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Tag Archives: Feature

Extreme Product Feature – Crystal Vu Plus Mask

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Hi, guys and gals. Happy Wednesday. Let’s take care of some housekeeping issues up front… Front and center! Aye Aye captain!

  1. Saturday is the 5th annual Chili Cookoff.
    • Bring your best Chili to enter into the contest. There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and People’s Choice
    • Bring your best Non-Chili to enter into the contest. There will be prizes for People’s Choice.
    • Here are the rule’s, familiarize yourself with them, please!
      Chili and Non Chili Cookoff Rules
    • There’s also a Silent Auction. Bring your Checkbooks full of money, ready to purchase some really awesome items! As we have been receiving them, we’ve been placing them on Facebook. Please be sure to check those out, but remember, NOT everything has been advertised because items will show up the day of the auction! Come prepared!
  2. Sunday is the Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving
    • Beaver Lake. Be there or be square. Although it might be hard to be square, so just be there.
    • List of rules, familiarize yourself with them, please!
    • Don’t want to carve? No problem, come hang out with us. We’re a lot of fun!!

Now that that is taken care of and out of the way… What’s new. Well…. We are starting to put finishing touches on “Grady’s Cookbook.” I’m so glad those of you who sent in recipes did so that he didn’t have to live on his recipe alone!

Finally, we’re cooking up something extra special and fun for January. I’m not sure if you feel the way I do about that poor month, but after the hype of all the family festivities that happen at the end of the year, January is a cold, dark month, but we have you covered this year. Happy fingers are working on the details now!

Finally, the real reason for today’s post….

Crystal Vu Plus Mask

4 SCUBAPRO Crystal Vu Plus Masks

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Extreme Product Feature – 3mil Headband

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You guys saw the storm blow through Monday night, right? When I walked out the door yesterday morning to run to the barn and let horses out, I thought I was going to freeze. I should probably mention I went out in shorts and a t-shirt… not thinking it would be that chilly outside. Dang!

So I would say Fall is upon us, what do you think? We also know that Fall means that our diving slows down some, right? But there are two, yes two really big events that take place during the fall and winter months. One is the Underwater Pumpkin Carving and the Second is the New Year’s Day Dive. Of course, then if you want to add diving every month, join Dan La Due.

A lot of us are in agreeance though… we don’t like hoods. They just aren’t our thing. So about a year ago or so now, Deb showed me the 3mil Headband. I even made a joke as to how you wear it…

but truthfully, it is a great addition to keeping heat in your head and ears without wearing a hood. Chuck Beaver volunteered to tell us about these headbands as he dove with one at Mermet Springs this year, so today’s blog post brought to you by Chuck Beaver.

3 mil Head Band

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A Day in the Life of a Diver – Mermet Springs Edition

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Are you thinking of becoming a diver? Are you thinking of going to Mermet Springs? How about we learn about a Day in the Life of a Diver… The Mermet Springs Edition.

Morning:

Mornings come early. Whether you are going to the Lake, going to Mermet Springs, or are boarding a boat in Cozumel. Mornings come early. If you hang around these parts long, you’ll realize there are 2 musts… Coffee and Snickers. Or in this case, maybe just the coffee. I think we forgot the Snickers on this trip.

During the summer hours which range from May to October, gates open at 8am on Saturday and Sunday and 9am every other day of the week except Wednesday. They are closed on Wednesdays. Good thing we were going on a Saturday (give or take a couple days…).

Because the gates open at 8am, breakfast is typically 6:30 and we’re on the road by 7:30. Not everyone albeit, but most of us. It’s about a 10-20 minute drive from Metropolis, IL to the front gates at Mermet Springs. Not bad, not bad at all. I think the speed limit was 55mph. Something to keep in mind ;).

And remember, it’s located in the middle of corn country. Beautiful!

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Extreme Product Feature – SCUBAPRO Jet Fins

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I have one question for you today… Have you gotten the chance to go to Cozumel yet? I’m really referring to going to Cozumel on a group trip. Have you? Why do I ask? Well because… If you have, I’m sure you’ve met Cesar. If you haven’t, you really need to meet him. This guy can dive like no one’s business. He has mad diving skills. And swimming skills at that.

