BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

Preparing For The Summer Scuba Season
2 April 2007

The last time I was in the Florida Keys for some diving was in December of 2004. I was told at that time that the week after Christmas - the last week of December - was the busiest dive week of the entire year for the Florida Keys. At my local dive shop here in Maryland, I've realized that the dive season runs from mid-April through mid-September, with a heavy emphasis on July and August. The water is warmer by then in the local lakes and quarries, and school is still out making traveling easier for many. The one thing that I'm always reminded of at my local dive shop is that you simply can't pull your equipment out of storage after four to six months and just expect it to work. Some inspections and checks have to be done so that you can trust this equipment with your life. After all, that's what you're doing.

Please bear in mind as you read through this article that I'm not an equipment specialist. I'm not going to tell you how to maintain a regulator or how to fix your wetsuit. I don't do that. I have neither the knowledge nor the experience. However, I CAN and will tell you some of the things you should be looking for that are wear indicators and should be sending up huge red flags about your gear before you use it.

Let's start with what has to be your most important piece of equipment: your regulator set. Attached to your tank, the regulator first stage and second stage(s) have to work properly. With today's contemporary designs it's next to impossible for them to fail in such a way that results in you getting no air at all, but if they fail and freeflow then your tank is literally bleeding air and you have limited time to end your dive and ascend safely to the surface. While I would certainly prefer the freeflow to no air at all, I'd really rather prefer that everything work properly to begin with. Regulator sets, as a rule, should be serviced annually. If your local dive shop isn't properly certified to do the work then they can ship it out to the right place for you, usually charging a nominal handling fee. Now, I have to admit that I've used my reg on dives early in the season, before it went for service. Before doing so I made sure to test it in a shallow pool - three to twelve feet progressively - to make sure it was delivering air properly.

Other things that are part of the reg set that need to be checked are the pressure gauge, without which you have no idea of your remaining air supply, and any secondary or "octopus" second stage regulators. Examine all of the hoses for wear or breakage and check what O-rings you can. Carefully examine all metal surfaces for any signs of corrosion. Two years ago when we stored our equipment, my wife forgot to take the batteries out of one of her dive lights. They corroded and the lamp assebly ended up broken off when we moved around the big rubbermaid containers we store the gear in. As a result, her regulator's second stage showed some small signs of corrosion. Always tripe check and address anything you find.

After your regulator set some people might put your bouyancy compenstor or wetsuit next. Certainly they are important items, but every diver knows the uncomfortable feeling of having his face completely exposed to the water while breathing off a regulator. It can be done - thousands do it - but we'd usually much prefer to have our nose covered with a decent mask. And since the whole point of recreational scuba diving is to visually explore the underwater world, a good mask makes it all worth while. No mask lasts forever though, and you need to look for signs of wear that can make your next dive an aggravation filled with constant clearing due to leaking or an improper fit.

If your mask was stored properly you probably don't have a lot to worry about, but take a careful look just the same. Make sure that none of the soft rubber / silicone skirt edge is showing any sign of dry rot. Yeah, it can, but it takes a really dry environment a period of time to cause it. Check the seal around the lenses to make sure you don't see any warping or breaking. Check the nose cup to make sure it's still supple. And don't forget to check that piece that most often fails: the strap. Replacement straps are available at every dive store and online. Get an extra one and drop it in your "save a dive" kit. That SAD kit is where you should have all your extra parts and pieces that may become necessary on any trip. Having one may make you the hero of your next trip when someone else needs an O-ring for their tank and you have it.

Next on the list is your bouyancy compensator or "BC". The BC performs several functions, the most important of which is helping you maintain neutral bouyancy throughout the dive. Properly maintained bouyancy not only saves you energy and prolongs your dive, but also helps protect the fragile underwater environment from your mistakes. Most contemporary BCs also have pockets for weight - so that you don't have to wear a weight belt - adding to what must function properly.

