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From Our Head Divemaster, Fabio Amaral:

If you are planning to dive on Bikini Atoll, the following information will help you have a more enjoyable experience:

1 ) Bikini is a remote site and serviced once a week via a commuter flight; therefore, strict weight restrictions apply. If you pack unwisely the airline might not permit you to check your excess baggage--even if you are willing to pay for it: The airplane simply cannot take the weight.

For a full group coming to Bikini (13 people) there is an absolute maximum of 260 lb. per person, which includes your body weight and carry-on luggage. If you are coming with a group it is advisable to know the weight of the entire group. Passenger and luggage weights will also be diligently checked by our staff based on Majuro Atoll before you depart for Bikini.

Although remote, there are a lot of amenities on the island, including a small grocery store and laundry service. This means that you don't need to bring much in the way of clothing: T-shirts, shorts and trunks will do fine.

For diving equipment, I recommend you bring the following items [Note: Bring all your dive gear because we do NOT have rental equipment on Bikini]:

1) Primary regulator--first stage, low pressure hose, second stage, BC inflator hose, high pressure hose, submersible pressure gauge. We recommend the use of DIN fittings. Our tank valves are DIN/ yoke convertible so they can accommodate both styles.

** On Bikini we provide twin steel 85s with isolation manifolds and the tank bands in place . We also have single 104s with an H-valve for those who do not have BCs suited for double tank setups. Either setup works just fine. **

2 ) Secondary regulator--first stage, low pressure hose, second stage.

3 ) BC/harness--back inflation preferred. I use the Ocean Management Systems [OMS] back plate harness system with the aluminum back plate and dual bladder BCD.

4 ) Mask

5 ) Snorkel if you plan to do any snorkeling--not used for the deep dives.

6 ) Fins

7) Boots

8 ) Wet suit--a 3mm full suit or a Polartec skin suit will do fine.

9 ) Gloves--will help protect your hands from sharp edges on the wrecks, as well as holding the ascent lines.

10 ) Primary light--you can purchase batteries on Bikini for a reasonable price. The canister style lights with rechargeable batteries like those used for cave diving are the best, but take care that they do not put you over the restricted weight limits for the airplane. I use the OMS Phantom Dive Light.

11 ) Back-up light. (Bring two if you are going to do extensive penetrations--only for certified/ qualified divers )

12 ) Cutting tool--a sharp knife, surgical scissors or a "z" knife.

13 ) Dive-Alert and safety marker buoy (sausage style / can be substituted by a lift bag)

14 ) Dive computer-- pay close attention to the computer you are bringing. Most dive computers on the market are not designed for staged decompression diving and will lock-up on you or go out of range. While we can assure you that the "Alladin-Pro" from Uwatec, the OMS Nitrox, the "Bridge II" from Dive Rite, Suunto nitrox, and the "Monitor" from U.S. Divers will work on Bikini, we highly recommend the NiTek 3 computer from Dive Rite as the best computer available for doing the decompression dives on Bikini.

It is my opinion, based on our experience here on Bikini, that the following computers are not suitable for the kind of diving we do on Bikini and are therefore NOT recommended:

Cochran Nemesis and Commander computers
All Oceanic computers
Source computers
U.S. Divers Matrix computers
Scuba Pro DC 12 computers
"Edge" from Orca
"B'Air" from Dive-Rite

15 ) Back up dive computer/ depth gauge and tables. You must have an alternative means of tracking your decompression profile. Computer failures have happened more than once on Bikini.

16 ) Decompression regulator--if you will engage in technical diving while on Bikini, bring your oxygen regulator.

17 ) Safety reel and lift bag.

The diving environment at Bikini is certainly unique and as such requires special procedures:

We require that you have as an absolute minimum 50 dives and be comfortable in and under the water. Buoyancy and ascent rate skills are an absolute necessity. If basic skills are still a problem for you--such as clearing a flooded mask or recovering a regulator that has fallen out of your mouth--you should reconsider diving on Bikini until you have more experience.

We hope the above information has been helpful and we hope to see you on Bikini soon.