Hello from Knoxville TN

[AntiKiaSoul]

I’m relatively new to diving having only gone on 2 in the past year using rental gear (excluding my certification dives)
and I’m trying to buy gear rn. I mainly want to dive freshwater however I plan to go to the keys next summer. The local shops service aqualung, scuba pro, Cressi, apek, mares, dive rite, hog, and oceanic. Any advice is appreciated! Also I hate Kia souls.

 

[Rob9876]

Hi there, I'm also in Knoxville (indifferent to Kia Souls). I know you said mainly freshwater, but are you thinking open water recreational or technical/cave. Truthfully almost any commonly available gear will work fine for basic open water (I dive a cheap reg set and jacket BCD that have been great), but if you know you're headed toward tech/cave diving then that will probably lead you to other options like backplate & wing (BP/W) and/or a sidemount set-up.

 

[AntiKiaSoul]

Hi there, I'm also in Knoxville (indifferent to Kia Souls). I know you said mainly freshwater, but are you thinking open water recreational or technical/cave. Truthfully almost any commonly available gear will work fine for basic open water (I dive a cheap reg set and jacket BCD that have been great), but if you know you're headed toward tech/cave diving then that will probably lead you to other options like backplate & wing (BP/W) and/or a sidemount set-up.

Thanks for the advice; I am doing what you described for open water, just shopping for a cheaper reg and bcd. But I do intend to eventually upgrade as I go into cave diving.

 

[Rob9876]

Thanks for the advice; I am doing what you described for open water, just shopping for a cheaper reg and bcd. But I do intend to eventually upgrade as I go into cave diving.

My son and I both ordered this package: Buy Scuba Gear Value System Package at Low Price | Divers Supply

We selected 2 of the optional upgrades: (1) upgrade the reg to the Sea Elite Covert balanced reg, which breathes great at depth; and (2) the 3 gauge console, which adds a compass to the console so you always have one with you. We have well over 100 dives each on these packages, fresh and salt, a fair number over 100ft. deep (deepest = 122ft. on the Oriskany wreck) and they have been great. Sea Elite is the Divers Supply house brand, made by H.O.G./Edge. Check out the online reviews also. Hope this helps!

Edit: again, while this has been a great set-up for general open water diving, if you intend to do cave/technical soon you should probably look around more.

Edit 2: We also bought the Mares Puck Pro+ computer from Divers Supply. They offer it at a nice discount if you buy it with the package. It is a great basic computer at a great price. After 4 years ours are still working great, and I just decided to upgrade to a Shearwater Perdix 2 largely because a couple of functions it has will reduce task loading for solo night dives when I have to tow a flag also (my best dive buddy is about to go off to college, so I'm planning to do a lot more solo). But the Perdix is almost $1,000 more than the Puck, and I still think the Puck Pro+ is a great value, and still use it on more basic dives and as a back-up.