As a New Diver, Where to Invest Money First
- Thread starter Pawel G Majkowski
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OP
Pawel G Majkowski
Registered
NetDoc, Thanks! Wife's idea to get certified. She has been anxious to get the cert. since she was young.
Yes, I am looking at the Suunto dive watches as a next purchase. I want the wireless ones for tank pressure also. Looks like they will run about $1.2K.
I have a ScubaPro Hydros Pro paid but on back order from the local dive shop. Unfortunately the Hydros won't be available to me until September, since they are new and my size (L) seems to be very popular. The dive shop does have a nice Aqua Lung Axiom i3 that I would pick up as well. That one is available to me right now. So the decision is hard. I am leaning towards the Hydros.
Still waiting to see about the regulator, you like to rent a few to try them out. Expecting to purchase somewhere in the ball park of $700, like the Aqua Lung Legend.
We will certainly be posting pictures. We have the GoPro Hero 4 Black, so it does 4K. We have been using it for all of our previous trips and sports, but now I am excited to take it in the water. Also bought an LED light attachment and a red filter to bring out the color. Like the dive gear, the GoPro gear is growing as well!
DiverDownD3
Contributor
If I may, suggest that you leave the GoPros at home for awhile and learn from my mistakes. I wanted to show my family video footage from my dives right after I got certified. Because I was new and my buoyancy and trim needed some work, the videos never came out very good. Also, I noticed I would get tunnel vision when I had the camera and my awareness wasn't were it should have been. Very easy to overload yourself as a new diver. So I started leaving the GoPro at home. Since I wasn't worried about taking video, I was able to concentrate on developing basic skills, which seem to be coming along. Right now, if anything, I would take the GoPro down just for a few pictures, but I still wouldn't take video.
But everyone is different, just a suggestion from a fellow diver with limited experience.
iamrushman
Contributor
be safe and try not to over-tax or overload yourself .....dive dive dive for the experience....enjoy the underwater world.
OP
Pawel G Majkowski
Registered
I completely agree with the two of you. My plan was to just have the GoPro wrist mounted and folded flat against my arm. It's use will be secondary to my dive and safety. If I feel comfortable and I am cruising around, hey why not pop it up and hit record.
My GoPro style has always been, mount it somewhere on the body, hit record, enjoy the activity, let the chips fall where they may in regards quality and what is in the shot, then try to straighten it all out at home on the computer.
Edit- And if the video is shaky or poor quality I can always delete it.
OP
Pawel G Majkowski
Registered
DiverDownD3, I share that sentiment. During my NAUI cert. dives, one of the skills was compass use. I recall how hard it turley was to be orienteering with my left hand, watching a computer and PSI in the left and working on buoyancy and trim, equalizing pressure in ears and mask clearing. Mentally it was very taxing. Juggling so many tasks mentally and physically all at once was very demanding and actually accelerating, this really reinforced my curiosity and choice to become certified.
Once you gain a bit of experience, the task loading will go down as you get used to doing a "circuit" of your gauges (a quick scan of SPG to make sure gas usage is in line with expectaions, check compass heading, check NDL & depth) with the buoyancy and trim becoming more and more automatic (you will find yourself concentrating on them less as you dive more - I know I have in my relatively few dives)
Dorian
Registered
One suggestion when you are buying your gear is to stick with established companies with a lot of market share for your first set of gear.
Personally I dive an Atomic regulator and a Halcyon bp/w. I wouldn't recommend that to a new diver. I travel with a full back-up reg set and replacement parts for the bp/w. It's not easy to get replacement parts everywhere and I can do most of my own repairs. A solid Scupapro regulator on the other hand is never a problem to service or repair.
Personally I dive an Atomic regulator and a Halcyon bp/w. I wouldn't recommend that to a new diver. I travel with a full back-up reg set and replacement parts for the bp/w. It's not easy to get replacement parts everywhere and I can do most of my own repairs. A solid Scupapro regulator on the other hand is never a problem to service or repair.
Nikole
Contributor
Depends where u live.. If u live In Florida like me and you dive all the time then it's prob best to own your own BCD, regulator... So that you don't rent, rent, rent like me, I've probably paid for a bcd /reg already just from renting. You'll dive more often when you have your own stuff. I don't dive sometimes because I don't want to drive to a shop to go rent it.
If u plan on getting certified for nitrox you'll need a computer. Your blend percentage will determine how deep you can do and your no stop time. And it's different for each blend. I'm currently taking nitrox. And then you'll prob need a backup computer. I'm currently taking nitrox course and this is what I've learned so far.
If u plan on getting certified for nitrox you'll need a computer. Your blend percentage will determine how deep you can do and your no stop time. And it's different for each blend. I'm currently taking nitrox. And then you'll prob need a backup computer. I'm currently taking nitrox course and this is what I've learned so far.
Addicted2H2O
Contributor
I'll weigh in here and of course I don't near the dives some of these others have. First thing I'd recommend now that you have your NAUI OW cert is to do the Advanced course. This is the route I took (completed May 2015) and it really opened my eyes to how diving should be. Yeah, the initial OW course made me want to dive and taught me how to do it, but the AOW course really got me excited about it! Allowed to me to check out some of the advanced skills like night diving, search & recovery, deep diving, etc. It wasn't until after I got my AOW that I started purchasing gear.
