While diving last week I realized how poorly most divers check their regulator. Testing your regulator thoroughly takes less than a minute, and greatly eases my mind before a dive.

First, I see a lot of divers check their primary by pushing the free flow button. This is insufficient for me. I prefer to take a breath or two off of the regulator, which ensures air is pulling properly through the hoses and diaphram.

The second oversight is one I am particularly guilty of. Many divers never check that their secondary is functioning properly. Simply repeating the same test of breathing a breath or two greatly reduces the chance of a problem underwater, should you or your buddy need backup air.

Try this next time you dive. If the primary or octopus appears to have even a slight problem, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask the dive operator for a replacement. No shop worth your money would have a problem assuring the safety and peace of mind of their divers–their reputation depends on it.

Every extra precaution makes for a safer dive, so begin establishing good habits and test all your gear properly.

I think everyone has trouble with their mask when wearing a hood. It’s hard to get a good seal around your face and water constantly seeps in.

Next time, try putting your mask on first, then slipping your hood over it. With the mask under the hood, you can get a proper seal without your hood messing it up.

Thanks to the awesome Gabe Scotti, of Kaimana Divers for the tip. If you’re ever in Oahu, Hawai’i, be sure to give Gabe a call.

Repetitive multi-day dives can take its toll on your ears, with your eardrum feeling like it’s marinading in sea water. While a lot of dive shops will be glad to sell you a bottle of a drying solution such as Swimmer’s Ear, the discomfort of paying high prices for those little bottles can be worse than the discomfort in your ear.

Here’s a quick and easy “recipe” that does the same thing with cheaper ingredients that should be accessible in whatever country you find yourself diving in. Just mix equal parts white distilled vinegar with isopropyl alcohol (preferably 100%, but use whatever you can get your hands on). The alcohol is a drying agent, sucking the moisture out of your ear. The acid in the vinegar kills bacteria to prevent infection, as well as helps with the drying.

Note: If you find that the vinegar burns, you may very well have an infected ear. Use the alcohol alone if you must, but avoid putting anything in your ear. Unfortunately this means you may need to lay off the diving.