Just certified I want gear

[drivesrf]

Hello all, first post! I just received my PADI OW cert the other day and I'm addicted now! I want to buy my own gear, but it is quite expensive. I have looked in the LDS and that is where it is extremely expensive. I have also researched online and found some packages from Leisure pro.
Sherwood Holiday Package

Oceanic Complete Package

Cressi Open Water Package

I was wondering if you could take a look at these and tell me if they are good or not! If these are no good could you recommend another good package?

Also, would you jump right into AOW or would you do some easy dives on your own first?
Thanks!

 

[supergaijin]

I'll bite....
I wouldn't buy a package.

Buy a 'cheap' new reg, mask and fins from from the LDS. (Seeing as this is your first post and you just certified, I'm surprised you even know the acronym).

Rent the rest for the first dozen dives. Then see if you want more. You'll save money in the long run.

 

[diversteve]

I'd buy the Oceanic b4 I'd buy the other two. The Cressi package price reflects the fact that there's no computer. Not that that's bad but it means you'll be table diving - a computer lets you maximize your bottom time. Just about everyone has one and will be staying down longer than you most likely. Except your buddy...

Sherwood is a good solid line, I personally think Oceanic is slightly better. Personally I think any package is a compromise as it's built to meet a price point. Also notice that the Avid is an 07' model. A lot has changed in five years. If it's five years old - even stored properly, I'd be concerned about rubber deterioration.

Which of those brands is your local LDS(s) authorized to service? Unless you live in NYC, I wouldn't like sending my gear back to LeisurePro annually.

Does your LDS compete with online sellers? We have one here that will match prices on anything they sell.

Do you want a jacket style BC like the Probe or Avid? A lot of people prefer a back-inflate BCD like most of the Zeagle line.

Where do you plan to dive? warm or cold water? If very cold, you may want a reg with an enviro kit so it doesn't freeze/freeflow. Or one that can be to added later.
If you plan to travel a lot to warmer destinations, there are travel bc's that are designed to be more compact for packing. Many times they trade lift for convenience so aren't as good in colder water. None of the three BC's in those packages are travel gear. There are also some hybrids that will work equally well in either.

I agree with the above poster, rent as many different configurations as you can from local stores in your area - you might find something that you just have to have which will dictate whether you buy a "package" or not.

Have you looked at Scubatoys.com - they also offer packages. Everything they sell carries a full mfr's warranty also. LeisurePro sometimes offers their warranty in place of the mfr's - I'm fairly certain they're an Oceanic dealer - IDK about Sherwood or Cressi:

Leisure Pro buyers find the best products at the lowest possible prices wherever they are. Since (sometimes) that means that we do not buy it directly from the manufacturer, nor are we authorized by them to sell their products, so we are not bound by the official/unofficial manufacturer's suggested retail prices, and we can pass on the tremendous savings to you. In some instances the product will come without an English language manual or manufacturer's warrantee cards valid in the United States. In those cases, we provide our own Leisure Pro Warranty, which offers equal or greater protection.

You might set a budget and define what you're looking for and the type of diving you plan to do - now and in the future and let people here make some suggestions. If you're like many of us, you'll replace everything a few years later with what you really need/want. So maybe it makes sense to get a better handle on what that is first.

Someone will likely post soon that a BP/W is the best solution for you also. It might be but evaluate that against your needs/desires also. It isn't for me.

 

[drivesrf]

I am in NJ I'll pretty much be diving in colder water and don't travel that often. For my training I used the jacket style BC with integrated weights and really liked that.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Before buying gear you need to ask yourself some questions. I went crazy over the package deals that were being offered when I first got certed and was lucky that I didn't bite on any of them. Also spent hours on ebay looking at stuff. Had the fever as they say. Damn near went off the deep end and bought a H.U.B. ! That's how sick I was with it. Would still be trying to dump that monstrosity if I had!

You need to ask yourself what are the conditions you will most likely be diving on a regular basis?
What temperatures?
Will it be salt or freshwater and if fresh nice clear stuff or local quarries with silt, algae, and other stuff?
Will you be diving cold water or perhaps even very cold as in under the ice? Fair question if you live in areas where that occurs.
Do you plan on traveling with it?
If possible where do you see yourself and your diving in a year? Two years?
What is your budget?
Before I'd spend money on a computer I'd get a better reg. New divers, IMO, should dive tables using square profiles as much as possible while working on your buoyancy, trim, and basic skills. You don't need to squeeze every minute out of a dive. What you need to do is get quality time out of the time you do have. A thirty minute dive where you get to feel what true neutral buoyancy and excellent trim for ten minutes is more beneficial than an hour just bouncing around down there.

Answer those questions just posed while renting as many different types of setups as you can. Then start pricing gear.