Are you confused yet? Okay, stick with me here… So a year ago when we went to Cozumel for the February dive trip, Deb and Grady decided Cesar needed better fins to dive with. When we went back in May for the Grad-Ge-8-Shen trip, we took him a pair of the Camo Jet Fins. I swear, you’d have thought we gave him a million dollars.

Anyone have any guesses on what we’re going to be discussing today? (raises hand, but I guess since I’m writing this post I don’t get a guess….)

Jet Fins.

SCUBAPRO Jet Fins

Not to be confused with Twin Jet fins… those are coming later.

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Aluminum vs Steel SCUBA tanks

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Once upon a time, the blogger got a new SCUBA tank. Grady asked me if I wanted it set up for Nitrox or just regular. Truthfully, I didn’t even know the tank was mine, it could have been Mark’s for all I really knew… So I sent Mark a text to ask what his plans were for the tank. As I was typing the text to Mark, autocorrect got me and changed Steel to Steve, so the message went out as, Is Steve supposed to be Nitrox. Instead of is the steel supposed to be Nitrox. With that text, so the tank got a name, it will forever be known as Steve the Tank. And there is the rest of the story I said would come out eventually.

Yes, you read that correctly. My SCUBA tank is named. We’ve actually had a lot of fun with that. I guess people name their cars and chairs and tv’s, etc, why can’t I name my SCUBA tank? So, can anyone guess what we’re discussing today? If you guessed tanks, you would be correct. You get the Gold Star for the day. High Five.

Aluminum Tanks versus Steel Tanks

Scuba Tank 101: Steel versus Aluminum Tanks.

5 Considerations for the best Dive Tank for You

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Get the Look – Doug Lord

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Guys, I could be a bit on the biased side, but I’m telling you, we have the best divers! While yes, they are good divers too, I’m talking about their character. Our people rock.

Okay, I’ll get off of that and explain a little bit. Originally I had Doug scheduled for this post in December, but because of some things that came up, I needed someone for September… I was quickly scrambling trying to figure out who to put here when it came to me… I’ll move Doug up if he’s willing. Guys, I asked him Wednesday afternoon and by Wednesday evening, I had his post. Not just anyone would do that. I’m telling you, we’re awesome and Doug, Thank you so much!!

Now take it away Doug

Get the Look – Doug Lord

Dive Doug Lord in Cozumel, Mexico

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Extreme Product Feature – Smell Fighters {Mirazyme, Sink the Stink}

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If you came around the shop any within the last couple weeks… you may have known, we were debating some articles we read. That’s the one good thing about reading, it makes you think, converse, debate, and think.

I once heard someone say, whether they are talking good or bad about your writing, if they are debating your work, that means someone is reading your work. Interesting thought. Over the weekend I hit up one of our divers about needing recipes and she mentioned she didn’t know anything about it. Bummer, I guess not everyone is reading my work. I guess I need to put something debatable out there? Haha.

One thing that is not debatable… something that everyone needs in their collection of arsenal…

Sink the Stink or Mirazyme

Smell Fighters: Mirazyme and Sink the Stink

 

I mentioned a couple posts back that Grady said we were barbaric. Remember that whole conversation? Maybe not… no one is debating that… haha… But it’s true. Neoprene gets a stench whether it is from urine (all my friends pee themselves and wear wet suits), sweat, or even the salty ocean or freshwater marina smells.

One of the best ways to keep the smells down is to use a product to eliminate the smells. First off, make sure that you are always rinsing your neoprene in clean water. That helps a lot. Secondly, douse it in some Mirazyme or Sink the Stink.

Both of these products work in the same manner. They are concentrated formulas that you add to a body of water (say a bathtub). Soak the suits in the tub of water with the smell eliminator. Don’t rinse after they have been soaked. The drying action helps to set in the smell eliminating process. Hang the wet suit to dry and bam, you’re ready to go.

One really handy tip

I can share with you came from our diver, Kim Brungard. While we were diving in Cozumel, she had some of the stench clincher mixed with water in a spray bottle. After we dove and rinsed our gear with the hose on the boat, she sprayed down her wet suit with her little handy spray bottle. While it’s not perfect conditions and you’ll probably have to do that later before packing your gear to come home, it helps!

