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I'm currently the proud owner of an Apeks XTX200 regulator set (FSR 1st stage, XTX200 2nd, XTX40 octopus). It's generally a good piece of kit, but I'm not very happy with it for two reasons: 1. At my regular breathing rate, both membranes make an annoying fart sound. I've never experienced this on my other, much cheaper regulators (Aqualung Calypso, Cressi AC2). Cleaning, servicing, changing the membranes doesn't help. 2. It's too overcompensated for my taste - above the 5m (\~15ft) line I have to work for the air, below 18m (60ft) it actively tries to blow me up. I can adjust it depending on the depth but it's inconvenient. According to my LDS there's nothing that can be done about this. With breathing being something that I rather enjoy doing, I'm willing to spend a bit more on high-end gear. So far I've only heard great things about Poseidon, and the Xstream Deep Mk3 looks fantastic on paper. The thing is that the next Poseidon dealer is a three-hour drive away, so testing it before I spend the better part of 1 1/2 grand is not possible. Does anybody happen to have had a chance to compare the two, or other experience with Poseidon gear?
Anyone have a recommendation of n a good dive shop in Cancun? Looking to do a cenote dive in early January and had looked into Chad Mool cenote but wondered if anyone has had an excellent experience somewhere else?
greatdivers.com
This article introduced me to a bunch of wildlife hand signals that I hadn't yet learned.
I’m looking forward to: * A week-long liveaboard somewhere warm * Diving the sardine run at Moalboal, Philippines * Australia’s Gold Coast
Pretty new diver here, about 40 dives, and looking for advice. Just finished up a week of dives in Grenada, and made a point of paying attention to air consumption. Based on Internet advice, I focused on breathing deeply and exhaling completely, counting 4 seconds in, 6 seconds out. Doing this, my computer reported average SAC has dropped from about 0.8 to 0.5, and I'm not the one calling dives for gas anymore. This seems like a great improvement. However, my buoyancy goes to shit when I'm doing this. Breathing more "normally", I can maintain a neutral depth with good trim. But with this more efficient breath control, I go up and down several feet with every breath. This actually makes it pretty easy to control when I ascend and descend, but obviously isn't great for most of the dive. If I try to breathe normally-but-slow, I feel like I'm hyperventilating. So what's the trick here? How do you both breathe efficiently *and* control your buoyancy? I think I'm pretty well weighted, since I have no problem maintaining my safety stop with the shallower breaths.
www.youtube.com
Seeing any one of these things during a dive would be a highlight of my life. Being able to experience all of it at once puts this at the top of my scuba bucket list. Maybe one day...
www.downtoscuba.com
You don’t want to overheat in a thick wetsuit in tropical waters, and you also don’t want to freeze or risk hypothermia in a thin wetsuit in chilly temperatures.
 My current dive kit: - XDEEP Ghost Deluxe with both back cargo pockets (one for backup mask, other for SMB+line) - Apeks XTX50 with DIN DST and yoke converter for travel (at the moment, I’m diving with pretty standard length hoses, but may move to long hose in the future) I use a bungee necklace for my octo, so take a bit of a hybrid approach. - Shearwater Perdix with AI sensor - I have an old Oceanic watch dove computer as a backup - Cressi Digi 2 as an in-line backup to my dive computer as well. I’m not afraid to have my pressure be digital. If that ever breaks, then I may change my mind. It’s nice to have the digital depth as well in case my dive computer ever malfunctions. - Backup ScubaPro compass - Fins are not pictured, but currently using Folding Fins. I really like them except the way that the boot holder clips into the base feel like a bit of a point of failure. Have been exploring travel fins, but they all appear to be positively buoyant, which I’m not sure about. - My masks are both Hollis M-1. Highly recommended for comfort and visibility. - Sola Wrist Light - DiveRite CX2 as my backup light - I carry standard line scissors and a Zeagle Line Cutter - Camera is not pictured, but is a DJI Action 2 in a waterproof case with a handle. If I use the double case, it will last two hour-long dives. If I use the single case, it’s about 1.5 dives. It really varies though based upon resolution and whether I keep it on the whole time. - I have an XDeep bolt snap on my primary second stage reg and the one with the larger hoop on my Digi 2 pressure gauge. The octo uses the bungee bolt snap system in case I want to clip it off instead of using the necklace. I’m doing PADI Rescue Diver soon and they don’t teach using a necklace, so I’m forced to do it their way for that course, then will go back to necklace. - Wetsuit is 3 mil Henderson - ScubaPro booties, hood, and gloves - I found that a roll-up tool bag works nice for a save-a-dive kit. - Additionally, I alway pack some o-ring lube because I hate having a hissing connection with the yoke. Thoughts?