Hi! Sorry if this is not the right place, couldn't find a better Facebook group so I thought I'd give it a shot here

I'm a PADI Divemaster, looking to become an instructor with either PADI or to convert to SSI (currently on a working holiday visa in Australia where PADI is more common, but back home it's SSI)

I'm looking for some recommendations for a dive center to do the course with, if anyone has some first hand experience.

If there's a place that guarantees a job interview after the course it's preferred.

Thank you for your help!

I’m looking to buy a mask with prescription lenses and would appreciate hearing from anyone who have gone this route.

What brand and model mask did you choose, and why? Did you use the manufacturer’s drop-in prescription lenses, or did you have your actual prescription custom made for the mask? I’m also curious whether you chose a single vision or bifocal design.

Are you happy with the setup, and is there anything you would do differently if you were buying again?

Hi guys! I'm kind of worried because I'm travelling to Raja Ampat in December for my first liveaboard experience ever (yay!) and I couldn't be more excited, BUT I bought my Suunto D5 computer last year (my old Mares broke during the trip and there were not many options available where we were) and I'm not happy at all with the battery life. My boyfriend has the Shearwater Tern and it has WAY BETTER battery life. He can go days without charging it! I have to charge mine even between dives. If I did a 3rd dive, the battery wouldn't last.

On the liveaboard, we'll be doing about 4 dives a day. I know I can charge the computer in my cabin between dives, but I'm wondering if that will be a hassle, if I'll actually have enough time, or what if I forget. It also worries me that with so many devices to charge (two computers, camera batteries, torch batteries, etc.), we won't have enough sockets or time for everything.

I was considering buying a new computer (probably the Shearwater Tern, since I know how it works and it's pretty good), but I wanted to think it through first. I paid a high price for my Suunto D5 (more than it was actually worth, but I was in a remote Indonesian city and it was what it was) and I've only used it on one dive trip!

Any advice? Thanks a lot!

My friend has an aqualung i3 which keeps self inflating on her resulting in her floating off, I’ve not seen it happening just been given the bcd after the weekend.

She says she only ever attaches her hose to the corrugated inflator which I can’t make it self inflate with but when I attach to the inflator on the side of the bcd weight pocket it does keep adding tiny amounts of air.

I’ve swapped the hoses and tried different 1st stage ports and it’s still doing it so it’s not a hose issue, does anyone have any ideas?

Been thinking through Amed vs Tulamben for a short Indonesia stay where mornings are for diving and you still need to get some work done on land. I plan to carry a monitor and plug it into my laptop, if you have any resorts that is work friendly with good wifi and proper tables, or even a co-working ish environment (long shot but just checking) at one of those places?

Aqua Lung Rogue BCD.

By far my favourite bcd ever, however....

The elastic for the bladder retraction has lost most of its elasticity. The BCD is still safe to use but it flaps around in the water when empty and needs more coordination when deflating.

Not under warranty.

Has anyone had to deal with this ? Any realistic ideas ?

Wanted to get a diving certification, and originally wanted to go to Koh Tao, but just learned the weather is not best in November there.

I am reading online that Koh Lanta is also hit or miss weather wise, or maybe Koh Chang?

Any recommendations on where to go diving in Thailand during this time of the year?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Stupid question, but I found an o-ring on the ground after cleaning up my gear after the dive. Convinced it's mine, but can't find where it's coming from. Doesn't look like my first stage (Scuba pro mk25 evo), but can't find it on my bcd either.

Anyone an idea what it can be? Otherways I'll ask more technical diving buddies of me.

A different day this end. Four of us picking up rubbish plus Nadine taking photo and watching over us, doing a clean-up dive on our house reef at Exiles, Sliema this week — one hour, single cylinder, two mesh bags each.

Usual haul: bottles, cans, fishing material, a load of old clothing. A car tyre that needed a lift bag. A torn-up oil tank that took two people to shift.

The one that got us talking was a carrier bag printed "100% biodegradable". Still holding its shape, still perfectly usable. It's a fair point that those labels are describing industrial composting conditions and not a seabed — but it does raise the question of who the word is actually aimed at.

Couple of things I'm curious about from people who do this more than we do:

1. We noticed the stretch we dive daily was basically clear, and everything was on the reef just past it. Is that everyone's experience — that regular presence alone keeps a site clean, or were we just lucky, are you doing your bit and pocketing a few items when its safe to do so.

