New diver Gear selection - please give me your honest feedback

[smokinsteel]

Quick into so you all know where I am coming from - I'm 28 and active, but I have not had the chance to dive yet. My wife and I just signed up for scuba classes to get certified, and we both need to buy the basic gear (gloves,boots,fins,mask, and snorkel). I've been looking online and have narrowed it down to a few options, but do not have any experiance with this stuff, so your input will be appricated.

Here is what I am looking at:

Boots Brand Model
Oceanic Neo Classic
Pinnacle Apex


Gloves Brand Model
Oceanic OceanPro
seasoft Ti Edge

Mask Brand Model
Oceanic Pioneer Ultra Clear


Snorkel Brand Model
No idea!!!

Fins Brand Model Omega Amphibian
Sherwood Kinesis EX
Oceanic V16

I would like to get good gear now - this is a hobby I plan on becoming very active in. The money is not the concern, but I do want to "buy once, cry once".

As far as diving, we will be doing mostly Mexico and Cali trips. Maybe Tahiland and hawaii soon.

I hope this helps - thanks guys!

SS

 

[LowVizWiz]

Welcome to the board!

All the brands you mentioned are decent brands and really personal choice and fit will be the deciding factor!
You seem to have done your research. See if you can try any of the items you wrote about and how they fit you and your wife. Most likely you will have different preferences and that's okay too!

Good luck and dive safely!
Wys

 

[Standingbear56]

Hi SS,
Welcome to you and your wife to Scuba Board and Diving. You are about to embark on the best addiction anyone can ever have - AND it's legal!!!
As far as any of your personal equipment goes, Fit and Comfort are the most important things to consider. The items you listed are all good, and will give you years of service. The only way to truly choose between them is to actually "try before you buy". This is especially true of the masks - many times they fit fine on the showroom floor, and leak like swiss cheese in the water. Fins and boots are designed to work as a matched set. Again you cannot replicate the actual usage in a showroom. I know this is not the definative answers you were looking for, but it's based on over 20 years of being an instructor outfitting students. Personal items, unless you have tried them on already and tested them are best purchased from your LDS (Local Dive Store) than online, simply because of the need for personal fit. If possible, always give your LDS first crack at your business, even if they cannot match online prices $ for $. Their personal service is worth way more than a few bucks.
Hope this helps rather than confuses. Let us know how the equipment choices and lessons go.
Safe Diving,
George

 

[don Francisco]

Why would I lie? You've narrowed it down to all good options. Make your final selection based on fit, especially the mask and fins. Very subtle differences in fit make more of a functional difference than any other consideration.

 

[Scott M]

Smokin, In all seriousness if you want to buy it once there is only one thing you can do and that is to wait. Mask and fins are pretty much a must have as a starting point so concentrate on getting ones that fit really well. Once you knwo you have an item that is going to work then move on to one more and spend the time to make sure that is the piece that works for you and so on. See if you can borrow or try out all the other gear from friends or your LDS before purchase. This really is a sport that it is hard to do it once and thats it because it is so infectious especially if you read scubaboard with all the gear everyone is talking about all the time.

 

[robint]

Mask, snorkel, booties, fins....... as mentioned by others here, you should get them at the dive shop for a couple of reasons. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people show up for class with gear that isn't appropriate for diving, doesn't fit, or that doesn't work together (booties don't fit in fins, fins are wrong size, fins are snorkeling fins not dive fins, mask so cheap the lenses could pop out, masks don't fit face and leak continuously,....) Biggest mistake is people buying a mask that doesn't fit right. But after that, bad fins are next (people tend to buy fins according to cost rather than how good they are).

I actually had an almost knockdown dragout fight with a Mom who insisted that the fins she bought her son for OW class were fine - she had bought 3" long $10 fins at the department store. Yes, she told me they would be fine as when they go diving her 12 yr old son would be holding onto the DM and he would pull him along so he didn't need good fins. Geeez.. After arguing with me for 30 minutes, my husband, the instructor, stepped in and told her to buy real fins or go home, he wasn't giving anyone a C-card so they could be dragged along in water. A c-card certifies you that you are competent to dive. She finally gave in and bought the cheapest pair of fins the LDS sold. Poor kid.

If you buy at the LDS, you will get someone help to fit you correctly, and if for some reason they don't work in the pool sessions, they will exchange them for you. I wish we had done this when we got certified. We bought cheap and ended up buying nicer mask, snorkels, and fins in 6 months.

just my 2 cents...

 

[LittleOne]

the kinesis fins by sherwood are decent fins. They're "average" to me. I am also very active and did my open water course with them. Had no problems with them but they're not anything special