09/06/2026
Stay refreshed with your dive skills! Take a look at this textbook giant stride entry demonstrated by Dimitrios — Δημήτρης
For a proper giant stride, the diver has their toes over the edge of the entry point, the right hand (regulator recovery hand) holds your mask and regulator in place, palm securing the ref and fingers holding the mask. Back in the day we always used to say left hand olds your weight belt buckle and gauges to protect them from unbuckling or damage but somewhere along the line some we realized it can also be a good idea to protect the back of your head from accidentally knocking into the tank valve and first stage so the left hand is like dealer’s choice, take your pick. Once you’ve made sure there’s no one in your path on the surface or under the water, make sure to look out at the horizon with good posture (your body tends to follow your eyes so looking down at the water you’re more likely to faceplant which can break masks) and take a GIANT stride away from the boat or entry point, staying mid stride with your legs split until you’re submerged which becomes the perfect time to bring your legs/fins together an a kicking motion to assist you back to the surface.
Once you confirm you have established buoyancy, signal that you’re OK to boat captain/divemaster/buddy.
More divers are comfortable with the giant stride entry making it a far more popular choice if given the option. On Keep-ah you can giant stride or back roll and USA great place to get your practice in and become comfortable with both before you end up diving somewhere that you do not have a choice.
Plus it’s very hard to train this in the pool training and although the general idea is communicated, it doesn’t really allow you to get the full experience and real life scenario practice.
