Anywhere is fine, AOW is essentially a bunch of fun dives so just pick a pretty island with good diving! Refresher shouldn’t be a problem as long as you let the instructor/dc know upfront so they can manage the schedule properly.

You could also do a pool refresher before going to the island.

A tech instructor doesn’t guarantee a better course, but a tech facility might mean the tanks are in better condition (not always the case though).

Perhaps, but you could also just go to a good rec instructor.

In either case I believe the instructor's teaching ability is more important than his/her level of certification. Pick someone who'll teach good habits

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: Jan 24 2020, 11:04 AM

Pre-dive checks (including a buddy check)
Time/depth/gas management
Communicating proactively (rather than reactively)
Maintaining awareness of your surroundings
Keeping your gear and your skills up to scratch




This post has been edited by thesnugbug: Jan 28 2020, 01:55 PM

Octodiver and Bubbles (both on Besar) have pretty good reviews.

The really cheapo places like Monkey Dives and Panorama have pretty blehh sleeping arrangements but if you like meeting people, they're always crowded (cos cheap)

How budget is budget? I usually go to Mobytek in ABC, prices are decent, something like 900 for 8 dives + twin share room?

The downside is food options in ABC are kinda meh. Tekek has nicer food and better internet.

Interestingly I have found Bluewater to be more punctual than Cata xD

Both also ok (my yardstick for ok is whether I can fall asleep or not lol).

From what I've seen in videos/pics of diving in the Belitung/Bangka area the diving looks ok although they look like very shallow dives ~10m (cos all the corals have colour). No chamber nearby so just dive wisely.

To my understanding you don't have to be a DM, but you do need to be employed or sponsored by a Scubapro dealer

Considering i'm the crazy person who was out diving till a few days before MCO, I will admit it's very tempting... but I think it's prudent to wait at least a few months, until we see a consistent trend of improvement... now still so volatile.

There is always pool diving!
(once swimming is allowed, that is)

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: May 4 2020, 12:00 PM

To be fair the wrench isn't really vomit blood price if you'll be using it regularly. Spline wrench is like RM100 and can be used on any other reg that has splined nuts. If you get that SP multitool it's something like RM150?

(I say this but I still have yet to buy a spline wrench )

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: May 10 2020, 06:21 PM

Chubb does domestic single trip. Diving (within limits of certification) is included but I'm not sure what the exact details of the coverage are.

SDI doesn't issue temporary cards like PADI. Instead you will have an electronic card available once the instructor has processed the forms.

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: Jul 26 2020, 10:46 PM

Really depends on how quickly the instructor processes everything. I suggest contacting him/her to ask?

The 2 island DCs are kinda similar quality. Just avoid the budget rooms at Coral cos last I was there the bathroom door couldn't close, only cold cold water and water pressure so low it took me 15 mins just to wash hair omg.

Recently it's been really crowded though, Robin from TIBR says there are more divers than tanks so if I were you I would check how crowded it is first

If you want nitrox you have to go from mainland.

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: Aug 11 2020, 12:57 PM

lel

I'm all for the jet shape (I am a jet fin user) but honestly I think people throw around this "quattro is only good for flutter kicking" way too much.

There are many tech and overhead divers who use quattros (Steve Martin, Steve Bogaerts, Phil Lehmann etc etc etc etc etc). Dive Rite XT is also a long blade fin but gets a lot of use in all environments. You can totally do any kick you want in them. The motion will look a little different when you back kick, you'll use more of the blade, compared to jet fins which use the rails for reverse propulsion

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: Aug 13 2020, 11:48 AM

There are lots of good fins but it boils down to what suits your needs.

I will say that the quattros can be a bit long for packing if you wear a big size. If you like that particular style of fin but want to look at something shorter, there are the Pure and Excel fins also by Mares, or Scubapro Go.

There are also the jet/turtle-type fins that are single piece rubber or monoprene... like the OG Scubapro/Beuchat ones which are stiff and heavy rubber, and then you have softer & lighter versions like Hollis F2, OMS slipstream, Xdeep soft, Deep 6, Apeks RK3 just to name a few.

They are all good fins... just with different weight and stiffness characteristics depending on whether you have steel legs or taugeh legs xD

This post has been edited by thesnugbug: Aug 13 2020, 11:59 AM

yup, VGO (kepong), Deblue (hartamas), Nomad (gasing)
or go straight to the supplier TC sports, not sure if they have a physical shop though

well the dive plan isn't always a drift... every now and then swimming against current will be inevitable

if you think Mares fins are expensive you haven't seen the price of seawing novas!

me too

hope weather's nice so I can do a dive at Jahat

Have you tried the RK3s before? The "normal" RK3 is significantly softer with a LOT more flex than jets so if you actually like the stiffness of your jets, RK3 will feel quite floppy 😅