Koh Tao Scuba Club's Dive Equipment
What kind of dive gear do we wear?
At Koh Tao Scuba Club we only work with brand new dive equipment brought straight from our partners at Scuba Pro and Mares to ensure the highest of standards for our students as well as our dive professionals.
Scuba diving equipment allows you to visit the underwater world by making it possible to breath, see and move comfortably while below the surface.
Scuba gear helps you change from being a land-dweller to somewhat of an aquatic being – if only for a little while.
Scuba Mask: One of the most important pieces of equipments is our mask and every mask needs to be unfogged and fit perfectly for you. A mask let's you see underwater but it also helps keep water out of your nose. Being underwater without a mask is possible but you won't see clear enough to be safe and enjoy your dive
BCD: BCD stands for buoyancy controlling device and we know that, that didn't really explain a lot... But what BCD means in normal English = A scuba diving floating vest!
But what exactly does buoyancy mean? To understand how a BCD work you first need to understand what buoyancy is.
There are different types of buoyancies, positive buoyancy, neutral buoyancy and negative buoyancy, to best understand it, we usually say something like this:
• A boat is positively buoyant because it floats on the water.
• A rock is negatively buoyant because it falls to the bottom of the ocean floor.
• A fish is naturally buoyant because it swims around with its friends.
There are different techniques for achieving each type of buoyancy. This is where our friend Mr BCD really helps!
Scuba Tank & Regulator: A scuba regulator is the equipment that sends air from the tank to our mouths and lets divers breathe underwater, Regulators send air in from 2 different stages, the first & second stage. When opening our tanks without a regulator, the air will flow out at a high pace. This will not be comfortable to breathe through.
The air moves from the first stage that is attached to the tank and then to the second stage which is the part that has a mouthpiece. These help the tank to equalize the pressure of air, making sure to deliver air at a slower pace so that we can breathe comfortably underwater.
Scuba Fins: Helpful or just trying to look like a frog/duck?
Did you know that the inventor of fins was a Lieutenant Commander in the French Navy called Louis de Corlieu. He was inspired by ducks and frogs that have fin-like feet that help them.
Thanks to Lieutenant Louis and his lively imagination somewhat 106 years ago we now use fins when we dive! Turns out the Frenchies know more than just cooking good food
First, try putting your fins on and actually using them, unlike what's shown from our lovely Asia. The fins push you forward with traction that the water generates. This allows you to swim forward without using your hands to advance
Dive computers: A dive computer is not your typical computer. It looks like a watch and helps during, before and after diving. We call it a dive computer because it is a highly complicated machine that works more like a computer than a watch,
There are many different ways that your dive computer can help when scuba diving and here are some examples:
• Let's you plan your dive before going underwater
• Shows you how deep you are, how fast you go and your no decompression limits
• Shows how fast you surface. If you are going too fast, your computer let's you know
• Helps you complete safety stops
• Informs of how long you need to be on surface before you can dive again
• Shows us information like, dive time, depth of dive, dive history and a lot more
Wetsuit: A wetsuit is exactly what it sounds like, it's a fashionable diving suit made to get wet in.
• It protects you from the sun. When diving in Koh Tao there is one thing that is consistent, the SUN! Use a wetsuit to get an extra protective layer on those extra hot days
• It helps you with your buoyancy. A wetsuit will help you stay buoyant and float easier. Although a wetsuit is not a safe west it will help your buoyancy.
• It keeps you warm. Being deep underwater for long periods of time can make you feel a bit cold. Your wetsuit will help you to keep you warm and comfortable when diving.
Weights: Why would I ever put on weights when going in the ocean?
Weights help us go deeper in the water since we naturally float, which is called being positively buoyant. The idea is NOT to have so many that you sink down. We all use weights to help us balance ourselves underwater.
I for example put 4 weights when diving but make sure you put the right amount of weight for you.
Your weight belt should be strapped around your hips, going around your belly. Place it under your BCD strap and make sure you always can get to it. The release of your weight belt should be on your left side, making it easy to access by crossing your right hand over and grabbing the weights releases then pulling away from your body.
All dive schools teach this technique in the open water course. This minimizes confusion in situations where you need to release your or your dive buddies weights.