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There are dozens of dive computers on the Australian market and four brands worth short-listing: Shearwater, Oceanic, Suunto and Garmin. Within those four, you'll find models from around $450 to over $3,000. The $450 unit is not worse than the $3,000 one for most divers. It's different. This guide is...

Most divers buy their first BCD within the first year of getting certified. It is the second-biggest gear purchase after a regulator set, and the choice between jacket, back-inflate, wing and travel is the one that causes the most confusion. Each style exists for a good reason, but which one...

Sydney is one of Australia's most underrated shore diving cities. Cold-water divers already know it; mainstream travel coverage rarely does. Between the ocean reefs at Manly, the protected bays off Clovelly, the sheltered harbour coves, and the weedy seadragon sites at La Perouse and Kurnell, scuba diving Sydney from the...

Open Water certification is a solid foundation. It builds safe habits, covers the core skills and gets divers into the water with confidence. For many people, it is also the start of a longer progression.  Sydney rewards that progression more than most places. The coastline is varied, the marine life is rich,...

Most dive computer buying guides are written for warm, clear water. They assume you are stepping off a boat in the Coral Sea, not scrambling over rocks at Bare Island with 3 metres of visibility and a southerly picking up.  Sydney diving is good diving, but it has its own...

Most divers reach the same point a few months after their Open Water course. The rental gear works, technically, but it does not feel like yours. The console screen is unfamiliar, the settings are generic, and you spend half the dive second-guessing the display instead of watching the reef.  That...

Saturday morning on the Northern Beaches, and the car park at Shelly Beach is already half full by seven. Wetsuits are being pulled on over goosebumped skin. Tanks clank against tailgates. A couple in matching rashies study the water, trying to read the swell. Somewhere nearby, a first-timer is wondering the same thing every...

It is the most common anxiety for new divers.  You book a trip to the Great Barrier Reef or sign up for a course in Sydney. Then you realize you can't see without your glasses.  You wonder if you have to wear contact lenses. You worry they will wash out if your mask floods. You...

If you learned to dive in Thailand, Cairns, or Fiji, you probably wore "Full Foot" fins.  These are the fins you wear barefoot. You slip them on like a shoe. They are light. They are comfortable. They are perfect for walking across a white sandy beach or jumping off a boat into...