I haven't been super active here so my opinion doesn't count for much, but I'd probably nuke the thread for the sake of the hunt. Another option would be to move it to a different subforum that is only viewable by members who meet certain criteria (x number of posts, years of membership, etc.)...
The Mako Minimus has worked well for me - good seal and easy to equalize. I scrubbed the lenses with toothpaste when I first got it and haven't had any major fogging issues.
What kind of viz will you be working with in WA waters? Using a pole spear in poor viz might get really frustrating...
Agree 100% with SwordFish. Definitely learn to equalize and don't dive until you know how. It would suck to get barotrauma right out of the gate and jeopardize your ability to do any diving in the future. Commit to learning the Frenzel method before even worrying about breatholds, O2/CO2 tables...
I got into freediving and spearfishing 2-3 years ago, so not a whole lot of experience. With that said, I tend to go pretty hard once I find something I'm interested in and feel like I've learned a lot over the past few years. Here's a shotgun blast of thoughts that may or may not be helpful...
Good condition Marlin XL7 270 with Weaver picatinny base, SWFA rings, SWFA 10x Super Sniper Mil scope, Butler Creek caps, Caldwell bipod and Magpul sling. This rifle has about 350-400 rds through it. Also included are 60 rds of 130 gr soft point ammo. These shot 1.5-1.75" 10-rd groups at 100...
I can't say I really know Jim too well, but we went to the same church when I was at school in Bozeman. I heard a story that he once packed some of the pastoral staff into the SP on his horses for archery elk. I don't remember the details, but the gist of the story was that he either got thrown...
There was a really nice buck on the other side of this clusterf**k, but I ended up blowing the stalk (my 3rd on him in 2 days) after skirting past the gawkers...
Here are some crappy stills pulled off knock-off gopro footage. These images obviously don't do the place justice and the viz was generally much better than these pics indicate...
I just got back from CA and had an awesome time at the Channel Islands exploring Anacapa and a little of Santa Cruz. My 3-day live aboard trip got turned into a single day trip last minute due to new, more stringent Coast Guard enforcement of fire watch regulations so I had to scramble to fill...