How to Log a Dive: What to Record After Every Scuba Dive

What information should a dive log include?

A complete dive log entry captures the facts you will need later for certification requirements, dive planning, and troubleshooting your air consumption. The core fields every entry needs are:

• Date, time, and dive site name (with country or region)
• Maximum depth and average depth
• Bottom time and surface interval
• Starting and ending tank pressure, tank size, and gas mix
• Water temperature, visibility, and current
• Exposure suit and weight used
• Buddy or guide name, and instructor signature when required

Why should you log every dive?

Dive logs are proof of experience. Dive centers check your logbook before advanced courses, deep dives, or renting equipment — many operators will not take you on a 30-meter wall dive with an empty logbook.

Logging also makes you measurably better: tracking your air consumption across dives shows whether your breathing rate is improving, and recording weights per suit and water type means you skip the trial-and-error weight check on your next trip.

When is the best time to log a dive?

Log within an hour of surfacing. Depth and time come straight from your dive computer, but conditions, wildlife sightings, and what went wrong or right fade fast. Divers who log on the boat capture details that divers who log at the hotel have already forgotten.

Paper or digital dive log?

Paper logs are traditional and never run out of battery, but they can be lost, soaked, and cannot compute statistics. A digital dive log backs up every entry, calculates your totals automatically, and keeps certification cards in one place. Many divers keep both: digital as the primary record, paper for instructor stamps.