It’s understandable. You haven’t been diving in a while. You’re totally pumped about the upcoming dive. That morning, the weather is beautiful, the boat is clean, and your new gear is shiny and odorless (for now). You can’t WAIT to get in the water. You gear up and head to the back of the boat. Everybody is watching you, waiting for their turn. But something…isn’t right. What is it? What have you forgotten?

For those of you who might be a bit forgetful – or for whom enthusiasm sometimes overpowers rationality – you might want to check out Scuba Diving’s Ultimate Pre-Dive Checklist. Not to sound like a know-it-all, but I think the tips are fairly intuitive – for example, start at the head and work down the body – but the article is short and you might learn a way to prevent jumping into the water…without forgetting to wear your weight belt.

The only tip I want to add to their checklist is this: make sure your gear works properly. It doesn’t really matter if you have all your gear with you, if it doesn’t function.