Travelers collect Passport stamps – Scuba Divers collect Dive Shop stamps. Quite true, isn’t it? Seeing your logbook becoming richer and richer with information’s is a great feeling and a lovely memory of all the dives you did. But have you ever asked yourself, why it is recommended to log your dives?

A Proof of Your Experience

Dive logs were first used to ensure safe dive planning of repetitive dives. Divers would record the information from previous dives in a logbook, so that they could calculate the safe parameters for their next one. With the advent of dive computers, planning has become largely obsolete. But there are other reasons as well.

First of all the Dive logs are proof of your experience as a diver. In order to climb up the PADI leader, you need to prove that you’ve successfully completed a certain number of dives. But not only that, the number of dives you have completed is also a way to proof your diving experience. Many dive shops like us at MolaMola Diving Center are using the number of your dives to make sure your experience level matches the type of diving we plan to do.

Another aspect are the information. Let’s say you haven’t been diving for a while and the next Dive Shop you are going to asks you how much weight you need, how many millimeter your last wetsuit was and when your last dive was. Lucky you having logged everything in your logbook where everything is noted down.

And last but not least a logbook is a way to capture and preserve your memories. Many divers use their dive log as an underwater journal or diary. They keep their memories and their incredible experiences while Scuba Diving in one place.

What Is There to Log

The level of detail you choose to go into in your dive log is just as personal as why you keep it. It could be the bare-bones of your dive, or a detailed diary entry of who you dived with, what you saw, and how you felt. A typical entry consists of the dive site, day and time of the dive, duration of the dive and depth. Divers also often log things like water temperature, equipment, and what they saw. f you’re simplifying your log you can stick to these fundamentals; perhaps you’re a regular diver or a dive pro who’s no longer in need of additional information. However, going into more detail can be rewarding, particularly when it comes to weights. If you’re a travel diver who frequents different locations – flitting between warm and cold water, or diving with different cylinders – getting your weighting correct is a minefield.

Digital or Paper – It’s Up to You

In this modern world, it’s not surprising that digital logbooks have entered the scene making recording a breeze. These modern electronic dive logs also use statistics, graphs, and other tools to help you track and analyze your underwater explorations. But in our opinion, nothing beats the old-fashioned paper logbook. We at MolaMola Diving Center love sitting down with people at the end of our trip to fill the logbook, exchange stamps, talk about what we have seen and what there is more to see when Scuba Diving in Oman.