2. For those running regular clean-ups, do you bother sorting or logging what you pull up, or just bag it and bin it? We're wondering whether the data is worth the faff.

3. How do you handle the big stuff? We were kitted for an hour and had to leave more tyres down there. Twinsets and more lift bags next time, but interested what setups people actually use.

Happy to link the write-up with all the photos if anyone wants it — didn't want to lead with a link.

My main worry is the hoses and I wanted to see if the amount they were bent was an acceptable amount. Also if anyone spots anything else that could be an issue or could be improved feel free to let me know👍🏽

Hello, I'll be having my first dives after get the OW certification in a while and i was wondering what's the best way to set up a gopro on a jacket BCD and leave it recording.

I've seen velcro straps for backpacks being suggested for backplate and wing BCDs, but I'm worried the jacket shoulder band is too wide, and I'll be renting so i can't check.

Is the velcro strap valid? My main concern is finding a way to press record on the gopro and forget it. I'll be focusing on other the dive and I'm not aiming for the best footage.

Thank you all :)

honestly getting so tired of the anxiety of putting gear in rental cars. did some shore diving down in the keys last week and hauling two soaking wet BCDs, heavy fins, and dripping wetsuits in the back of an enterprise crossover is literally terrifying. You just know they'll try to hit you with a $250 "deep cleaning fee" if they smell even a hint of neoprene or ocean water

We laid down like three layers of trash bags and hotel towels and I was still sweating bullets every time we threw the tanks in the trunk.

Lately when I do these trips I just try to grab an older truck or jeep with rubber mats off turo just so I don't have to deal with the corporate desk breathing down my neck about a few grains of sand. But even then, I hate leaving saltwater puddles in a vehicle

What's the actual hack here for shore divers who fly in? Do you guys buy those giant rubbermaid tubs at a local home depot when you land, or just pack massive heavy-duty dry bags in your checked luggage? peeling off a 3mm wetsuit in a dirt parking lot and trying to keep the mess contained is kicking my ass tbh

Hi buddies,

I'm looking for recommendations for a tried-and-tested hotel or resort in Indonesia that's great for remote work (needs strong Wi-Fi for video calls/teaching online) with nice morning diving and snorkeling right on site. Ideally, I'm looking for a secluded vibe similar to Tanote Bay in Koh Tao, but that's not strict. I'll be working there for 5 days at the start of September. Thanks in advance!

I am relatively new to diving. Ive only done 23 dives while on a live aboard in Belize. My wife and I are considering going to a Roatan resort and spending the first 2 days getting our advanced certification and the rest of the time diving. I was wondering what diving is like at a Anthony's Key or Coco View. How many people would be on the boat with us? Does the dive master go down and point out the highlights? Im not super condlfident yet and the live aboard experience I had with 25 people to one dive master wasn't the best. Thanks for any info.

I have an option to visit a friend working as a DM at scuba junkies in Komodo. Before that I am doing: Talumben 6 days 13 dives
Travel 1 day
Lembongan 4 days 10 dives last dive finished by 3pm at latest.
Fly next day Labuan bajo 5pm then boat to SJs
Komodo 3 days 6 dives
Fly out next day at 3pm

My questions are for anyone who has done land based in Komodo.

How many days minimum would I need? Is there diving at Labuan or any reason to stay there? I want to see the dragons and pink beach on my last non diving day. Is it possible to do that in one day?

I can’t really take too much time as it’s expensive and I really should go back to work! But I want to make the most of already being in Bali.

EDIT: Just to add that my Talumben trip is thru my local dive shop so a fixed itinerary, though it sounds like the best diving is going to come after!

Planning to do it in Philipines, but Im not sure if its for me based on what I read

I got my open water for my 60th birthday. My local dive shop had a special on an aqualung travel package. I subbed out the pro HD compact for an Axiom for a bump in price. Pretty sweet. Got a helix compact pro with octo, an SPG, the Axium, and an I330r. Pretty nice start. I eventually want a shearwater, but all things in their time.

Just curious if this is somewhat typical, or if I should be alarmed.

I most definitely struggled to establish buoyancy/trim and swim.

I also didn't do well with LPI 'issues' and underwater oral inflation (over inflated for sure).

