New divers often treat the logbook as a formality and quietly let it lapse. That’s a missed opportunity. A dive log tracks your experience, unlocks future training, and genuinely makes you better. Here’s why it matters and how to start.
Diving after dark sounds intimidating until you’ve done it, and then it’s magic. A whole different cast of creatures comes out, and your world shrinks to a beam of light. Here’s what your first night dive is really like, and how to prepare.
The buddy system only works if both of you take it seriously. Being a good dive buddy is a real skill, and a lot of divers are quietly bad at it. Here’s what it actually means, from the pre-dive check to staying genuinely together underwater.
Some gifts get used once and forgotten. Learning to dive isn’t one of them. If you’ve got someone adventurous on your list, here’s why a scuba course makes an unforgettable gift, and how to give one.
“Isn’t it dangerous?” “Don’t sharks attack divers?” “Don’t you need to be really fit?” We hear the same myths constantly, and most of them keep people out of the water for no good reason. Here are the big ones, honestly busted.
The worst place to discover your regulator needs a service is a dive boat a thousand miles from home. Here’s what to get checked before your next trip, how long service takes, and why leaving it to the last minute never ends well.
Signing up for your first scuba course is exciting and a little intimidating, mostly because you don’t know what you’re walking into. Here’s an honest, step-by-step look at what your Open Water course actually involves, from laptop to open water.
Nothing makes a newer diver feel more self-conscious than being the first one low on air. The good news: gas consumption is mostly skill, not lung size, which means it’s fixable. Here’s what actually moves the needle.
The fastest way to overspend as a new diver is to buy everything at once, in the wrong order. Here’s the sequence we actually recommend, from the personal-fit stuff you should own immediately to the big-ticket gear that can wait.
SSI has added an Invasive Species Management Specialty to its conservation lineup. It’s easy to assume that’s a lionfish course for people who dive the Caribbean. It is — and Arizona’s lakes are still a good example of why the idea matters at home.
Being an Arizona scuba diver means dealing with some of the most extreme temperature swings in the sport. One weekend you are sweating on a boat in San Carlos, and the next you are dropping into a 55-degree thermocline at Lake Pleasant. So, what exactly should you be hanging in your gear closet? You can’t dive the world comfortably in just one suit. Here is our instructor-approved guide to wetsuit thickness, helping you figure out exactly what you need to own for every condition.
It’s bright, it’s orange, and it just might save your life. The Surface Marker Buoy (SMB), affectionately known in the dive world as a “safety sausage,” is arguably the most important piece of safety equipment you can carry in your BCD pocket. Whether you’re surfacing among weekend boat traffic at an Arizona lake or drifting along a deep wall in the Sea of Cortez, an SMB ensures boats can see you and your crew can find you. Here is everything you need to know about this essential tool and why you should never make a splash without one.
