A full scuba set and cylinders are carried on board and included in Pinta’s dive charter rate. What you bring yourself is the personal kit: mask, dive computer, reef hook, SMB and spool, exposure suit appropriate to the zone, and a spares pouch. In Komodo the reef hook and SMB are not optional extras.
The bring-versus-provided table
| Item | On board | Bring your own | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cylinders and weights | Yes | — | Included in the dive charter rate |
| BCD, regulator, fins | Yes, full scuba sets carried | Preferred | Familiar kit performs better in current |
| Mask | Sometimes available | Yes | A leaking rental mask ruins a current dive |
| Dive computer | No | Yes | Non-negotiable on multi-dive days; set your own nitrox mix |
| Reef hook and 1 m line | Ask in advance | Yes | Essential at Castle Rock, useful at Batu Bolong and Crystal Rock |
| SMB and spool (20 m+) | Guides carry theirs | Yes | Drift pick-ups are standard here; every diver should carry one |
| Exposure suit | Sometimes | Yes | 3 mm north, 5 mm plus hood and gloves for the south |
| Gloves | No | Yes | You will be handling rock on the pinnacles |
| Torch | No | Yes | Night dives at sheltered bays; also for ledges and macro |
| Save-a-dive spares kit | Limited | Yes | Mask strap, fin strap, o-rings, mouthpiece, cable ties |
| Certification card and logbook | — | Yes | Site access depends on both |
| Dive insurance documentation | — | Yes | Remote park, air evacuation |
The three items divers most often skip and most regret
A reef hook
At Castle Rock, where the current is rated 5 out of 5 and the entry is negative, a reef hook is what turns a fight into a spectacle. Hook into dead rock, never coral, pay out about a metre of line, deflate slightly and hang. Divers without one spend the dive finning and surface early. It weighs almost nothing and costs less than a taxi from the airport.
An SMB and spool of your own
Komodo drift dives end with the boat coming to you. A diver surfacing without a marker in a channel with chop is genuinely hard to see. Carry a 20-metre spool minimum and know how to deploy from depth before you arrive — a first attempt at 5 metres in current is not the moment to learn.
The right exposure suit for the zone you booked
A 3 mm suit is comfortable in the northern and central park at 26 to 29 °C. It is not enough in the south, where upwelling drops water to 21 to 25 °C from June to September with a sharp thermocline. Divers who bring a shorty on a southern charter do one dive and sit out the rest, which is an expensive way to learn about oceanography.
What is genuinely on board
Pinta carries full scuba sets and cylinders for divers, and the dive deck runs off a proper platform with a glass-bottom tender powered by twin 40 HP Yamahas for site drops. Guide ratios follow the PADI standard of four divers per guide. Nitrox is available on request — confirm before booking rather than assuming. Emergency oxygen and first aid are carried; no liveaboard carries a recompression chamber.
Above the waterline the vessel is a 30-metre by 6-metre ironwood and teak phinisi built in 2021, carrying fourteen guests in five en-suite cabins with eight crew, with 5,000 litres of fresh water and a jacuzzi, paddleboards and kayaks for the surface intervals. Freshwater rinse for camera gear and a dry area for electronics are part of that setup, which matters more than it sounds when you have a housing to look after for a week.
Renting versus bringing your own
The economics are simple and most divers overthink them. Bulky items — BCD, regulator, fins — are carried on board as full scuba sets, so hauling your own across two flights buys familiarity rather than availability. That familiarity is worth something in current: a regulator you know the breathing resistance of and a BCD whose dump valve you can find without looking are genuinely safer at Batu Bolong. It is a judgement call, not a rule.
Small items are not a judgement call. A mask, a computer, a reef hook and an SMB are cheap, light and specific to you, and none of them can be improvised at sea. If you bring nothing else, bring those four. Add a save-a-dive kit — mask strap, fin strap, o-rings, mouthpiece, cable ties — because there is no dive shop between the anchorage and Labuan Bajo.
Packing beyond the dive kit
- Reef-safe sunscreen without oxybenzone or octinoxate. You are diving inside a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Seasickness medication taken before you feel unwell, not after. December to March especially.
- Soft bag, not a hard case. Storage on a phinisi is real but finite.
- Power bank and the right adapter. Indonesia uses type C and F plugs at 230 V.
- Cash in rupiah for park tickets and locally collected charges — IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per visit plus operator-collected daily fees.
- Long-sleeve rash guard for sun on the deck and stings in the water.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to bring my own dive gear to Komodo?
Full scuba sets and cylinders are carried on board and included in the charter rate. You should still bring your own mask, dive computer, reef hook, SMB and spool, and an exposure suit suited to the zone you are diving.
Do I need a reef hook in Komodo?
Yes for the current-heavy pinnacles, especially Castle Rock where the current is rated 5 out of 5. Hook into dead rock rather than coral and carry about a metre of line.
What wetsuit thickness do I need in Komodo?
A 3 mm suit is comfortable in the northern and central park at 26 to 29 degrees. Southern sites need 5 mm with a hood and gloves during the June-to-September upwelling, when water drops to 21 to 25 degrees.
Are weights and tanks included on a Pinta dive charter?
Yes. Cylinders and weights, along with full scuba sets, are included in the dive charter rate. Nitrox is available on request and should be confirmed before booking.
Should I bring my own SMB?
Yes. Komodo drift dives end with a boat pick-up, so every diver should carry a surface marker buoy and a spool of at least twenty metres, and should be able to deploy it from depth.
Keep reading
- Pinta dive specs 2027 — compressor, tanks, cabins and the full dive rate card
- Komodo certification requirements — what level and how many logged dives you need
- Shooting underwater in Komodo — the settings and housing setup that survive current
Booking and questions
Pinta is operated and sold by Komodo Luxury, the Labuan Bajo charter operator running trips in Komodo National Park since 2015. Reservations, dive-team questions and date holds: WhatsApp +62 811 3823 875 or [email protected].
