Do you need to be a certified diver to use a hookah?

In US, no. Not sure if it is required in other countries. But I would stress that you should be certified, your life may depend on it. I am a Search/Rescue/Recovery diver, I have many certifications, and have seen a lot of bad things happen in water... GL Tom

scout23 said:

In US, no. Not sure if it is required in other countries. But I would stress that you should be certified, your life may depend on it. I am a Search/Rescue/Recovery diver, I have many certifications, and have seen a lot of bad things happen in water... GL Tom

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+1.

Certification trains you to be safe in the water, it's really all about protecting you. Even if you do everything right, others may not, and you need to know safe ways out of potentially deadly situations. The water isn't forgiving, just doesn't care whether you live or die, it's all on you.

I see a lot of hippies using them on the beach but never under water...

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How well do you swim Beachdude?
All you'll have is a regulator conected up to a tank hose and a weight belt to hold you down. Get a quick release on your weight belt (know how to use it) and you should be ok. I think the guys above are correct though in understanding the effects/needs of prolonged submersion on compressed air
I considered snuba once but the equipment costs, tank refills etc. would have really cut into the profitablitity of the venture.

Ice Scratcher said:

I see a lot of hippies using them on the beach but never under water...

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All depends if you inhale....

Breathing under water a suddenly emerge without breathing out, could cause lost of life, even from 10 ft depth.
Think it would be a very very wise choice getting a scuba certificate. Its more than just a certificate, its a learning process that learns you assesing the risks and make your actions automatic reactions! Most padi courses offer rental equipment, so it won't cost you much!
But when you start to enjoy the wonders below, you'll learn that diving is real addictive

scout23 said:

In US, no. Not sure if it is required in other countries. But I would stress that you should be certified, your life may depend on it. I am a Search/Rescue/Recovery diver, I have many certifications, and have seen a lot of bad things happen in water... GL Tom

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Agree 100 percent! Even as a novice scuba diver I understand the potential dangers of diving using compressed air- even in shallow water.

Any old body can buy/make a hookah rig and just head out...Not like Scuba, where you gotta have 'certifications' to get your tanks refilled or go on dive trips and whatnot, so in this light, hookah diving is unregulated, uncertified, and unenforceable.

Its all a relatively newish concept, underwater breathing apparatus that is...Think Jacques Cousteau...the inventer of the 'aqualung'...it all began and evolved in our lifetime. Anybody that had a Nat Geo subscription knows this! Scuba/Hookah are relatively safe considering all the other possible ways to die on this Planet...Even the Free diving masters can and do black out and drown...but it is extremely rare and only makes the headlines on account of its so unusual.

OK, all that said, how good are you in the water? How good are you with equipment and paying attention? Can you kick out of gear and do an ascent at 20'? Not that any of this matters a diddly damn if multiple things go sideways and you run out of oxygenated options...

Like the others mentioned, getting proper scuba training/cert is easy and probably important if a fellow is intent on geezeling around looking for gold for extended periods of time sub surface...or just to get the PADI bumper sticker to show everyone how cool you are is worth the expense and effort!....

The toughest part about Scuba or Hookah is hauling all that heavy gear!! I damn near had a heart attack right there on the dock at Capt Dons in Bonaire once just hauling the Wifes and Daughters tanks!

Everybody thats drowned and was revived including my Brother said it was a nice peaceful way to go though, after the initial trashing around and eventual acceptance of course! So theres that...A guy dropping from a heart attack at work before payday is about the worst way I can imagine..One things for sure, something out there is gonna kill us, very few of us are gonna get out of here alive, make an informed decision on all things to minimize the odds of wasting your death! Out of all the ways to check out of here, I'm sure Steve Irwin never once thought twice about snorkeling up behind that damned stingray...I bet he figured a croc or a snake was his ticket.
Mud

Great post Mud! ^

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Ice Scratcher said:

Great post Mud! ^

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Thank you! On another note, I know this one death defying dummy who detects in neck deep water and wears a custom made 'death vest' cast with 30lbs of lead ingots! Doesnt even carry a pony tank let alone a snorkel! Can you believe that? Seems to work for him though...He finds gold!

I suppose he has bigger death possibilities spinning a 36" sawmill blade off the back of a 10' jon boat in some sort of coccamamie ice drive configuration!..theres youtubes vids of this even! If he ever hits a bump and gets spit out and runt over and gets hisself tangled up in that whirling blade of death, it will leave one hell of a mess!

