Look at the calendar. It is June. The weather is hot, the water is warming up, and summer is officially here.
If you haven't started preparing your dive gear yet, consider this your wake-up call. You are officially behind schedule. The good news? We can fix this. The bad news? It is way too late to work on that "summer body" you promised yourself in January. But don't stress—just loosen the shoulder straps on your BCD by half an inch, blame it on the thick undergarments, and let’s get down to business.
Since you are running out of time before your first splash of the season, we need to prioritize. Here is your last-minute survival guide to getting ready for summer diving without losing your mind.
Prioritize Your Gear Inspection
Since you procrastinated, you are now in triage mode. You don't have time for a casual, week-long gear audit. You need to check the non-negotiables today.
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The Life Support Check: Pull your regulator out of the bag. Check your hoses for dry rot or cracks. Inspect your mouthpiece—if you chewed half the bite tabs off last season, replace it now. Turn on your dive computer and make sure the battery isn't flashing a low-voltage warning.
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The Save-a-Dive Audit: Open your kit. If you used your last spare O-ring, mask strap, or zip-tie in October, restock it immediately. A missing 50-cent piece of rubber shouldn't ruin a $150 boat charter.
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The Living Room Try-On: Put your wetsuit or drysuit on before you drive to the dive site. Zippers get sticky. Neoprene mysteriously "shrinks" in the closet over the winter. If you need a different size or a zipper repair, you need to know today, not while you are standing on the boat deck sweating.
Plot Your Summer Hit List
Stop saying "we should go diving sometime" and actually put dates on the calendar. Summer goes by fast, and dive charters book up even faster.
Call your dive buddy (the one who actually shows up on time) and lock in some plans. Book a weekend at the local Midwest quarries to knock the rust off. Secure your bench spot on Double Action Dive Charters to hit the Great Lakes shipwrecks. If you have a tropical vacation planned, double-check that your C-cards are in your wallet and not at the bottom of a laundry basket.
Pick Up the Essentials and the Flex Gear
Now is the time to separate what you need to survive the dive from what you want to look incredibly cool on the boat.
The Essentials
You definitely need fresh anti-fog, because that bottle from 2019 is just gross water now. You probably need a new Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) because your old one has a slow leak and looks like a sad, deflated balloon.
The Flex Gear
Let’s be real, half of diving is looking good while doing it. Treat yourself. Upgrade to that sleek new frameless mask, snag a ridiculously bright primary dive light to make everyone else in the quarry jealous, or buy a heavy-duty roller bag so you can finally stop dragging your gear in a reusable grocery sack.
Peak Season Means Peak Savings (But Act Fast)
Because it is the height of dive season, we are rolling out massive summer sales, gear bundles, and promotions to get you in the water for less.
But here is the catch. Every other procrastinating diver is also trying to buy gear right now. If you wait until Friday at 4:00 PM to order a replacement mask for a Saturday morning dive, you are going to have a very bad time. Get your orders in early so our shipping team can work their magic.
Stop Reading and Start Packing
The water is calling and the clock is ticking. Pull your gear out of the closet, do your inspections, and figure out exactly what you are missing.
Need to restock your kit or try on a new wetsuit? Hit up the Dive Right In Scuba online store, or swing by our showrooms in Plainfield and Orland Park. Let's get you dialed in for the best summer of diving yet.