Archive for the ‘Equipment Specialist’ Category

5 Tips for Pros: How to Maintain Your Scuba Gear Properly

Thursday, April 14th, 2016

dive-equipment

As a PADI Professional, your scuba gear is exposed to heavy use – much more than the average recreational diver. Three or five dives a day teaching students or guiding certified divers will quickly leave their mark, and you’ll notice your diving equipment ageing much quicker than usual.

Of course, you can help to counteract this wear and tear with proper maintenance of your dive equipment, allowing you to get the best results from your gear despite the high strain.

Above all you shouldn’t forget that you always have a role model function as a PADI Pro, and your scuba gear in particular should always be exemplary: clean, well maintained and fully functional. This way you show your students and other divers that you’re a conscientious diving professional, and demonstrate the importance of well-maintained diving gear.

Here are 5 tips on properly caring for your scuba equipment:

#1 – Rinse your diving equipment thoroughly after every dive

It doesn’t matter if you’re diving in fresh or salt water; clean your scuba gear with clean water after every dive. This will help to remove dirt and other contaminants like micro-organisms or stinging particles from coral or jellyfish. It also helps to prevent the unwanted formation of salt crystal build-up after open water dives in the ocean.

#2 – Dry your diving equipment after every dive

neoprene-careSure, it can difficult as a PADI Pro to do this if you use your diving equipment multiple times during the day. But in between your dives, try to dry out your gear as well as you can. When dive gear is kept damp (especially when stored), bacteria or fungi can quickly develop and spread, which not only damages your diving equipment but can also trigger infections and irritations to your skin.

To dry your scuba gear hang it up outside, ideally in a dry and breezy place but not directly in blazing sunshine. Sunlight can cause faster ageing of materials and can make neoprene and rubber parts brittle.

scuba-equipment#3 – Check any moving parts regularly for dirt and defects

At least once a day, you should make sure that all moving parts on your diving equipment (such as buckles on your BCD, inflator buttons, regulator purge buttons etc.) are clean and working properly. That way you’ll be reassured that there are no dirt, sand or salt crystals stuck in your diving gear that might cause a malfunction during a dive.

#4 – Deep-clean and maintain your diving equipment on a regular basis

In addition to rinsing your kit with clean fresh water after each dive, you should also wash your gear thoroughly at least once a week with a special cleaner designed for dive equipment. This applies not only for neoprene suits, but also for your BCD.

scuba-gear#5 – Store your diving equipment properly

Between dives – and especially if you’re taking some time away from teaching – you should ensure that your gear is stored properly to avoid damage and deformation of the material. Make sure it’s completely dry before packing it away (see #2), don’t stand your fins on the blade-end (as they’ll bend out of shape), and ensure the glass in your diving mask is protected from being scratched.

In addition to these 5 tips, you should always be very careful when carrying and using your diving equipment. Strong impact can easily damage your gear, especially the small components in your BCD and regulator.

PADI’s Equipment Specialist Touch is a great tool to help refresh your memory on maintenance techniques, even as a PADI Professional. It’s also a valuable teaching aid to use with your students to help them learn the importance of caring for their scuba equipment.


christian_huboThis article was written by guest blogger, Christian Hubo. A PADI diving instructor, Christian has enjoyed over 4,000 dives whilst travelling around the world. Above the surface, he’s hiked thousands of kilometers across the natural world. Christian is a freelance web and media designer, underwater photographer, social media and marketing consultant and freelance author. His magazine articles and blog, Feel4Nature, inspires people to follow an independent, individual and eco-conscious lifestyle.

The post 5 Tips for Pros: How to Maintain Your Scuba Gear Properly appeared first on PADIProsEurope.

Dive into the Digital Age in 2016

Thursday, November 19th, 2015

The PADI Digital Product Suite is a collection of industry-leading products designed to modernise and enrich the learning experience of students and PADI Professionals. Make the switch to Digital Products in 2016 and you’ll see immediate benefits:

  • Give your students a fun, interactive way to learn
  • Purchase and receive products on-demand, straight away
  • Save on stocking and shipping costs with digital delivery
  • Help the environment by cutting back on paper

PADI Touch Products

PADI’s Touch Products in particular will catapult your diving business into the digital age, offering a rich and immersive experience to students that’s available straight from their mobile or tablet device anytime, anywhere. Using a highly intuitive navigation style, they’ll be able to interact and expand their diving knowledge through text, images, videos, quizzes and more.

