25 More Top Tips That Will Make You A Better Scuba Diver

So if you are a newly minted open water scuba diver looking for some hints and advice. Or you're just coming back into diving and need a bit of a scuba refresher, this is the video for you.
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25 More Top Tips That Will Make You A Better Scuba Diver
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***** THANK YOU FOR WATCHING *****

0:00 Introduction
0:50 VISUALISE THE DIVE
1:57 THINK: WHAT IF?
3:34 DON'T TOUCH
5:13 DON'T USE YOUR INFLATOR
6:48 SWIM BACKWARDS
8:34 PREPARE YOUR SPOOL
10:53 HOW OFTEN DO YOU SERVICE YOUR REGS?
11:48 READ A MAP
12:52 CHECK YOUR INSURANCE
14:31 LEARN YOUR SAC/RMV
16:48 PICK A GOOD DIVE CENTER
18:20 PREPARE YOUR MASK
19:52 BUY YOUR OWN COMPUTER
21:11 PRESSURIZE YOUR GEAR
22:51 LOOK FOR THE LITTLE THINGS
24:35 LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BOAT
25:50 PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS
27:24 SWIM AWAY FROM THE REEF
28:36 DON'T HOLD ON TO THE LADDER
29:40 EAT WELL
30:44 DO SKILLS OFF THE BOTTOM
31:58 THERE'S NO ONE RIGHT WAY
33:26 KEEP YOUR MASK ON
34:17 BE HONEST

[pillar]

I know this video is 3 years old however I am a brand new scuba diver about to complete my final Open water all of your videos have been extremely helpful in everything that I have done from class work to scuba excursions in different countries I really enjoy your videos

[deebersdiver]

All good points - my favorite is the honesty part. If a diver slides on the truth just once, the other divers will eventually find out and view that diver through lens of suspicion. My one piece of advice to new divers is to keep that regulator your face no matter what! I was with a dive group a year ago when one diver had a problem, panicked and spit the mouthpiece out. Fortunately someone was near the diver, provide rescue efforts and get to the surface. I tell new divers, (only two years of diving myself but 66 years of life in my back pocket), that I don’t care if a manatee is trying to give you wet sloppy kisses or if you suffer a panic attack deep down in the water column, “You bite down on that mouthpiece and keep it in your face! Someone will come help.”

[leopoldbloom]

#26: Pick up any plastic you come across under water.

[davidanderson]

One extra tip: Test out your octo second stage occasionally. I like to do it at a safety stop...make sure it works, breathes okay, comes loose from its holder etc. Too many people never test out their safety gear...

[ivoryjohnson]

The mental part is to me really important. Usually all the folks on the boat have been to that place a bunch of times and can just plop in. I have driven 14 hours then had to get up super early to go to a spot I have never been before. I know some folks will say "suck it up" but I am still getting to that point. Standing over the stern of a boat with 80 pounds of gear on your back and over 100 ft. of water always gets the pulse going.

[leefalk]

I really liked several of the topics. I know I won’t be grabbing the boat ladder wrong anymore. Lol

[m_mitch]

Started diving in 1977, been an instructor, dive master, and support for frightened first-time divers. So may I politely suggest using the term air instead of gas when addressing points for beginners.

[drakelearning]

Having practiced as an emergency response person it warms my heart that you encouraged people to be aware of their hearts. Thanks so much. 👌💗

[OnlyKaerius]

Insurance-wise, I just recommend straight up DAN dive insurance. They're the absolute best to deal with in case of an accident. Calling DAN will generally give you all the most relevant information for your area.

[maxtorque]

One of my top tips is actually to do with what you do when you are not actually in the water, and that is "organise your storage / carry bags". No matter if you are diving from a boat, or from the shore (potentially out of a car boot!) then having just the right kit, when you need it, without loosing it (especially amongst other divers gear) really makes the difference between a enjoyable, stress free dive and one that could be more stressful. I tend to compartmentalise things into strong waterproof zip lock bags, and then store all those subbags into one or two waterproof day bags. In this way, you know where everything is, and stuff you leave behind (esp on a boat) will not get lost (fall into the bilges....) or wet, or damaged. I typically use a caribiner or spare bolt snap to actually clip my waterproof bag to some part of the boat, like a hand rail, or rope or something (make sure the operators aren't going to need the thing you clip too, so don't clip to a lifeboat/lifering or anchor line etc!!!). When you hall youself out of the water, dripping wet (and probably a bit cold if in the UK), you can access everything you need, from where you left it, straight away! The smaller the boat and the larger the number of other divers diving with you, the more important this

[guybeasley]

I'm always learning new ways to dive better and safer. I never thought about looking over things to identify the dive boat. I've never had a problem over my dive career, but I'll add that to my check list now. Good suggestion.

[brianferris]

Great information.
Myself and most divers I know are nomadic. Just live out of a backpack. I don't have room even for a dive computer..
It would be great to talk about gear with just renting. The overwhelming dives I have been on, has been with everyone having rented gear.
I'm going on a liveaboard soon to Egypt so my perspective may change

[annemeyer]

Amazing video with lots of useful tips for every new diver! I believe everyone can learn something new from everyone on every dive!

[ivoryjohnson]

Thanks for having longer content and covering the points thoroughly

[maxtorque]

Another top tip, if going on a dive trip with friends / buddies, is to try to split up your "spares" between people. In a group of say 4 divers doing a week on a liveaboard, you don't each need a spare regulator, but one spare between four of you, might just save one persons dive! Lots of divers have older kit that gets relegated to their spares box, and this kit, could certainly come in usefull. Whilst not perhaps being a shiny and up-to-date as your regular £600 second stage, that old one, the one that saw 5 years of trouble free service before you got reg envy and replaced it with the "latest thing", that old reg makes a perfect spare!

[Litehamer]

I’ve just watched three different channels and seen you on all of them . If you can get on to divers ready, you will complete all four of my diving subscriptions!

[lmlmd]

Thinking about SAC rates, one thing I've found recently, since using Subsurface software is that having an air integrated computer gives you a ton of info about your consumption that is really useful in improving your gas management skills, and really is a window into how I dive that I hadn't seen before. I was kind of heartened to see that my SAC rate isn't that bad, and also has improved quite a bit since I first returned to diving. Nice :)

[markwallace]

Awesome! I can really appreciate the longer content, seems like there's a huge push these days to keep videos short. 🤔

[Chad.The.Flornadian]

Excellent list. I only have a few dives under my <weight> belt so this was very educational for me.

[pbristow]

"You cannot literally bring two of everything" -> sidemount divers all just smirked, I think?? :)