help picking equipment

[sciondiver518]

hi guys im super new to the dive world and im having some concerns about picking my equipment, to start out im am planning on taking my class through scuba schools internattional, through diver direct in west palm beach florida. ive started to aquire my equipment i got an evo lapaz mask, i have h20dessey booties and flippers but when it comes to the more expensive equipmet im not sure what brand is better then others and where are the best places to buy the stuff before i take the class i am planning on having all my own equipment i have read that its best to own your equipment so you know the proper way to use it. i am looking at getting an evo wet suit and either a mares or oceanic bc and again either a mares or oceanic regulator im not working on a huge budget but im looking for decent entry level equipment so any help is greatly appreciated

 

[rstofer]

I would strongly recommend that you NOT buy all your equipment ahead of time.

The thing is, your LDS may not carry the best brands, they may not have the best prices on the stuff and, if you buy from another shop or via the Internet, you WILL cause friction with the shop. They don't make money teaching you to dive, they make money selling equipment.

There are several brands of decent regs: ScubaPro, Oceanic, AquaLung are the biggest and best represented around the world. I have Oceanic, Dive Rite (Hurricane model) and Edge (among others). I would always recommend the 3 big players just because they are big. My next regulator will probably be a Hog setup. Not over priced and the setup appears to be very high end.

You have already decided to purchase a BC and probably don't know which type to buy. The shop will probably steer you toward a jacket style BC. Very few experienced divers would recomend that approach yet it is a good place to start during training. Many would consider a rear inflate BC and another group (I'm included) would recommend a BP/W (backplate and wing). And there are dozens of ways to configure a BP/W. Personally, I would just buy something from Deep Sea Supply and call it good (that's what I am using). Others will recommend Oxycheq (I have some of their stuff), Dive Rite (yup, I have some of that too) or even Hog (that too...).

So, here's the short answer: if you pre-purchase stuff from any place other than your training LDS you will cause an unbelievable amount of friction. That, and you are hardly in a position to make an informed decision. Rent the gear during training, buying only the personal gear required for the course. Then consider renting for a while longer. Go diving and see what other divers are using.

Richard

 

[scarefaceDM]

Damn rstofer you are quick...lol

Glad you are taking the plunge..
now slow down. Do not let your enthusiasm get the best of your wallet....you will find yourself in the never ending pool of the money pit...and I can tell you from experience it is very deep.

For your open waetr course all you need to get started is a good fitting mask, proper fitting Flippers aka Fins.., proper fitting boots and a proper fitting wetsuit for the type of environment you will be diving.

The regs and BC, tanks, weights, computer are secondary on your list for now. You can rent those from your dive shop.

You also have to figure out what type of environment you will be diving in before you buy the big ticket items. Meaning cold water, warm water, salt water, fresh water etc...This will determine the right gear for your type of diving.( this also includes the wetsuit)

The best advise I will give you now is this:
Talk to your dive instructor first. Get his feed back to see and figure out what gear will be best suited for you. Then ask him to go over the types of regs, BC'S etc...you need to see what the differences are. Then try them. But for heaven sakes do not buy anything the first go around...if you can try various regs, BC if all possible.

Your dive knowledge will increase as you learn the ropes during your training. Also talk to other fellow divers directly if you can to see what they are diving/using and the types of dives they are doing.

So for now I will not give you full gear advise, because it would not be wise on my part, at this time in your training. The basics are what they are..just make sure they fit you properly.

Have fun!

 

[eelnoraa]

I am with rstofer. In fact, I suggest NOT to buy anything that you can rent for at least 10-15 dives after you get your OW cert. Since you don't know much about diving and equipment now, whatever you buy now may NOT be what you really want/need down the road. Once you get your cert and a few dives down, you will have a lot more knowledge. You will better understand and appreciate advices from experience divers (such as those on this board). And then you can start getting the gears you really want, starting from the item that will improve your dive experience the most.

You can buy a full set for OW, but chances are 1)worst case, you find out you don't like diving. 2)the gears you buy limit your future diving advancement. For example, you want to take UTD essnetial course and find out your have a jacket BC and a reg that cannot be converted to long hose by simple swapping the hoses. For these cases, you would have to sell your newly bought gears, take a lost (of course). So why not wait a bit, supress the anxiety and see how things go first. And for case 2), I am speaking from my own experience.

