another newbie chosing equpment

[utdivermatt]

Sounds like mostly good reasons. I just saw the 'I'm sort of planning to just go with it from what I've read.', and thought it was a good idea not to blindly trust those on this board. Sounds like you have good reasons though. Enjoy the plate. They really are great once you get them adjusted and get used to them.

 

[kerstil]

I haven't heard many say they would not get a bp/w again. The other way around, from bcd to bpw seems like most people prefer that.
I will take my new gear to the pool, just hope I can get a tank from somewhere.
I need to decide on a reg soon though.
Thought it may be easier to get reg package with octo and console. Any advice?

 

[RJP]

Oxychec 30# wing and aluminium back plate

Why Al vs Steel? I'd rather lug the extra weight in my bag to keep it off my belt when I got to the dive location.

 

[skynscuba]

Why Al vs Steel? I'd rather lug the extra weight in my bag to keep it off my belt when I got to the dive location.

Could be enough difference to avoid paying excess baggage fees. Most of the airlines have tightened up the limit, and are actually checking/charging. It is not like he will be wearing that much weight anyway, in warm water.

 

[kerstil]

I go on little 10 seaters with total allowance of 20lb
I have gone back and forth on this.
I thought I could get weight pockets for the tank and still avoid a wt belt.

 

[kerstil]

my camera eqipment by itself weighs 10+ lb.
Any advice on regs?
Does one generally get what one pays for?

 

[RJP]

I go on little 10 seaters with total allowance of 20lb

20lbs? Hell, you can't bring ANYTHING. Just rent it all when you get there.

:-0

 

[*Floater*]

Hi
I'm going on a trip to Cocos in January and trying to buy all my equipment (I have nada)
My head is spinning a little but I thought I would go with:
Oxychec 30# wing and aluminium back plate

Sounds like a good choice. Which 30# oxy wing do you plan to go with and which harness? STA?

Also consider buying a few SS boltsnaps to clip things onto the D-rings.

Oceanic GT3 CDX5 regulator and just get any octo

I saw these reviews: http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=5250&section=1002&action=display&show=

http://www.scubadiving.com/article4112/?m_nPage=5

http://dive.scubadiving.com/PDF/200506GR_breathers_chart.pdf (warning PDF)

Don't know much about this reg myself. Just make sure you can service it yourself or get it serviced in your dive shop. DIN is generally considered better than Yoke, but many locations only have one or the other, so make sure it's compatible with the tanks you'll be renting or bring an adapter. Also, consider what hose lengths you want and see if you can buy the reg with those hoses.

Do you get what you pay for? Generally yes, but as always there are good deals to be had. How much are you planning to spend on the reg? I'd suggest you post in the reg forum and ask what the best deals are (and where) for that price for the type of diving you plan to do.

Any consol - I already have a Oceanic atom watch
Well thats as far as I got
Just need to take the plunge, any reason why I should't?

You just need an SPG, right? I like the ones Soggy (member on this board) sells - I think they were $65 shipped or something like that, HP hose is extra (24" works for most people). I have 3 different brands and those are my favorites because they are high quality dir zone spg's with several features i like (no red zone or other cheesy colors, small increments, scale up to 4000 psi or 300 bar instead of something higher than you'll ever need).

For compass I'd go with a wrist unit, Suunto SK-7 in a DSS bungee boot seems to be the most popular on this board. I'm just using a basic cheepo compass right now, and a $10 clip-on mini compass on my computer's wrist band.

I like to bring my own bp/w because resorts don't usually have those. The regs are less important for me, except I like the 7ft hose for primary, 24" hose for backup setup, which I usually cannot rent either. Also consider a light in case you do night dives. I like the Ikelite PCa a lot. It's cheap at around $22, uses 6 AA batteries and is the most powerful light in it's size that I know of. If you upgrade later it'll still make a great backup (unless you go DIR since it's not DIR compliant).

 

[Cheekymonkey]

do you mean 20 kg ? 20lbs sounds a little ridiculous

 

[BKP]

my camera eqipment by itself weighs 10+ lb.
Any advice on regs?
Does one generally get what one pays for?

We dive the Atomic Aquatics B2 (primary). A little pricey, but they breathe great at any depth, in any position. I've never heard of anyone owning one that complained... Lots of threads on here about it (and lots of users of that reg).