What’s in the bag?
You can tell a surprising amount about somebody from the inside of their car.
Some look like a rubbish tip on wheels.
Others look like a showroom.
Diving is much the same.
You can tell a surprising amount about a diver before they even get in the water.
Not by their certification.
Not by the size of their camera.
Just by opening their dive bag.
The "Just In Case"
Comes with a spare Allen key.
Has three spare carabiners.
Quietly thrilled when somebody asks to borrow one.
The Minimalist
No SMB.
BCD has seen better decades.
Owns exactly what they need.
Unfortunately, it's never what you need.
The Colour Coordinator
Everything matches.
Fins.
Mask.
BCD.
Mouthpiece.
Contrasting colours cause genuine distress.
The Enthusiast
Can explain every piece of equipment.
Including why they chose it.
Nobody asked.
The Scatty
No rhyme or reason to their setup.
Can't explain where anything lives.
Has an old cereal bar wrapper in their BCD pocket.
No idea how it got there.
The Rental Gear Superior
No emotional attachment to equipment.
Can dive any BCD like they've owned it for years.
Secretly judges people who need an hour to adjust theirs.
The Veteran
Every piece of gear has a story.
The mask has never fogged.
Nobody understands why.
Refuses to replace anything that still works.
The Engineer
Nothing is original anymore.
Everything has been "improved."
Somehow...
It all still works.
The Hygienic
The rinse tank is their favourite part of the dive.
Gear has already been washed twice.
Still not convinced it's clean.
The Inherited
Nothing was bought.
Everything was given to them.
Somehow, none of it matches.
Somehow, all of it works.
We spend a lot of time talking about equipment.
Which regulator.
Which fins.
Which computer.
But after enough dives, the equipment almost stops mattering.
It simply becomes an extension of the person carrying it.
Some people's gear looks like a Formula One pit lane.
Some looks like it survived a shipwreck.
Somehow...
Every setup is completely different.
And every owner is absolutely convinced they've done it the right way.