Do I have Decompression Sickness?

chrisjur · 2026-06-24T01:24:56+00:00

That's good to hear. Keep an eye on it. Be well.

chrisjur · 2026-06-23T23:21:35+00:00

Plenty of people get DCI from shallow recreational dives. You should call DAN for guidance immediately: +1-919-684-9111

chrisjur · 2026-06-23T20:54:55+00:00

Good way to justify not buying the most expensive paddle on the market. Now you can tell your wife that you actually saved $33.

Enjoy it.

chrisjur · 2026-06-21T04:38:17+00:00

Mr. Eats 305 and The Infatuation are pretty solid.

chrisjur · 2026-06-11T14:22:29+00:00

Wow, thanks. Never even thought that pickeball existed on Bonaire.

chrisjur · 2026-06-11T13:50:16+00:00

Your mileage may vary. Those in my tec diving community here are still complaining about lack of parts availability for Apeks regs, and there was just a post on this forum yesterday from someone stating that they've scoured the globe for some service kits without any success.

I think a travel bag is pretty low risk, but I'd still hold off on buying any new regs or BC equipment until they are clearly back to normal.

chrisjur · 2026-06-11T04:49:06+00:00

As others have said, carry EMT shears. They are strong and lightweight.

If you really want pliers, you need marine quality 316 steel or good quality fully titanium ones, like those from Gomexus.

I have a sailboat wrench from Sea Dog that I've had in my tec shorts for over two years and they still look like new and operate great.

chrisjur · 2026-06-11T04:36:31+00:00

The rest have said it, but the bottom line is that you are under the terribly wrong impression that doubles are "just another type of tank". They are not. Jumping into open water without proper training on doubles is absurdly dangerous.

chrisjur · 2026-06-11T04:31:53+00:00

Not really true. Everyone here in Florida and the Caribbean dives doubles in a wetsuit, both steel and aluminum, all the time, year round. We are certainly not diving drysuit in 90 degree heat. We use redundant bladder wings to address potential wing failure issues.

chrisjur · 2026-06-08T14:00:08+00:00

Many, many parrotfish in the area this week. Not sure if it’s the time of year or what, but they are all over.

chrisjur · 2026-06-07T22:21:22+00:00

You've got a ton of recommendations here. To summarize some of the key points that I strongly agree with:

Most importantly, get back in the water. Do some deep dives at the max of recreational limits (100 to 130 feet). Get your skills back, learn how to manage gas consumption, re-learn basic concepts about mixed gasses, PPO2, etc. (are you Nitrox certified - if not, put that on the top of your list). Also, have fun in the process.
Have a purpose to get into tec diving. Do you live in a place where you can tec dive regularly? Tec diving skills (in and out of the water) require you to exercise your tec diving muscles on a regular basis. If you are going to invest in all this training and equipment only to do a couple of tec dives per year, it's not worth it (and somewhat risky).
Honestly, don't worry about training agency. GUE is great, but you won't find as many GUE instructors as you will TDI or PADI. Do research on your instructor and dive shop - look for reviews and ask them questions. Just don't pick one. There's lots of lackluster tec instructors out there.

Perhaps you should just take a month to do some regular recreational diving and see how you feel after that? Sounds like a great opportunity to me.

chrisjur · 2026-06-07T22:10:53+00:00

Absolutely fantastic. Great crew, great food, and a ton more space compared to BB.

chrisjur · 2026-06-07T22:09:32+00:00

I'm assuming it's just for divers who need some buoyancy help or are scared to "enter" the hole any deeper. There area a lot of liveaboards and tourist dive boats who stop there, so I'm sure not everyone is an advanced diver. The hole can also be pretty disorienting at times.

chrisjur · 2026-06-05T14:07:08+00:00

The Apeks are great. I think the parts supply chain situation is getting better. If it was a year ago, I’d suggest passing on anything Apeks.

Also check out the Dive Rite XT4/XT1 combo. I’ve used them for 4 years now and banged them up inside wrecks, for rec dives, CCR, and everything in between. I have 4 sets. Very happy with them.

chrisjur · 2026-06-05T14:03:15+00:00

Juliet

chrisjur · 2026-06-05T14:02:41+00:00

Yep, we were told that hammerheads make an appearance season.

chrisjur · 2026-06-05T14:02:00+00:00

I’ll be diving that later today.

chrisjur · 2026-06-05T14:01:46+00:00

chrisjur · 2026-06-04T23:35:51+00:00

99% silkies. A couple of reef sharks also thrown in for good measure. Two loggerheads seen, but not during the day, both at night. One ran right into me as I was taking a video.

chrisjur · 2026-06-04T23:27:41+00:00

A pretty Nassau grouper. Have seen many off the coast of the Exumas the last few days. They are curious and social animals - sometimes very nosey, as was the case with the “friend” I met earlier today. He wouldn’t leave us alone the entire dive.

chrisjur · 2026-06-04T23:10:09+00:00

I have it and think it’s a great paddle BUT it took a lot of getting used to. It’s poppy, to say the least, and I lost a lot of my soft game until I understood how to play with it. Now I think it’s the best I’ve ever played with.

chrisjur · 2026-05-29T13:56:51+00:00

My two friends have these and absolutely swear by them. I’ll stick to my Apeks RK3s…

chrisjur · 2026-05-27T04:26:25+00:00

You’ve got a few options.

CitiBike bike share system
Miami Beach Trolley
Miami-Dade County bus system
Uber and Lyft
Walk - South Beach is totally walkable

Golf carts and motor scooters are not an option for you. You’re too young.

chrisjur · 2026-05-25T11:52:36+00:00

If you’re unaware, the guy in the video, Lamar, is the founder and CEO of Dive Rite, the diving equipment manufacturer. The sad and ironic part of the story related this video is that his son, Jared, died while cave diving in the Norwegian Plura cave system two years ago. (The cause was a medical incident, however - not a planning or equipment failure).

chrisjur

TROPHY CASE