Quote:
Originally posted by DeltaBetaBaby
Okay, I am going to be preachy for a moment:
A basic PADI certification is called an OPEN WATER card for a reason. You are never supposed to dive where there is anything between you and the surface except water, unless you have additional training. I know this is mentioned again and again in training materials. Of course something like this is a tragedy, but please don't be discouraged or discourage others from diving based on this incident. The facts show that there is a very low fatality rate for open water divers, providd they remain within the limits of their certifications.
As for equipment, keep in mind how much you are actually going to want to transport from location to location. I keep my own skin gear and regulator (stage 2) and rent the rest. A lot of these resort places are staffed by guys making $7/day, who will give you everything for a very low rental fee as long as you give them a decent tip. If you get a BSD with an integrated weight system, you are now lugging weights from place to place. If you plan to rent a weight belt there, you leave the possibility of incompatibility. Yes, you are trusting your life to this gear, but you can be fairly confident in a dive shop operating under NAUI, PADI, or SSI certification.
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I agree with your statement on cave diving. I am Open Water certified and I even try to stay away from overhead environments - although I have dove one or two.
With owning your own equipment I agree and disagree. If you are not all that comfortable with diving there may be a comfort factor in knowing you are diving with the same equipment at all times and that you know how it works. Even the BCDs can work diffferently based on style, etc... My BCD is weight integrated and I had always carried my own weights with me until we went to the Caymans this summer. I decided the weights were too much so I left them at home and just put the dive shops "hard" weights in my integrated pockets (I don't need much weight - maybe 10 lbs.). It worked great.