What Type of Scuba Diver Are You?

The sea continuously proves to be such a breathtaking place to explore – a space here on Earth that has been catching the attention of humans since the beginning of time. With this, probably the best way to enjoy the ocean and its wonders are to learn how to scuba dive. In recent years, scuba diving has been one of the most popular water activities, both for outdoor enthusiasts and travelers. Unlike most water sports, scuba diving makes use of breathing apparatus that contains compressed air, carried by scuba divers, allowing them to dive to larger depths and for longer periods.

In this post, we will be discussing the different types of scuba diving, helping you determine which type of scuba diver you are. You have the absolute freedom to choose which type of scuba diver you want to be and we would be more than happy to help you steer in the right direction. So let us now get on with the discussion.

Why Scuba Diving?

The underwater kingdom is such an amazing place to explore and discover through your own eyes. As mentioned, the best way to do this is by being a scuba diver yourself. Not only would you be amazed by the fact that you have the capability to breathe underwater, but also, the things you’ll see when you’re down there. There could be new species of water animals you could see, as well as shipwrecks that you can explore. While there could be many types of scuba diving, it would also mean that there are different certifications and pieces of training that you need to complete to be certified.

What Type of Scuba Diver Are You?

1. Open water scuba diver

If you have been certified as a scuba diver, you can definitely do open water scuba diving. In fact, you may see it as just the beginning of your whole scuba diving journey. If you try to look up open water diving, you are likely to encounter this definition from a dive school perspective – open water includes lakes and oceans, in which training in a swimming pool is considered as a confined water training. Others mention that there are at least training required to become an open water diver – pool training, sheltered water training, and lastly, open water training.

2. Drift scuba diver

If you want to become a drift scuba diver, you are likely to encounter dives in waters where a tide or current is present. The currents, in fact, should be strong enough to push you, allowing you to go where the flow is heading towards. Scuba divers have regarded drift scuba diving as an effortless yet exciting diving experience. What sets this type of diving apart from the rest is that an SMB or a surface marker buoy is required. In case you’re not familiar, this buoy is attached to the diver while it floats on the water’s surface.

3. Night scuba diver

Being a night scuba diver is very interesting, as you would be introduced to different things underwater, especially those that you wouldn’t be able to see in broad daylight. As you may already know, a lot of underwater creatures only come out at night.

4. Deep scuba diver

If you want to become a deep scuba diver, you shouldn’t only be interested in wanting to ‘dive deeper’ into the water. Instead, you should also be curious about the depth of what you want to see underwater. Most scuba divers would agree that deep diving would mean diving for more than 50 meters underwater. A useful yet very important technique when deep diving is that you must master performing decompression stops.

5. Wreck scuba diver

Wreck diving isn’t for everyone, we admit. But most of the deep scuba dives enjoy wreck scuba diving. What’s interesting about being a wreck scuba diver is that you get to experience and see the life that accumulates around that very wreck. A word of advice, however, is that being a wreck scuba diver would mean that you’ll also be diving in the dark and cold water. Most of the time, you’ll see lumps of what looks like rusting metal. If this is something you see yourself enjoying, then you may try doing so.

6. Cave scuba diver

Considered a more specialist type of scuba diving is cave diving. However, it is also regarded as one of the most challenging and dangerous water sports in the world. Generally, cave scuba divers dive in caves filled with water, mostly for scientific investigations. As mentioned, being this type of scuba diver would also require you to be geared with equipment that is more sophisticated. What makes being a cave scuba diver very challenging is that you wouldn’t be able to come up to the surface as easy and convenient as open water diving. So, if you like the challenge, then you might want to give this a try.

7. Free scuba diver

Being a free scuba diver would require you to hold your breath instead of being dependent on an aqualung. It should be noted, however, that free scuba diving wouldn’t teach you how to hold your breath. Instead, it teaches you how to hold your breath a lot longer. With this, the longer you can hold your breath, the deeper your free scuba diving will be.

8. Ice scuba diving

If you’re someone who’s prepared to dive through ice cold water, then you might want to consider ice diving. In fact, this type of scuba diving is considered one of the most challenging and it certainly isn’t for everyone. However, if you’re curious about what lies under the ice, then you should give this a try.

Conclusion

Now that we have reached the end of this post, we hope that we have shed some enlightenment on the different types of scuba diving, allowing you to choose which one you want to be. Some of these, we admit, isn’t for everyone. With this, we recommend that you complete all the necessary training and certifications for you to be able to determine which of these you can do.