Common Mistakes to Aviod

Mask Fog

I have seen this scenario many times. A brand new diver with all new gear, going on a charter for the first time. They jump in the water, look up at you and already there, a mask is beginning to fog. When you buy a brand new mask, it comes from the factory with a white coating on the lens. You can remove this coding by holding a lighter up to your mask and burning it off or you can use toothpaste. I prefer the lighter method because toothpaste can get in your eyes and burn if you don’t get it all out of the mask. Once you’ve burned the film off the lens, then you can simply use defog, water with baby shampoo, or for my personal favorite spit. I’ve never had an issue with my spit not working and it’s always readily available. The key to keeping your mask from fogging up is to not allow all salt water to dry in it as you take it on and off all day all I try to pour a little bit of fresh water in it reapply by spit before I put my mask back on.

Incorrect Buoyancy

There’s a lot of tips and tricks to getting your buoyancy, correct. But one thing is for sure, not having your buoyancy, correct in the water can ruin your whole dive. This is a tough one for beginners, because they may not truly understand what correct buoyancy looks like. For starters, you should be able to breathe up on the surface without having to kick. If you take a half of a XL you should slowly start to sync and then stop with your eyes right below the water lines, you should not have to check the entire time to stay afloat being overly weighted is very dangerous and exhausting on the other side, if you are light in the water and overly buoyant, you will have a very difficult time calmly, diving down and staying down at any job, especially in the shallows where most beginners spend their time. Personally, depending on where I am diving and how deep I intend to hunt will dictate how I want to be weighed. If I am driving say less than 30 feet, I will wear an extra pounds just so I am neutral at the bottom. Now if I am driving past 30 feet, I will usually take that pound off so that I will be slightly more buoyant on the way back once I hit 30’. A pound or two should not make that much of a difference on the surface but it will make a huge difference for your ability to stay on the bottom at 30 feet or shallower. Getting her a buoyancy correctly requires a bit of testing, which leads me to my next point.

Not Testing Your Gear

Before you go on a trip or even for a routine short dive, always be sure to test your gear too many times people go out with brand new gear and they don’t know how to use it or it breaks or it doesn’t fit. This could all be avoided by a simple check by going to the beach or a pool at a minimum, and testing your new equipment. Personally, I never take new equipment on a trip without having a back up. Even if everything is working correctly, it will benefit you greatly to be familiar with your gear know when you’re here will increase your comfort and will dramatically impact your ability to have a good time.

Spending Too Much on Equipment.

This is an easy one when you’re just starting out. You don’t need all the best gear, you need the RIGHT gear. Stop blindly spend thousands of dollars on gear that you do not need. What you do need is knowledge. Most of the gear you will use in spearfishing is due to your won personal preferences. You need experience to even develop your preferences in the first place. Be patient and try many different types and styles of gear before you purchase anything. When your brand new, not having any knowledge on walk into a shop, the salesman will be salivating. You will be 100% depending on what he says is what you need good intentions or not he is trying to run a business. It’s important to get input from several different people and maybe even bring a friend with you to help you make an informed decision. there is tons of used gear on the Internet, which can literally save you thousands of dollars. I recommend trying a friend’s gear first before you decide what you prefer then you get invest a little money by buying used items after a rock you decide that you even like the score or not then you can feel comfortable about investing more money into your hobby. In the long run, this will save you thousands of dollars and a lot of frustration the money that you’re saving you can use that and go on a spear fishing trip with all your new dialed in equipment that you’re comfortable with and confident using.