---------- Post added ----------

Answered some of them while I was typing. Good deal. Northeast diving. Maybe some wrecks off the coast. Hate to be the first one to recommend it but I'd look into a back inflate of some type like a BPW or the Zeagle like an Express Tech with a 35lb bladder. Your going to be needing weight with the exposure suits you are likely to use. Putting all of that in one system like a weight integrated BC is not advised. I have an entire chapter devoted to gear selection in my book and why I recommend the set ups I do. All of it is based on solid principles dealing with adaptability, self rescue, buddy rescue, and ease of use. I started with WI BC and thought it was the shizzle until I tried my first BPW. Never looked back. Now I have four plates and five wings in addition to the Zeagle I noted.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Jim's comments are very important to read and consider before purchasing gear. But I do encourage you to buy your own equipment- it will facilitate you being an active diver! Price is not the only factor: durability, serviceability, and how it fits you (literally and subjectively) are also important. That is why I think purchase of stuff you can hold in your hand and try in the pool is a good idea. That's my personal bias.
DivemasterDennis

 

[cannon fodder]

Personally I think any package is a compromise as it's built to meet a price point.

Try the "build your own package" option on LP's website or call them. I live in Manhattan so LP is my LDS. You can pick and choose and they will discount the options for you, Oceanic reg, Cressi BCD, Mares Computer, etc. I did this and they also discounted two pairs of fins (one for me one for the wife), since I bought them along with the package.

 

[SnorkelLA]

I second the BP/W. Just make sure that if you aren't comfortable setting your own harness up that you choose the option "web harness" on whatever site or LDS you buy from, or you'll be surprised by a big roll of nylon webbing, some D-Rings, and your plate of choice!

HOG regs are some of the best money can buy IMO. And it doesn't take a lot of money to buy them! A full on HOG singles rig is about $500 and it'll breathe on par or better than rigs twice the price. They are DIN only though. They also tend to come with a varying range of IP and cracking pressures from the factory, so I'd recommend purchasing through Jim Lapenta (who has posted in this topic under the username Jim Lapenta ) he bench tests all regs before they leave his shop

 

[herman]

I am in total agreement with Jim on this one. SLOW down and do a little diving first before buying, rent a few different designs before deciding on what you really like or want. Here are some hints to help you along.

When anyone recommends brand X regulator as the absolute best or type Y of BC as so much superior to any other, move on to the next post. They are either a: selling that brand/model or b: drank way too much coolaid for that brand or model. Fact is most major brands (and some lesser known ones) are quite good, most will take a machine to tell the actual difference. Same goes for BCs, sooner or later someone is going to tell you type "a" is so much better than the rest and in some applications they are but a good diver can make any BC look good and most BCs will work quite nicely for most divers. Fit and comfort are 90% of what is important.

If possible borrow regs as opposed to renting them. While most modern regs are good and work well, rental regs are notorious for being poorly tuned. A great reg can be horrible to use if improperly tuned and a low end reg can be made to work nicely if tuned by a good tech. Odds are someone’s personal req will be better tuned than a rental one.

Don't overlook used gear, esp BCs. There is little to go wrong with them (BCs) and even as a new diver, learning to test a BC is fairly easy. You can save quite a bit of cash buying a used BC and if/when you decide to move on, it's resale value has not dropped nearly as much as a new. When buying used, avoid eBay and the like. For a new diver, it's important you can get your hands on the item before laying down cash. While on the subject of used, another post to ignore is the "it's life support equipment, used is dangerous". Again, they sell new gear or drank too much coolaid. Fact is every one of us dive used gear on 99.9% of our dives, the only difference us who used it last...if "used" gear was so dangerous how many folks would be dying of rental or training gear? I am not saying used gear should not be inspected by a competent tech, esp regs they should be but simply because it's used has no impact on it's safety.

Consider dropping the computer and upgrade the reg to a mid range model. As a new diver you will likely (and should be) doing fairly easy shallow dives where the tables are fine. You will be running low on gas way before coming close to your NDL’s The computer can come later when you have more experience. While on computers, when you buy make sure it is nitrox capable, odds are you will want that feature and usually they are only a few dollars more than the non-nitrox model.

One more note, if you buy on line there is a good chance it will come dissambled and untested, things a LDS will do for you. While a good LSD will not, it is not uncommon for a LDS to either charge you or flat out refuse to assist you with gear purchased on line. I am not a big "ya gotta buy from a LSD" person but it is something for a new diver to consider.

 

[scubamarketing]

As cannon fodder said, we also do a great build your own option that might even compete with the prices you're seeing for those packages. If you submit a package, call or email, we can frequently offer some great unadvertised bundle pricing. Let me know if there's any way I can help, I'm familiar with all of the brands and have used them all off and on for the better part of 15 years.