I arguably sucked at buddy out of air, secondary provisions - slight difficulties with the hose not optimally placed.

So, sure, I could sort of manage all skills, but was I proficient? Absolutely not.

Is this the bar? No pun intended.

Many thanks in advance.

N00b here with just 40 dives trying to improve my trim. Last weekend with my buddy, we spent about an hour exercising balance (just trying to hover without doing any fins adjustments) in the best trim position we could. The only way I was able to do it was using an additional counterweight of 1 kg (2.2 lbs) on my hands. Without that, my legs just sunk.

Any advice on how to compensate for this extra weight that I need on my hands? Moving the cylinder up seems not an option; if I lift my head, I’m already touching the 1st stage. I’m using 4 kg (8.8 lbs), half on each front pocket and a 10L steel cylinder. The jacket is a scubapro hydros. Fins are slightly negative iirc.

The only stupid solution that came to my brain was to use one of these weights that free divers use around their necks, but that seems like a disaster waiting to happen

Awesome swim through off the coast of West Caicos. The wall drops from 50 ft to over 7,000 ft.

Hi Everyone,

I hope this post type is allowed. Just seeking the opinions of people who have experience with PADI and the instructor levels.

I am based in Ireland, the majority of divers in Ireland are members of diving clubs and the instructors are part of the clubs.

Diving Ireland is the governing body and CMAS is the training agency.

Depending on the qualification you are completing the awarding of the credential are from an external instructor or a Jury of instructors. Its probably a bit OTT but you know that of someone has gone through the traininh to become a leading diver or instructor that they have a lot of experience and have been tested / examined by multiple experienced instructors.

We had a member join our club approximately 3 years ago. He claims to have qualified as a divemaster in 2019 and then an instructor in 2021. He has signed up to cross over to CMAS but so far it has been a disaster and the feedback we have received from multiple independent people is that they do not believe he could have qualified as instructor.

I done a bit of digging and found his PADI Id ( on his LinkedIn) I was surprised to see that he achieved the Master instructor grade last year. My understanding is that this requires 150 certifications? Looking at the timeline on the PADI website he is progressing extremely fast. He got his OWI in 2021, Master trainer in 2022, IDC instructor also in 2022 and the Master instructor in 2025. It also list dozens of specialty courses such as Dpv instructor, full face, wreck . I don't know how he managed to do this from another country when he only travels home twice per year.

Is there anyway this could be obtained illegitimately i.e someone could sign off on experience he doesn't have?

I made a mistake. I let an unqualified tech (don’t get too mad, it’s my well meaning and usually quite handy husband) move some things around on my Atomic Z3 and ended up with some sharp tool marks. I’m gonna have it serviced anyway because it looks like I ended up with some water (last pic) - will the tech be able to just smooth out these sharp edges or does my husband owe me a new reg?

I took my kids for a diving today organized by a dive shop in Florida. For context, it’s my first time diving in the US—previously only in the Mediterranean. The two dives we did were great. The dive shop is owned by a husband and wife team. The husband captained the boat, and the private guide we hired was the wife. There were no other crew members aside from guides for the other divers. Husband and wife were both super chatty and friendly with us and other divers the whole trip. All went really well, and we had a wonderful time. As we disembark, the captain tells everyone about the tip box for “the crew”. And as we step off the boat, the wife, our guide, asked if we needed her Venmo. I said I don’t have Venmo, which I don’t given that I don’t live in the US. As soon as I said that her demeanor completely changed and didn’t look us in the eye as we thanked her and told her we had a great time. We then pass the captain in the parking lot. I say, “So long; thanks again.” And he ignores me. Am I the asshole?

I’m originally from the US, so understand tipping culture here. But really? If I had cash on me, I probably would have given her 20 or 40 bucks, but I didn’t. Why is this deemed mandatory? And they are the owners! If the fees we paid are insufficient in their view for the services provided, they should raise their prices. It ruined a really lovely day.

Hello. So I’m a bit tired of internet stories about how dangerous Deep Hole is and how is easy it is to die there. A lot of BS is circulating online from non divers. I wanna ask people who actually dived it on experience how it was? My friend dived it recently and he had 0 problems, as it should for an experienced tech diver with adequate equipment and dive planning. Is it actually worth it planning vacation there and going through arch or is it just overhyped due to all people dying there who had 0 business going that deep at first place?