Check the fittings on the inflation tube. Fully inflate it and submerge it in a tub of water or pool and look for leaks. Make sure that, if you have a dump valve, it works properly and doesn't stick open or shut. If your BC does integrate weight pockets, make sure the releases function. Nothing could be worse than running out of air or experiencing a malfunction and then having to fight your way to the surface because your BC won't inflate and you can't ditch your weights. Be double sure you can get light. Check your straps and buckles.

Bearing in mind that I started diving before computers were as abundant as they are now (I remember there being two), and remembering that I firmly believe "two is one; one is none", I encourage all divers to have a computer... and backups for all the information it provides. If your computer is your only source of information for tank pressure and it fails, then your dive is over. If your computer is your only source of information on your depth and it fails, then your dive is over. If your computer is your only bottom timer and it fails, then your dive is over. So, assuming that you have redundant backups on everything, the computer can make your dive 1) last longer and 2) be easier to track. I have a wrist top dive computer from Citizen that provides me depth and bottom time at a glance. I don't have an integrated hoseless pressure gauge, but one day I probably will. I like the convenience of it but will probably also still maintain an old fashion gauge on a hose. My dive watch - worn on the other wrist - also provides me depth and bottom time.

Maintaining your computer isn't really that hard. Download your dive data as often as necessary or at the end of each season depending on how much you dive. If it's not downloadable then make sure you copy the information over to your dive log at the end of each dive day. Check your batteries and make sure that the unit is fully charged before starting new dives. A fully charged computer will usually last through several days of diving but if it's running low the first day (when we play with it the most) then it'll most likely be dead when you still need it.

More often than not dive tives are pry bars. I remember being told to make sure I carried one "just in case you get tangled in fishing line or something", but I've never even found any old fishing line on a dive. I've seen underwater vegetation that a diver could potentially get tangled in and I don't dispute the safety value of the knife. But realistically? I've seen dive knives used as pry bars, screwdrivers, hammers and pencil sharpeners. Like all tools they need to be maintained. Keep them clean; inspect them for rust; sharpen the edge when necessary. Check the sheath and make sure there are no signs of corrosion or dry rot depending on the material. Check the straps and snaps. If the sheath depends on a metal spring to secure the blade, then you'd better find a way to check it as best you can. It's probably the one metal piece you can't easily clean or dry making it the most likely to rust.

Any of you who may read my Tactical Equipment Reviews know how I feel about light. In diving I've always been taught to have a back up light, and on night dives you also have to have a marker light on your tank valve (typically). That's three lights with batteries that need to be checked, bulbs that have to be tested, and O-rings that need to be inspected. I've been on my share of daytime dives where small wrecks or caves were found and inevitably someone wanted to go in to "check it out". Like many folks, they weren't carrying dive lights on a day time dive. Why would you? Carry your back up light on your day time dives. Yeah, it adds to your load, but it can also be a life saver. BE ABLE TO SEE at all times.

Wet suits are next. Check yours at every seam for signs of wear or separation. If it has sewn on knee or elbow pads check the stitching and make sure everything is tight. Many suits have a stale aroma to them after months of storage. To fix that turn the suit inside out and wash it with a mild anti-bacterial dish soap using warm water to wash and cold water to rinse. Rinse it thoroughly and then rinse it some more. Dried soap can age the suit quickly. Let me say this again: rinse it thoroughly and then rinse it some more. Hang it or drape it appropriately to drip dry.

Last item I'll cover is your fins. Every experienced diver knows that the strap is what most often fails. Get extra. Aside from that fins are designed to be walked in for short distances and have constant pressure put on them in different directions while swimming. Fins are designed with different levels of stiffness to increase or decrease the amount of power you get from each kick. Check the blades for cracks that may seriously reduce your ability to kick. If your fins don't work right, you work harder.

By investing the time to check your gear ahead of time - at the beginning of each dive season or at least twice each year - you can save yourself time and aggravation before, during and after dives. The "during" part is what worries me the most. Check your gear. Fix deficiencies. Enjoy your diving!!!

BE SAFE!

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Don't forget to check out our Tactical Equipment Review about hardcore knives from Grayman Knives.

This week's Training Article, discussing national holidays, prioritizing them, and how we each perceive them differently.

For a listing of all reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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