PADI ReActivate Touch™ – students will be encouraged to jump back into diving or simply refresh their knowledge with a fully prescriptive approach and a ReActivated certification card included.

PADI Open Water Diver Touch™ – as the first step, new divers will be able to learn the PADI Open Water Diver course syllabus on a modern platform, as well as log their training dives electronically.

PADI Equipment Specialist Touch™ – students will see how equipment works and fits together by exploring 3D diagrams, helping to drive new equipment sales and the importance of servicing.

PADI Freediver Touch™ – new or existing divers can learn about the principles of freediving with this brand new product which accompanies the recently-launched PADI Freediver program.

PADI Touch products can be purchased from your PADI Sales Consultant or via the e-Shop, and are allocated to students via the Online Processing Center. Students can then download their copy onto their iOS or Android device via the free PADI Library App.

PADI_app_phones

PADI App

The PADI App, available in multiple languages, is another Digital Product designed to deliver valuable content to divers and PADI Pros on the go.

Divers can use this one-stop diving hub to search for their nearest dive shop, browse travel destinations, remind themselves of important items with checklists and even log their dives. They’ll also have access to any of their purchased eCards, whilst renewed PADI Professionals automatically get these for free for all of diver- and professional-level certifications.

PADI Digital Product Tools

To help you make the most of PADI’s Digital Product range, we’ve created some useful tools to allow you to find out more about each product and how to sell them, as well as marketing tools to help promote them to your students.

Renew before 31 Dec and get a FREE Digital Product

If you’re a PADI Professional and renew your PADI Membership for 2016 before 31st December 2015, you’ll be eligible to receive a FREE copy of the PADI Open Water Diver Touch or PADI Equipment Specialist Touch product. That’s a benefit worth up to £65 / 88€ / 96CHF straight away!

Simply complete your PADI Membership renewal for 2016 and you’ll receive an email which will contain further instructions on how to get your free Digital Product.

Plus: Visit the PADI Online Shop and get 5 for 4 on all digital products*. That’s a saving of 20%! Click here for terms and conditions and more details on these offers.

For more information, contact your local Sales Consultant at sales.emea@padi.com or telephone +44 (0) 117 3007234 during business hours.

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PADI Pros! Renew before 31 Dec and get a FREE Digital Product

Thursday, October 22nd, 2015

If you’re a PADI Professional and renew your 2016 PADI Membership before 31st December 2015, you’ll be eligible to receive a FREE copy of the PADI Open Water Diver Touch or PADI Equipment Specialist Touch product. That’s a benefit worth up to £65 / 88€ / 96CHF straight away!

PADI Open Water Touch ahora disponible en español, francés, alemán, coreano e inglésPADI Open Water Diver Touch

The PADI Open Water Diver Touch is exciting, interactive and portable and leads the way into digital learning for your students. The PADI Open Water Diver Touch enables customers to prepare for their confined and open water dives anytime and anywhere without need for Wi-Fi access. They will be able to study the PADI Open Water Diver course syllabus, watch engaging videos that will enrich their learning experience, and test their knowledge with interactive quizzes. Learn more.

5PADI Equipment Specialist Touch

The PADI Equipment Specialist Touch is a fully interactive and comprehensive digital product that teaches students about scuba systems, cylinders, regulators, rebreathers, instruments and more. This valuable tool provides a beautifully immersive look into equipment through short video clips and 3D rotating images, giving students a clear representation of how components fit and work together. Learn more.

How to get the offer

Simply complete your PADI Membership renewal for 2016 and you’ll receive an email which will contain further instructions on how to get your free Digital Product.

eShop Mockup

Want more digital madness?

Head on over to the PADI Online Shop and get 5 for 4 on all digital products*. That’s a saving of 20%! Just enter the following product codes when placing your order.

  • Open Water Diver Touch – RENDIG01
  • Open Water Diver Digital Certification Pak Lite – RENDIG02
  • Adventures in Diving Digital Certification Pak Lite – RENDIG03
  • Equipment Specialist Touch – RENDIG04
  • RDPML Touch – RENDIG05
  • Rescue Digital Certification Pak Lite – RENDIG06
  • ReActivate Touch – RENDIG07

Coming Soon – Rescue Diver Touch and Freediver Touch

For more information, contact your local Sales Consultant at sales.emea@padi.com or telephone +44 (0) 117 3007234 during business hours.

*Offer ends 31st July 2016. Offer available only on multiples of five of the same product, not available as mix and match. Available to PADI Instructors who have renewed their PADI membership for 2016.

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