First piece of scuba gear

[NYHippo]

I agree with the thermal protection crowd. You can rent/borrow quality regulators and you will want to try out different bc's to find the one most comfortable for you. Being cold can ruin an otherwise great dive and poorly fitting or worn out thermal protection will not keep you warm. If you don't go with a bp/w setup, at least go with a rear inflation bc. IMHO, which may not be worth much, rear inflation is more comfortable underwater and helps with trim. (can be a pain in the butt on the surface) :10:

 

[RocketMan]

I bought a BC first, wetsuit second. Reason...the rental BCs that were available were jacket style and didn't fit well. Having my own BC (back inflate) that fit, was more stable and help me to improve my buoyancy skill. Having my own wetsuit that fit me like a glove (and didn’t smell) helps to keep me warmer. The rental reg works fine so I'll probably wait to buy one after the holidays (maybe).

Have fun

 

[Darnold9999]

I am about to buy my second set of scuba gear so am thinking about just this issue.

First time around - many years ago bought a farmer john used that was a very good fit and cut bits of it up and reglued it to be a good fit. Then went to my local dive shop and bought the jacket and hood custom fitted. It doen't hurt that the LDS manufactured Whites suits in the back of the shop at the time.

Can't imagine diving cold water in an off the rack wetsuit. Not with my pipestem wrists anyway (took them three tries to get the wrists right - the cutters couldn't believe the numbers the fitter gave them!) Then bought everything else used over the next couple of years. BC first then reg then tank. Was a student at that point and $ was a huge issue.

I still think this is the best order - if you plan to dive cold water, thermal protection is number 1 and with a wetsuit fit is everything. You want a suit that lets in the absolute minimum of water. None is perfect, but impossible particularly as you go deeper and the wetsuit compresses. Rentals are never going fit for obvious reasons.

If you are not comfortable ie cold you are not having fun and frankly isn't that the point?

The order of the rest is not so critical, I kind of like my own reg more than I care about the BC, but if I have my own BC I am a more comfortable diver so there is is a trade off. Also the BC you choose can have some influence the choice of reg configuration. Length of hoses etc.

Now that I can actually afford to buy what I want, I am still buying gear in that order. First the drysuit, then figure out what BC I want to use with my drysuit and then buy the reg etc. to match the BC I decide on. Computer, lights and all sorts of other goodies come at that point as well. At the moment I doubt that I will buy another tank. You can't use it on holiday dives, you can't use it on multiple dives unless there is air right there and if there is air right there I'm going to rent anyway. But I drive a small car and live in a small space so storage is a major issue. (Wondering where I am going to store all this gear - maybe hang the drysiut on the skiis and the BC over the golf clubs???)

 

[cinder4320]

Personally I would buy a wetsuit first. I am so much more comfortable and warm in my suit compared to the rentals i used. Then I would save up and buy an equip. package that includes your BC, reg, console, or whatever after you've tried out others and know what you want. The biggest reason for this is to save money.
At least around here renting gear its cheaper to rent the pkg deal (reg, bc, weights, console) rather than a few pieces. Also when you go to buy your gear both the LDS and online stores are able to offer better deals if you buy more than one piece of equipment. It has to do with the suggested minimum price set by the manufacturer. Ask your LDS or check out scubatoys.com for examples of piece by piece purchases versus package. The savings is crazy!! I bought a wetsuit (actually two!) and then a pkg. deal for my basic gear. Now I'm working on the drysuit!

Miranda

 

[ishbaby]

get a wetsuit first! dont rent, it's for hygienic purposes. you don't know how many people have pee'd on those even if it's underwater. get your own mask, and fins because these are the basic necessities.

Then get your own Jacket BCD or BP/Wing, w/c ever you're comfortable with, and then a reg. Or you can do both at the same time if you can afford it.

 

[colsonn]

My dive instructor gave me some great advice when I asked him the same question. He asked me which piece of the rental gear do you hate the most? Whatever it is, buy it first. You will be more comfortable in the water that way. If it is the reg, then get one that fits your diving and price range. There are tons of regs that are brand new, and have everything that the expensive ones have, for half the price, but you'll need to do some looking. www.leisurepro.com and www.scubatoys.com are great online shops. Check out aqua-lung for a cold water reg. Also apeks and zeagle are great. I've never used scubapro, but always heard good things about them. Don't be fooled by all the bells and wistles. If you are thinking of using nitrox, then get one compatible for it. For cold water, get a first stage that is environmently sealed. Aqua-lung has a reg. called the "glacia." It is the cheapest good cold water reg I have found. But there may be more out there.

For wetsuits, depends on water temp. I used a 7mm 2 peice hyperstretch wetsuit for temps down to 38 degrees, but I was frozen afterwards. (I finally wised up and bought a drysuit. sidenote: USIA Aqua pro plus is awesome.) If you have a good local dive shop then use them for fitting you in the right size wetsuit, and buy from them iif they size you. Always support the LDS. Check out www.scubadiving.com for their reviews. They keep bias opinions out of the testing and give you the facts. Hope this helps you out. Good luck.

 

[proyce]

Thank you all very much for your responses. I will go with the thermal protection first. My LDS has a big selection and they often sponsor group dives in the quarries and Lake Superior. I am sure they will be able to fit me. I will ask about drysuit, but I think I was told that, on their group dives anyway, they don't usually stay in so long that a drysuit is necessary, as most have 2-piece farmer john's. If I decide to get into ice diving, that is a different story and way down the road. The LDS has excellent rental regs, and both those and their ones for sale are cold water regs. I may be able to do wetsuit and something else next year. I'll see. Thanks again.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

It really depends on your budget and how much your willing to spend right now. You may find you can purchase a decent wet suit and still have some left over for a reg.

Rap

 

[scubatoys]

You've gotten some great advice in here, and yes, your decision to go for the wetsuit first is probably the right one. I always tell our customers, start with the things that have the most sizes, and work back. For example, if you go some place and need to rent a reg, there is only one size (really) so you can use any one they have. BC? Now you're at about a 1 in 4 chance the one they have fits... Wetsuit... Many choices of thickness, size, etc...

So you did right... start with suit, then look at BC, then Reg setup.

 

[Halthron]

I went wetsuit, reg, BC. I couldn't bring myself to rent something others were peeing in and the fit of a rented wetsuit isn't always reliable. After the second time of renting a reg used by a smoker and feeling like I was licking an ashtray on both dives, I said "never again".