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My Son is getting SCUBA certified!

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Vanguard:
I was certified when I was 15 and that was the earliest you could do it back in the day.   PADI has created a new Junior Open Water Certification for 10 year olds and older.  It limits them to diving with a certified parent or PADI divemaster up to 40ft deep.

Anyone here have kids who have gone through this program?

I'm curious how the kids do with all the equipment.   The equipment has really come a long way since I got certified but my son is younger and smaller than I was when I got certified.   In my day, you basically had to wear adult sized gear and deal with your gear sliding all over the place during the dive.   We were gear shopping and found a BCD vest that fit my son perfectly.   The only equipment we're having trouble finding with his size are the fins.   We've found ones that fit but they are snorkel fins and not dive fins.   I'm afraid that with 40lbs of gear, the little snorkel fins won't have the surface area to propel him.

I'm jealous of the new regulators too.  I've got a couple Dacor Vipers that were pretty nice 10 years ago.   The one my son is looking at has these awesome super flex hoses and the whole regulator is made of composite material.   It feels weightless in your hand.



Vanguard:
The tank doesn't weigh 40lbs.   I think the Aluminum 50's run around 20-25lbs.  The other 20 lbs comes from regulator, gauges, BCD and whatever weights you need to carry.  I think 40lbs may be a little high.   My equipment probably weighs 40lbs.   I don't think my sons will.   He probably won't need any weight other than his integrated drop weights.

Tanks have actually gotten heavier because Steel tanks have made a comeback.   When I was getting certified, aluminum was the new best thing.  Now, people are gravitating toward steel again because you can get more air into a smaller tank.   The walls of the tank are much thicker and the steel is much heavier.  However, the overall volume of air is larger for the same size aluminum tank.   A steel 80 tank is about the size of an aluminum 50.

There are carbon fiber tanks now but they are super expensive.  I don't know how much real world use they've seen either.   I'd be hesitant to jump on the technology just yet.

Vanguard:

--- Quote from: pinballjim on May 20, 2010, 03:47:13 pm ---What the hell are you going to do with a 50 cf tank?  Float in a swimming pool?  

--- End quote ---

Uh, my son weights 55lbs.   He can make 50cf last longer thank I can make 80cf last.



--- Quote from: pinballjim on May 20, 2010, 03:47:13 pm ---You've also got it bass ackwards on steel vs aluminum.  With equivalent capacity, steel tanks weigh less.

--- End quote ---

That's equivalent capacity.   I'm talking equivalent size.   If I can lug an 80cf aluminum tank, then I can get the same size in steel which weights a couple pounds more but has 100cf of air.

A Luxifer Aluminum 80 weighs 30lbs.  A steel 100 in the same size weighs 33lbs.

Vanguard:
A 10 year old has to pass the same course as an adult.   That means doing and understanding the dive tables.  

As far as confidence, panicing, etc... That's what the adult is there for.   Sure there is some risk involved but he's probably at more risk riding his bike around the neighborhood.   If I thought he couldn't handle the situations that could come up, I wouldn't allow him to get certified.

He's already a very proficient snorkeler.   We go to the Keys every summer and he routinely snorkels in 30-50ft of water.  He's also done SNUBA as well.

The certification has a 40ft depth limit for kids.   We won't be doing anything requiring decomp or anything.  

I've been diving since I was a kid and still haven't gotten tired of it.   I guess if I always dove the same place it might get old but we dive all over.   I've also gotten into underwater photography which added a lot of fun to the hobby.

pmowry:

--- Quote from: pinballjim on May 20, 2010, 09:37:51 pm ---
She says you're nuts.


--- End quote ---

Well, that made me laugh =) but my daughter is 14, and because of this post I'll see if I can get her interested. But just what I need is 1 more expensive hobby =)

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