Your follow-up post helps a lot.
To meet your budget requirements, you may want to consider some used gear. And, eBay is a potential source. A word of caution on that approach - you can get good gear, at a good price, on eBay, but you have to be disciplined and patient, and you have to do your homework in advance to know the usual new prices (which you have time to do). Find the lowest on-line price for the item new, and then bid up to only 50% of that value. You will not win everything you bid on, but you won't be exposed to as much buyer's remorse eithjer. I have purchased ~8 regulators on eBay, most of them Zeagle (and I echo the suggestion of a Zeagle 50D as a cold water reg) or Apeks, all of them fully functional, and none of them for more than $170 for a first stage and primary second stage, at a minimum. In most cases the prices were lower, and the only reason for even getting near the $170 was one reg included a full console and an alternate second stage. But, I had to be willing to pass on a number of items I wanted because the prices got ridiculous. The same is true for eBay BCDs / backplates. The good deals are there, but you have to look for them and bid wisely.
This addresses one of the issues boulderjohn raised. A 7mm wetsuit or a drysuit (along with the thick hood and glovces) will certainly have an influence on your buoyancy, and will, in all likelihood, create a substantial weight requirement. For that reason, I would echo the suggestion to at least consider options beyond the jacket. A back-inflate BCD with MINIMAL inherent buoyancy - or even, dare I say it, a stainless steel backplate - should be near the top of a list of things to consider, along with a steel tank, rather than an aluminum tank. For me, a 7mm farmer john / shorty combo is so buoyant with a soft BCD (which is inherently positively buoyant, itself) that I needed an enormous amount of added weight. The SS BP provides some of the needed weight, in a location that is useful, and adds no inherent positive buoyancy, which many jackets and soft back-inflate BCDs add.
To meet your budget requirements, you may want to consider some used gear. And, eBay is a potential source. A word of caution on that approach - you can get good gear, at a good price, on eBay, but you have to be disciplined and patient, and you have to do your homework in advance to know the usual new prices (which you have time to do). Find the lowest on-line price for the item new, and then bid up to only 50% of that value. You will not win everything you bid on, but you won't be exposed to as much buyer's remorse eithjer. I have purchased ~8 regulators on eBay, most of them Zeagle (and I echo the suggestion of a Zeagle 50D as a cold water reg) or Apeks, all of them fully functional, and none of them for more than $170 for a first stage and primary second stage, at a minimum. In most cases the prices were lower, and the only reason for even getting near the $170 was one reg included a full console and an alternate second stage. But, I had to be willing to pass on a number of items I wanted because the prices got ridiculous. The same is true for eBay BCDs / backplates. The good deals are there, but you have to look for them and bid wisely.
I would not necessarily wait until the 'spring sale'. I encourage you to give your LDS every chance. Go to them sooner rather than later, tell you what you are trying to accomplish (what you need and what you want to spend), and listen to what they have to offer, including any used gear they may have to sell. Don't necessarily buy until you compare their prices to online prices, just to get a reality check. The LDS prices won't be as low (and shouldn't be), but they should certainly be competitive, and price alone isn't everything. (My LDS sells AL80s for more than any of the big online sites. But, there aren't any shipping costs added, they add in 10 free airfills, and the first years' VIP, so the LDS price is actually lower when all factors are considered.) AND, you will benefit from building a long term relationship. I have purchased all of my new gear over the past 10 years from one LDS, and it has paid off handsomely. I now teach there as well, and staff prices are really good. But, the relationship with the shop and the owner from the very beginning put me in a position to borrow gear a number of times, to try out new gear, get lots of advice and help on gear set-up, etc. If you LDS isn't competitive, then I strongly encourage you to contact some of the highly regarded SB posters, such as Jim Lapenta, to see what can be worked out.
Good for you. You DO have some time, and can consider a number of options. There are a number of very good brands in the market, and if you stick with any of the 'major' lines you will find that you can get good equipment. You don't necessarily have to keep your gear all in one brand, though. I happen to have primarily Dive Rite, Zeagle, and Apeks, because that is what my LDS carries. But, on any given dive, my rig is a blend of those brands.
It does depend on the shop to a certain extent. A number of shops may either be somewhat reluctant to service gear from a manufacturer line they don't carry, or have some difficulty getting parts. And, by the way, I would add Mares to the list of companies that you may want to be cautious with. They distribute very good gear, I love my Mares fins, and have a Mares reg that has given 10 years of great service. But, their parts distribution is VERY spotty. It took me over 3 months to get the reg serviced one time, because of parts back-orders, and shipment omissions. Good gear, questionable follow-up on parts. (When our LDS does a Mares order, it is a minor miracle if everything on the order is actually shipped the first time.)
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