Here’s a look at 10 qualities to look for in a good dive buddy, to make your dives stress free and more than just pleasant-
1. Communication
One of the most important qualities of a good buddy is being able to communicate clearly and instantly underwater. This is not just hand signs but the whole process i.e. message passed, received, returned and understood, without so much as a signal. If you find yourself having to break the flow of your dive just to get your message across to your buddy then communication between the two of you isn’t great. Good communication encompasses everything from understanding each other’s hand signals, to facial expressions, gestures, and feelings through eye contact. Just imagine in an emergency situation trying to signal to your buddy to share air, while he/she is busy wondering what type of fish you are trying to signal. A good buddy will probably by just looking at you, signal to you his gas consumption without even you having to make the signal for “how much air do you have left?”
2. Trust
Trusting your Dive Buddy is paramount in scuba diving especially when you are essentially entrusting your life and safety to him/her underwater. Knowing your dive buddy beforehand is important to building up this trust. If your dive buddy is a close friend, acquaintance, relative or your spouse, often trust comes easily and automatically making them 50% there to becoming a good dive buddy. Often when your Dive Master or Dive Instructor assigns you somebody you don’t know as your buddy, the issue of trust creeps in, and getting to know your dive buddy before the dive will go a long way into you being comfortable diving with him/her underwater rather than stressed.

3. Matching Skills
Always dive with a buddy that closely matches your diving skills underwater and shares your depth limits. This way you won’t be forced out of your comfort zone, or force your buddy out of his/hers. Skills don’t just relate to certification level, i.e Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Dive Master etc. Also ensure your buddy has similar or comparable experience to yours, so that if a situation arises, either of you could assist one another, rather than one being dependent on the other.
4. Complementary Interests
Having the same dive goals and sharing similar interests goes a long way towards a good buddy. Just imagine the times your buddy has been busy skimming the sea bed examining macro creatures, while you’ve been disinterested hovering above looking for sharks and other pelagic fish. Similar case when your buddy is an underwater photographer casing you to frequently having to stop and wait breaking the flow of your dive. At the end of the dive when you both excitedly chatter away about the things you saw underwater, you know you share the same interests.

5. Pace
We’ve all faced this at some point or the other where your dive buddy swims much faster than you resulting in you having to stare at his 6 O’clock the entire dive, or vice versa where your quicker pace makes you have to constantly hold back and wait for your buddy to catch up. This causes unnecessary stress and or resentment, taking away from the fun of the dive and so it is essential that you have a buddy that has a similar pace to yours underwater.
6. Positioning
Though connected to pace but not necessarily, the formation or positioning of your buddy through the dive dictates qualities of a good dive buddy. A good buddy will stick to you like glue without getting in your way or constantly bumping into each other. You know you have a good buddy when you do not have to use more than a 1/4 turn your head to either side to know where your buddy is at anytime during the dive. Having to look up, or down or even stop to turn around constantly means you have your positioning all wrong.

7. Good Judgment
Having similar skills does not necessarily mean that your buddy will have the good judgment to act on those skills when required. A good buddy knows when it’s time to call it a day, and make good decisions based on the situation, knows limits and depths, and avoids unnecessary decompression dives. Good judgment includes the ability to call you out on your mistakes underwater and keep you in check and within the boundaries of safe diving.
8. Good Situational Awareness
A good buddy should have constant situational awareness paying attention to gas consumption, depth, navigation, pace, currents, your gas consumption, your position, your signals, your discomfort with equalization etc. We’ve all dived with the buddy that stares straight down or ahead like a donkey with blinders on. You have to wave about to get his/her attention, and more often than not they haven’t a clue where they are.

9. Similar Air Consumption
Pairing up with a dive buddy that runs out of air while you still have half your tank left is rather annoying and most of us have experienced this at some point of time. A good buddy should have similar gas consumption rates as yourself allowing you both to have similar dive times and enjoy the dive without worrying about when your buddy is going to run out of air. Similar air consumption gives you the peace of mind and ability to ascertain from your depth gauge, what your buddy’s air would be like through the dive and plan navigation accordingly.
10. Will not push you out of your diving comfort zone and skill level
A dive buddy that will dive to depths beyond your prescribed comfort zone and skill levels, or attempt maneuvers, dive in strong currents, unsafe conditions, poor visibility conditions, push decompression limit times or descend and ascend at speeds you are not comfortable with, is not a good buddy. Even if your buddy is more than capable of it, just putting you in a situation that is outside your comfort zone is inconsiderate and possibly risky.
* Photo Credits: photos by Scuba_thib, Saspotato, Daniel, Daniel Kwok, leafbug on flickr


Rule#1 -Be a Solo Diver: This rule doesn’t entail ditching your dive buddy and diving alone. By all means stay close to your buddy and be ready to help him. But, as far as your own safety is concerned, pretend he’s not there or… won’t be when you need him, in other words be self reliant. In any emergency your most dependable rescuer is you. Think solo, plan smarter and rehearse before-head how you could deal with a situation so that if one arises you know how to react without wasting time looking for a rescuer.
RULE #3- Breathe Efficiently: One of the first diving No-no you learn is to never hold your breath. And certainly don’t. To significantly improve your breathing efficiency, reverse your normal breathing pattern from inhale-exhale-pause to inhale-pause- exhale- -the pattern many experienced divers adopt naturally over time. What you have to keep in mind is the pause you take when your lungs are filled is not held with your throat closed and most definitely not forced.
Rule #5 – Don’t Overdo the Gear: By don’t overdo the 