Death waits for us all, Time and Gold wait for Nobody! So what? Hookah, Freedive, Scuba for gold and glory!...Just dont die mowing the yard, cleaning out the gutters or wasting time at work is the answer...consider the odds is all...hell, even just hauling out the trash or taking a shower is dangerous! Look what happened to poor Elvis? Awful waste of death! Damn guy died right there on the crapper pitching a loaf one morning! How embarrassing for a King! I'd rather be cut in half by a sawmill blade than that!
Mud

scout23 said:

In US, no. Not sure if it is required in other countries. But I would stress that you should be certified, your life may depend on it. I am a Search/Rescue/Recovery diver, I have many certifications, and have seen a lot of bad things happen in water... GL Tom

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This!!

No, you don't need it, but it is a GREAT idea to get it...

Mud-puppy said:

Thank you! On another note, I know this one death defying dummy who detects in neck deep water and wears a custom made 'death vest' cast with 30lbs of lead ingots! Doesnt even carry a pony tank let alone a snorkel! Can you believe that? Seems to work for him though...He finds gold!

I suppose he has bigger death possibilities spinning a 36" sawmill blade off the back of a 10' jon boat in some sort of coccamamie ice drive configuration!..theres youtubes vids of this even! If he ever hits a bump and gets spit out and runt over and gets hisself tangled up in that whirling blade of death, it will leave one hell of a mess!

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Lol, I'm stuck working and you made my day bro!

I hope when I go, I'm never found.... But more than likely I'll be found all over the place...

I like that.. "Don't waste a good death"

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Ice Scratcher said:

I like that.. "Don't waste a good death"

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Yeah I know right? Thinking about this logically, a guy only gets one good death...sure there are all sorts of opportunities daily, but to really do it right, and go out with a decent and honorable 'bang', a guy has to pay attention and plan it out and make the most of it!

Hookah diving or detecting wearing a lead vest is the LEAST of our worries! Especially for married/working guys...Lord! Thats Death in the on deck circle or grimly in the batters box right there! We get ourselves into all sorts of dangerous situations having a job or being married! Driving, flying, dinking around trying to make money at work...fixing electrically thingys around the house, let alone the food poisoning or the whole 'sleep apnea' scam when a Wife smothers her Husband with a pillow...

My Wife of 38 years has nearly succeeded in her attempts on my Life several times over the years...Makes me drive down to the Piggley Wiggley for some sort of miniscule item right during low light hours when the deer are moving, or in an ice storm etc, No single Guy would do that! They would just wait until morning! ...I'm lucky as hell and if you asked, She was just 'practicing', probing my weakness kind of deal...38 yrs of attempts and She has not got it right yet! jokes on Her! You gotta give her an 'A' for effort though!...She means well, but just cant seem to get it right!

I did cancel my Life Insurance policy, so that helped for a few years, still, I sleep with one eye open, mainly while driving to work and back, never at home!!...I know where my primary 'death threat' lies!...Right here in the house! It aint on the end of no hookah tube!

I'd relish the thought of getting bitten in half by a bullshark, or stabbed in the chest by a stingray, especially if I was saving somebody elses life, like Kate Uptons...at least a guy has a good story to tell...not from some heart attack at work or sleep apnea, or getting electrocuted fixing the garbage disposal wimpy kinda bullcrap!

Maybe being shot dead in bed with Kate Upton by her jealous husband early of a morning is about the best a guy could hope for?...I dont think I'll be that lucky though...I probably will go out doing a half gainer off the roof cleaning gutters...or in my sleep with a pillow over my face...No matter what happens, somebody here on the Forum is gonna get a hell of a deal on my detecting gear! You only get one chance at doing a good death right...so think it out and plan accordingly.. Living is much harder than dying....
Mud

Hookah diving

I do a little Hookah diving and I highly recommend a scuba cert. You need the knowledge of water pressures etc., how your equipment works and you need to practice all the safety measures. You panic even in 6ft of water and it could be
over.

Not nice to gulp your last lung full of air 15' down.
Even worse is not exhaling on the up.................
Being a non- certified scuba diver without the knowledge of what will happen, the person in the above situation could be in for some serious trouble. Especially ina panic situation where there's a rush to get to the surface.

So for those who don't know:
http://www.alertdiver.com/344

While I've been interested in both , and have absolutely no experience in either. I will say this . It could actually be worthwhile for you to get any expert training you could get , as it could quite possibly save your life . Just recently, we had 3 rescue divers with the fire department diving to try and retrieve a body from a lake of a drowning victim . Something happened, I haven't heard what , but 2 got injured somehow , and 1 died , something happened with his oxygen . These guys had the training, the experience , with years on the job . But something happened , for the worse . So any training you can get , May just save your life . Good luck .