Now this is probably highly unorthodox, but my first real gear purchase (needed a wetsuit - 5mm, 2 lights, tank marker, and compass for the AOW so I had those) was a Hog D3 1st Stage, Mares Viper Octo, and an Ocean Reef G-Diver full face mask. I'm pretty certain a full face isn't something you typically see new divers jumping into (pun intended) but I knew it would drastically increase my enjoyment of diving due to not having to worry about mask fogging, leaks, etc. And to me, it's just a helluva lot more comfortable. They're not for everyone. They do take getting used to and they are a bit cumbersome at first. But now that I've got a few dives under my belt with it, mostly lake dives, there's no way I'm ever going back without a really good reason. Expensive piece of gear for sure, but for me, it's been worth every penny!
Next round of gear purchasing was my Oceanic ProPlus 3. For no other reason than I didn't like diving tables. Tables account for the square dive profile, which you NEVER use. Depth constantly fluctuates adn tables don't account for that. Having a good DC simply gives you more bottom time. And they make diving not quite such a daunting task. Set your alarms, periodically check your gauges, and enjoy the dive! When the alarm beeps...time's up. Just my viewpoint here. Not to be taken as low for sure.
Round 3 was my BC, which was a Father's Day gift from my wife and children. Zeagle Brigade. I dove several rental jacket style BC's and just didn't like how they made me roll side to side in the water. Tried a rental back inflate and underwater it was night and day different. Seems at this point you and the Mrs. have already purchased most of your equipment, but I at least would've recommended trying each type of BC to see which one worked best for you. Maybe you did that. Not all BC's are crated equal for sure. I picked one that worked well for me and have thoroughly enjoyed diving it!
Last piece of gear, which I purchased this past weekend and am waiting for it to come in....tank. Only reason I even picked one up is because I could've bought one by now for what I've spent on rentals. Now, if I want to drive a couple hours and go dive (going with my wife to do her OW dives this weekend), I can load up my gear and go. If I'm going on vacation somewhere....the tank is staying at home.
Looks like you're int eh market now for a reg set. Do some research. Read reviews. See what people are using and what works for them. I was recommended the Hog D3 by my LDS and so far it's been a great reg. Not a budget killer ($290 First stage, and I think $180 second stage) and I really like the swivel feature. First dive on it was in 54 degree water and it worked perfect. Doubt I'll ever get much colder than that honestly, so I don't need something that's good for ice diving. Just find out what works, try out different ones if you can, then decide from there.
Bottom line....the best gear to buy is the gear that makes you want to dive often! Whatever gear gives you the most enjoyment out of diving....you really can't go wrong!
Now this is probably highly unorthodox, but my first real gear purchase (needed a wetsuit - 5mm, 2 lights, tank marker, and compass for the AOW so I had those) was a Hog D3 1st Stage, Mares Viper Octo, and an Ocean Reef G-Diver full face mask. I'm pretty certain a full face isn't something you typically see new divers jumping into (pun intended) but I knew it would drastically increase my enjoyment of diving due to not having to worry about mask fogging, leaks, etc. And to me, it's just a helluva lot more comfortable. They're not for everyone. They do take getting used to and they are a bit cumbersome at first. But now that I've got a few dives under my belt with it, mostly lake dives, there's no way I'm ever going back without a really good reason. Expensive piece of gear for sure, but for me, it's been worth every penny!
Next round of gear purchasing was my Oceanic ProPlus 3. For no other reason than I didn't like diving tables. Tables account for the square dive profile, which you NEVER use. Depth constantly fluctuates adn tables don't account for that. Having a good DC simply gives you more bottom time. And they make diving not quite such a daunting task. Set your alarms, periodically check your gauges, and enjoy the dive! When the alarm beeps...time's up. Just my viewpoint here. Not to be taken as low for sure.
Round 3 was my BC, which was a Father's Day gift from my wife and children. Zeagle Brigade. I dove several rental jacket style BC's and just didn't like how they made me roll side to side in the water. Tried a rental back inflate and underwater it was night and day different. Seems at this point you and the Mrs. have already purchased most of your equipment, but I at least would've recommended trying each type of BC to see which one worked best for you. Maybe you did that. Not all BC's are crated equal for sure. I picked one that worked well for me and have thoroughly enjoyed diving it!
Last piece of gear, which I purchased this past weekend and am waiting for it to come in....tank. Only reason I even picked one up is because I could've bought one by now for what I've spent on rentals. Now, if I want to drive a couple hours and go dive (going with my wife to do her OW dives this weekend), I can load up my gear and go. If I'm going on vacation somewhere....the tank is staying at home.
Looks like you're int eh market now for a reg set. Do some research. Read reviews. See what people are using and what works for them. I was recommended the Hog D3 by my LDS and so far it's been a great reg. Not a budget killer ($290 First stage, and I think $180 second stage) and I really like the swivel feature. First dive on it was in 54 degree water and it worked perfect. Doubt I'll ever get much colder than that honestly, so I don't need something that's good for ice diving. Just find out what works, try out different ones if you can, then decide from there.
Bottom line....the best gear to buy is the gear that makes you want to dive often! Whatever gear gives you the most enjoyment out of diving....you really can't go wrong!
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