 

[TEArrington]

Let me add my two cents - you have a mask, fins & booties. The local dive shop (LDS) where you take your class will tell you that you should definitely buy your own snorkel. They may even tell you that you have to buy weights, a wetsuit, a buoyancy control device (BCD), or any number of other things. Politely tell them no to all of those things and rent what you must use during class.

I bought all of these things before I finished my OW class for the same reason you did - so I could learn to dive with my stuff, it would fit me and be set up the same way every time. And you know what - that's all true and useful. But I would still advise you not to do it. Here's why - when I was so excited to learn how to dive, the only kind of diving I knew about was my friends diving on vacation in the Caribbean. I bought stuff, most but not all of which was useful for that kind of diving. And then I found out that I love diving in other types of conditions, including cold dark quarries closer to home, warm deep wrecks, beautiful caverns, and soon long, deep technical dives. And each of these types of diving calls for slightly different types of equipment. If I had known before that class was finished that in less than 2 years I would have a completely different feeling about the type of diving I would be doing I might have waited to buy that cool looking stuff and dealt with the differences in the equipment I used. And then maybe I wouldn't be selling my BCDs (yes I already have 2) because I really need a different thing now (a backplate & harness).

In a little while, when you have figured out how often you are going to dive, and you start to dream about what kind of diving you will do, then come back and repost a question about what you should consider when selecting equipment. Everyone has their opinions about brands, where to buy, what to buy. You need to figure out what will work for you, but not yet. For right now, just enjoy the challenge of learning this beautiful sport, and let us know how it works out.

Congrats on deciding to dive. I hope you really love it.

 

[FireInMyBones]

First, welcome to Scuba. Best of luck. In my opinion Scuba should be done in this order:

Good Mask and Fins, cheap snorkel (you may never use the snorkel again)
Open Water Training
BCD (Backplate and wing or Jacket style...do research)
Advanced Open Water
Regulator Set and Computer (more research as to hose routing)
Rescue Course
Anything else (nothing you do not need)

Try to stay away from danglely stuff and gimmicky stuff. Wastes money and is not as useful as some people think it is.

 

[sciondiver518]

thank you all for the quick responses and thanks for the warm welcome and thanks for all the reccomendations god this is turning in to an emmy speach (lol) well thanks to you guys i had to tell my dad he was right because he said the same thing you guys said (and hes not a diver) but i have come to realazation that i dont need all the expensive gear right now, but now i have annother question if im going to be diving in south florida through out th keys and the carribean what thinknes wet suit shuld i get?

 

[ams511]

Just to beat a dead horse. Now is the best time for the dive store to SELL you the gear because your enthusiam is high and your knowledge of diving is low. Also if you buy from another dive shop you may also have friction with the instructor because he or she may get a commission or bonus on what they sell. Regulators and BC's are pretty standardized so you really don't need to worry about retraining yourself. After a couple dives it will be like second nature to you. Also you really don't need a computer as tables work fine.

South Florida is tricky for wetsuits because water temperature varies depending on the time of year and the depth. For summer (water temp in the 80's) you can get by with no wetsuit, a skin or a 3 mil shorty. For winter (water temp in the 70's) a 5 mil (1-piece) full is probably best. If you only can buy one suit then I would recommend a 2-piece 3mm. You can use the shorty portion in the summer and full suit in the winter (maybe add a hood too). Again it may be better to wait and see because some people are more sensitive to water temp than others.

 

[SangP]

My 2 cents,

Must gets:
1. Mask, nothing is more irritating than a leaking mask. If you're taking lessons from the store try as many masks as you can to find one that fits, then look for something in low volume n finally make sure it's black
Masks I love, Oceanic Shadow, Hollis M1 Frameless Mask, I love my Tusa M23 Viewtrek but they've replaced it with the M26

See if they can price match or at least give you a decent discoung if the masks I've mention fits

Fins, rent n try out a paddle & some fins. Till you get an idea of which you prefer, then buy.

Snorkle, get a soft folderable snorkle like XS Scuba Snorkel Cargo. Which you could use for snorkeling and diving.

The rest rent, beg, borrow but don't steal till you get something you like.

SangP

 

[FireInMyBones]

For a wetsuit...a 3mil shorty or what I use a long sleeve rash guard and speedo jammers.