Complete diving set in germany

[aquaoren]

Just out of curiosity, Kompressor and El Orans, was it the Mares Abyss that was freeflowing? Or another Mares?
I was using the Abyss in Nova Scotia and the Great Lakes during our Canadian winters and never even had an issue.
I have a pair of Apeks DS4/ATX50's and they by all means are no better than the Abyss.

Raist, in order to be able to give you some recommendations, we have to know a little more. What diving do you want to do? Rec, or tec as well someday? We already know that you intend to dive warm and cold water, how frequently?
Komm schon, muessen wir Dir Alles aus der Nase ziehen?

 

[Raist]

hi aquaren!
At the moment I'm strictly recreational diver, no plans on any tech dive. I plan to have about 3 diving days every month (whenever I'm in germany) and some 2 or 3 weeks diving holiday. Therefore I need a reg with which I can use in both cold and warm water. I'd like my diving gear to be fairly good (quality & feature wise) as I'm planning to keep them for a few years, price is not important but I'm willing to spend about €1,800 for the whole set (including fins, masks, snorkel, etc). And it is also very important for me to be able to service my gears in germany and indonesia as I will be based pretty much in these 2 countries. I'll be trying these gears sometime this week to see with which I feel more comfortable with.
So, what do you reckon?

 

[aquaoren]

If servicing abroad is important to you, stick to the 3 big names in the industry.Scubapro, Aqualung or Mares. These are companies that have dealer all over the world and you'll be able to service them almost everywhere in the world.
For diving in Germany, you should have a cold water regulator and the Mares Abyss would do just fine, probably better than most other regs. A diaphragm first stage from Scubapro or Aqualung would be fine too. High end regs are generally worth the money.
Computer: Get yourself a Suunto Vyper. It's reliable, you can change batteries yourself and it's reasonably priced. It's conservative but conservative is safe. If you can afford it, Uwatec Aladin Tec is a very nice little computer as well.
BCD: What ever you like, they are fairly reliable generally. Sea Quest makes excellent BC's and they belong to Aqualung, so you could get it fixed almost everywhere where Aqualung is serviced. Even if you don't intend looking into tech diving, take a look at a BP/Wing combination. BP/wings tend to help in reducing the amount of weights you need which is always a good thing and they pack very small for travelling. Take a look at a Halcyon Eclipse.
Suit: Don't look at a name. It has to fit, everything else is secondary. Remember that mostlikely you'll need a different suit for warm water diving anyway. 7mm may be to warm for Indonesia but something thinner may not be enough for Germany.
Bag: Buy a solid bag without any brand names on it. It's almost an invitation to break the bag and look inside if someone suspects expensive Scuba gear inside. Important when travelling.
Fins: Mares Plana Avanti Quattro are very good conventional paddle fins.
Mask: Don't look at a name. Just like with the suit, fit is most important. Mares, Cressi, Tusa all make good masks.

Viel Spass beim Einkaufen.

 

[Raist]

Danke schön!!!
I'll going to one of the lds today to see what they have. I'll probably not buy anything till next week, just trying stuff around! I'll keep you informed!

 

[victor]

Raist
I did my open water in Germany and Austria. If you plan to do a lot of diving in Germany you will be looking at a dry suit very quickly. The lakes are very cold as soon as you get below about 10 meters.
A skin or 3 mm suit is all I need for warm water diving, I prefer the skin as less lead required.

Bag, I agree with aquaroen, a hard case is perfect for flying etc, no diving stickers, don't advertise that this is valuable please steal me. Get a string bag to hold your gear on the dive boat or resort.

Get a frist stage with both DIN and YOKE connector. (not DIN300) Germany was din when I was there but most places in the world still use the yoke configuration. You will also need a large spanner to allow you to switch between them.

Do you wear glasses, if so then get a spare mask with your prescription, a lot of us carry a spare mask but not with your prescription.

You need to make a decision on metric or imperial. I went metric but it restricts what and where I can buy bits. It can also cause some confusion if your buddy is unfamiliar with your guages.

Hope this helps :14:

 

[300bar]

Thanks for your comment 300bar diver! Do you have personal experience with any of the gears i mentioned above?

Hi Raist,

I`m diving with a Oceanic bc and i think it`s great
The new oceanic delta4/fdx10 has very good ratings on this board,
and do not be afraid of servicing there are a lot of dealers in germany
and worldwide for that matter.
And yes i`m diving with the pro plus 2 and it`s a very good simple to
operate computer, battery`s are owner replaceble (take`s about 15 sec.)
Oceanic even supply`s the tool needed.

Just go for it

 

[Raist]

Thanks very much for all your replies.
I'll be trying the gears tonight, I'll check about the wing BC although I don't think at the moment I can afford it.

Victor, at the moment everyone in my club is diving with wetsuits, I'm not sure whether I can still use a drysuit once the weather gets warmer. Probably best if I buy a 7mm wetsuit with additional jacket so I can still use it during the summer too.

300bar diver, Thank you very much for your reply. I'm still thinking about the 2nd set anyway because the price is not that bad but still, I'll decide after I try out the gears.

Raist

 

[garfieldshome]

i dive a scubapro x650 with a mk25 in cold water and never had problems, i also dive the older version, the d400 with a mk25.

und gruesse nach deutschland!

 

[Raist]

Hi all!!! Just got home from the shop, as they have no pool i couldn't try anything iwater so.....
but anyway, here's the package I got (the shop specialises in mares stuff, so he's trying to tell me mares everything):
- Mares dragon AT MRS Plus or Mares Eurojacket MRS Plus
- Oceanic Pro Dataplus 2 with Compass
- Reg: Apeks xtx100 with Octo XTX40
- Wetsuit: Mares Trilastic
- Fins: Quattro Excel
- Mask & snorkel: he lets me pick whatever he has in the shop
He said he wants to think about the price he can give me but he thinks it's going to be around €1,500 to €1,800.
Is there anything I can improve from these gears?
As I said before, this shop specialises in Mares stuff, I'll check the other shop which specialises in Oceanic stuff (second packet I mentioned in my previous post) tomorrow.

Thanks!!

 

[300bar]

If you are going for mares stay away from the airtrim there have been a lot of problems with it,and if you get it seviced you will not be happy €€€