c/commercial-divers

Tried a Kirby Morgan 57 bandmask for the first time on a 30 meter dive in Galveston

I thought it'd be a smoother switch from my old AGA, but the exhaust valve froze up after 20 minutes. Had to abort the job and surface slow. Anyone else had bad luck with those bandmasks in cold water?

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seth_martinez21•2d ago

Hot take: A 60-day surface interval changed my dive planning approach completely

I used to think back-to-back dives were the only way to make money fast. For 3 years I'd do 4 or more dives a week, sometimes running 6 days straight. Then I hit a stretch where I was exhausted, foggy, and my deco stops felt wrong. A dive medic buddy told me to take a full 60 days off the water just to reset my body. I laughed at first, but I had a slow season coming up so I tried it. Coming back, my air consumption dropped by 30 percent, my bottom times got cleaner, and I stopped getting those post-dive headaches. The old me would have called it a waste of time, but the difference in my work quality is night and day now. Has anyone else taken a long break and seen a change like that?

c/commercial-divers

Tried a Kirby Morgan 57 bandmask for the first time on a 30 meter dive in Galveston

Hot take: A 60-day surface interval changed my dive planning approach completely

That 100-foot dive last Tuesday where my drysuit flooded at 80 feet...

Dropped $150 on a faulty drysuit zipper repair that failed on first dive

Am I the only one who's seen the dive gear quality tank since 2020?

My drysuit inflator valve failed at 60 feet off the coast of Galveston last Thursday

Overheard a guy at the dive shop say he never checks his drysuit valves before a job

Shoutout to an old diver named Mike who saved me from a bad decision

Old timer on a barge off Louisiana taught me more in 10 minutes than 2 years of school

That 30 foot dive at the Port of Houston taught me to never trust a new hookah rig

Sat down with a welder from the Gulf last month who changed how I think about bottom time

Just had the worst dive day in a month - 15 minutes, zero viz, and a line tangle

My old Kirby Morgan regulator finally gave out mid-dive in October

Diving helmet fit changed after I swapped my hood type

Old timer warned me about ear squeeze on a 60 foot job in Port Townsend

Had a talk with a retired diver in Pensacola that changed how I check my bailout bottle

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Switched to a different grease for my Kirby hat last month. Big change.

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My buddy in Seattle told me to use a 3/8 inch wrench for the bolt on my Kirby Morgan hat, but it was wrong.

My old boss in Tampa said I'd never need a lift bag under 50 pounds. He was wrong.

Bought a $400 backup dive light after a close call in murky water

A crab stole my wrench during a hull clean in Baltimore last month

I always thought a 100-foot dive was the real test, but hitting 50 hours in zero-vis mud off Galveston changed my mind.

Found a wild stat about salvage depth records in a library book