive in it a few times a week, as it gets stiff if you let it dry out too long I have a love/hate relationship with the CLX450... I love its dry-ness, its durability, its lighter weight-ness, but i don't like how stiff the cordura gets when it drys out. On the bright side, the stiff cordura protects it from the afore mention wear-issues seen in the CF200.

Things to keep in mind with drysuits. Parts of them need to be considered "consumable" such as seals, zippers and boots depending on what make/model you get. Also Drysuit undergarments should be replaced periodically. Few things are as awesome as going for a dive in brand new fluffy undergarments after waiting too long to replace your old ones.

there is a great opportunity coming up to try out the whole line of DUI drysuits on April 12-13th at Les Davis park in Tacoma

http://www.dui-online.com/demo-tour/wha ... our-event/

this is what it's like getting a new (re-homed) CF200...

Well that's a very nice looking suit, and your happy dance is pretty good, too.

Nwbrewer wrote:

CaptnJack wrote:Use a steak knife with the tip broken off as a knife, costs about a dollar. You don't need a big shark sticker lol

Best dive knives I've found. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/96342700/

I can rip through 2" webbing with two cuts or so. And if (when) it gets lost, I have a few more in my save a dive kit.

I have found similar deals at Goodwill, and its a lot closer too.

Yes, and then how do you sheath these?

RenaB wrote:Yes, and then how do you sheath these?

Very carefully?

grind off the tip and it looks suspiciously like the knives that Halcyon and other mfg.'s have been known to sell, complete with a nifty little webbing sheath that slips on your waist belt.

People get a set of knives and then have spares because sooner or later they get lost or rust away... (or one for their buddy when same thing happens to them)

You can hunt around and find the webbing sheath sold separately, or find a local sewing shop/cobbler that will make you a couple (then you can hand them out as christmas gifts!) DIR knife, Hogarthian knife sheath (all good search terms) I've also heard rumor that mag light webbing sheath works as well.

RenaB wrote:Yes, and then how do you sheath these?

There's a variety available at SeaMar if you aren't handy with a sewing machine.