There are some gear sets that will work in a lot of diving situations. For example, you could dive a full cave set while on a shallow reef. It might be a bit of overkill, but it would work.
There are some gear sets that will probably work in a lot of diving situations, but they are not ideal for a variety of reasons. Yes, in theory, a jacket BC, donate secondary, and split fins could work in a cave. Due to the experience and sacrifice of others, the diving community knows that there is different gear that would suit that situation better.
If you are looking at what gear to buy, you really need to evaluate the type of diving that you plan to do. With that said, I have purchased gear only to have to replace it later because the type of diving I wanted to do changed. Also, I have bought other pieces of gear with a plan, but then I never got into the other types of diving; therefore, I paid for something that is overkill and wasted some money on it.
On the discussion of BCD type, get what you think is comfortable and will work in the diving that you plan to do. They all work. I have all three types (jacket, back inflate, BP/W). I am horizontal in the water with all three.
On the fin discussion, knowing where your fins are is more important than the type of fin. I have seen people in paddles destroy a reef just as much as some split fins because they didn't have the situational awareness of where their feet were and what was close to their feet. The best example that I can give is that I realized I had horrible buoyancy and trim when I started. I realized this and stayed further away from the bottom and reefs so I wouldn't damage them.
There are some gear sets that will probably work in a lot of diving situations, but they are not ideal for a variety of reasons. Yes, in theory, a jacket BC, donate secondary, and split fins could work in a cave. Due to the experience and sacrifice of others, the diving community knows that there is different gear that would suit that situation better.
If you are looking at what gear to buy, you really need to evaluate the type of diving that you plan to do. With that said, I have purchased gear only to have to replace it later because the type of diving I wanted to do changed. Also, I have bought other pieces of gear with a plan, but then I never got into the other types of diving; therefore, I paid for something that is overkill and wasted some money on it.
On the discussion of BCD type, get what you think is comfortable and will work in the diving that you plan to do. They all work. I have all three types (jacket, back inflate, BP/W). I am horizontal in the water with all three.
On the fin discussion, knowing where your fins are is more important than the type of fin. I have seen people in paddles destroy a reef just as much as some split fins because they didn't have the situational awareness of where their feet were and what was close to their feet. The best example that I can give is that I realized I had horrible buoyancy and trim when I started. I realized this and stayed further away from the bottom and reefs so I wouldn't damage them.