You’ll definitely want to make sure at the end of the dive season, which for some (or most) of us is approaching quickly, you’ll want to treat your gear. That way next spring when it is time to pull it out you don’t get hit with a ridiculous smell.

So, who has any other fun or interesting tips on how to not be so smelly? We’re all ears!!

 

3mm/5mm Definition Wet Suit

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Happy Crisp Wednesday morning to you. There is definitely something in the air… technically it’s still summer, but I woke up and I’m pretty sure it smelled like fall. Heck, I think my horses think it is fall. They’re sure acting goofy. If you haven’t been around horses much, any kind of temperature change can get a reaction out of them.

We just got back from Mermet Springs. Were you able to attend this year? If not, you sure missed out on a lot of fun, a lot of shenanigans, and a lot of food, including but not limited to homemade ice cream and cake. More on that to come at a later time though.

But a great transition to today’s post would be that people actually showed up in today’s blog post to dive at Mermet Springs. Wait, what?

3mm and 5mm Definition Wet Suit

And just like that, she knocks it out of the park again. Haha. Oooh, baseball reference. Where are my baseball fans?

Anyway, moving on…

The main difference between the 3mm and the 5mm Definition wet suit is warmth. Otherwise, they are the exact suit, right? They are built with what SCUBAPRO refers to as a special Body Map System. Okay, what’s that? So glad you asked! Gives me something to talk about.

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Extreme Product Review – Heavy Duty 6.5 Mil Tall Dive Boot

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There is a real struggle when it comes to commas. WHAT? It must be the change of weather that brought this out in me. I mean, seriously, how often am I random? So, you remember in grade school learning or maybe not learning to put the comma in a list of things with the addition or subtraction of that comma being before AND. Example: shorts, swimsuit, dive boots, and computer versus shorts, swimsuit, dive boots and computer. That comma before and has a name, it is the Oxford Comma and there is a huge debate on how people feel about that poor comma. First world problems.

This is a SCUBA blog, not the grammar police blog oh Blogger Lady. Yes, I know, but you’re always supposed to learn at least one new thing a day and I’m trying to make sure to help you out in case you hadn’t learned anything yet today.

Plus the fact that comma’s make a difference. A conversation had at my house this morning:

  • Why did you take the pool noodles out?
    • That translates to why did you do that? — Not how I heard it.
  • Or Why, did you take the pool noodles out?
    • Translates to oh, you did that. Cool, basically. — How I heard it.

Okay, I’ll quit with the comma, by the way, I’m a huge fan of the Oxford Comma. I can explain my reasons if you want, but for now, I’ll leave you with my favorite dive boots, the Heavy Duty 6.5 mil Tall Dive Boots. I’m a huge fan of them too! Bam, she knocks it out of the park again and ties the two things together. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Heavy Duty 6.5 mil Tall Dive Boots

I mentioned just above that these are my favorite dive boots. I’m now on my 3rd pair, and not because I keep wearing them out… Nope. I’ve given 2 pairs away while diving in Cozumel, but that’s another story for another day!

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Extreme Product Feature – Hooded Vests

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I had a holy cow moment the other day. Let’s recreate the picture…. As some of you may have heard at the August dive club meeting, I’m on a goal to make 300 dozen sugar cookies. If you didn’t know that, now you are privy to that information. In case anyone wonders, I am now 12 dozen into that 300 dozen. Anyway, back to the holy cow moment. I had someone order a dozen cookies for Labor Day weekend. She mentioned sending them with Dan and Grady this Thursday (as in tomorrow). I thought, dang, I hope they last until Labor Day. That was only because I didn’t realize that THIS WEEKEND is Labor Day weekend. WHAT?!?! Where did the summer go?

With all that being said, in a little over a week, some of us will be trekking across the great state of Missouri headed to Metropolis, Illinois, to go SCUBA diving at Mermet Springs. Seriously, a little over a week. How can this be? Again, I restate, where did Summer GO?

For those of you who have never dove at Mermet Springs, the water is a bit on the chilly side. If you have your dry suit certification and own or have access to a dry suit, you’re in luck. If not, you’ll want to add a few extra layers to keep warm. Options include a 5mil wet suit and today’s product feature…

A Hooded Vest

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