New gear - spend my money !!

[paulwlee]

If you are diving those temperatures, get a drysuit. I recently changed over from a Mares Isotherm 6.5mm semidry to a DUI TLS350 drysuit, and love every aspect of it. I guess the difference in post-dive comfort may be a little less dramatic as you are diving fresh water, but nevertheless, the loss of thermal insulation at depth with wetsuits will have you thinking about a drysuit pretty quickly.

As you said money is not really an issue, get a drysuit, and get a 3mm wetsuit for tropical dives. You can also use it for 70 degree water if you find that it's too hot topside for your drysuit.

 

[Scott M]

Regarding the mask/snorkle/fins being all wrong - this is because I purchased these 4 to5 years ago, strictly for snorkling. They are all Deep Sea products. The fins are full foot and I want open, the snorkle is a dry one, which I may keep but do to it's size it is a bit large for diving, the mask has limited visability and never really fit perfectly.


Exposure protection. During my on going OW course the instructor has supplied all gear except Mask/snorkle and fins. We have been using 7mm farmer johns with hoods. These have worked out great other than the fit and feel. These are really bad fitting from a Japanise company. I think I am currently wearing a XXXL/X5 or something like that. These things are so stiff you can barely move when not submerged.

Lake temp has been hovering around the mid 60's and we have only gone under the thermocline once for a short period. With the gear provided I was warm but could definitily feel the change.

It looks like I will need two suits - one for home and one for vacations. I was hoping to get one that could satisfy both. I really do want the semi dry type no matter which route I go.

Fins: As I said I like the splits but have never used them so IF I am able I will try out the Mares Quatros also I will. It seems from other posts the Jets are pretty popular too.

BC's: My first choice was the Dive-Rite and I have found a LDS that carries them so I will make a trip and try them.

Octo: I will stay away from the intagrated type.

On the not doing 200 dives a year thing, my point is that my bouyancy skills will probably not be the best due to the lack of dive time, so it would be nice to use a BC that is easy to adjust.

Thanks again to all that have replied. Keep them coming!
Scott M

 

[yoda4x4]

Like many others said, I would definitely go dry. I'm diving in similar conditions and for cold water diving I'm currently using a 7mm wetsuit with a 5mm shorty. Only reason I'm going this way instead of a drysuit, is because I got the 7mm for $200 and have been borrowing the shorty. Plus, $$$ are tight.

As for the regs, I have the Scubapro MK25/S600 and absolutely love it. My BC is a Scubapro S-tek. Great to dive with once you find your proper weighting for it.

Good luck in the search.

David

 

[Scott M]

Dry suits: I have to agree fully with the Dry Suit ideas. For my area it would be the best no question.

BUT- I will be newly certified this sunday and I would like to work on the skills I was just taught before taking a dry suit course.

Looks like the semi dry for now.

Thanks
Scott M

 

[mwilding]

you can get a 7mm Tilos titanium coated semi-dry for $169 at http://diversdiscount.com/

 

[scubasean]

Scott M once bubbled...
Dry suits: I have to agree fully with the Dry Suit ideas. For my area it would be the best no question.

BUT- I will be newly certified this sunday and I would like to work on the skills I was just taught before taking a dry suit course.

Looks like the semi dry for now.

Thanks
Scott M

I agree...minimizing task loading is important. Get comfortable with what ya got before increasing the stress potential....

 

[cstreu1026]

Scott M once bubbled...

My thought was the Henderson Hyper either 3 or 5 mm and I have a 3m shorty I can through on under it for colder days.

Computer:
Aeris Elite AI wrist or the Uwatec Aladin Air Z I like the Cochran but that thing looks complicated.

BC:
I like the looks and concept of the Mares Air Trim system (not sure if it even works) or the Dive Rite Trans Pac II (Or equivalent)

Regulator:
Atomic Aquatics Z1 or M1, Mares Abyss or V32, Apeks ATX-200

Octupus: I thought I would like to have that set up off the BC Inflate/deflate hose but I am not sure if that is a good idea

Fins: Either the Apollo or the Atomic Aquatics Liquid Blue were my first choices - I have never used either. The LDS across the lake is a big Force Fin dealer so maybe I will try those also.

I agree that you will definitely want atleast a 7mm wetsuit, if not a dry suit. 50 degrees is darn cold in a wetsuit especially when you are doing multiple dives. Plus its always nice to be dry when you come out of the water.

You can't go wrong with anything from Atomic. Persoanlly I say save the money get the Z1. It has all the performance of the more expensive models but not all the features which are not really neccessary. If you are still interested in the integrated octo/inflator Atomic just released one and it is suppose to be head and shoulders above anything elase being offered but I haven't tried one so I am not positive.

I would stay away from the air trim system. I have heard they are tricky to get used to and others say they have had problems. Dive Rite makes super stuff. In fact you may even want to consider their regs. Like others ahve mentioned check out teh stuff from Halcyon and Oxycheq, along with Deep Outdoors. They all make great things and i doubt you could really go wrong with any of it. If you are interested in a more traditional BC then you may want to consider a Sea Quest balance or black diamond. I use to have a Raider and it was a nice piece of equipment it was just too bulky for my taste.

I can't offer a whole lot of insight into the fins that are out there. The Quattros do seem to have a great reputation. Personally I use the Mares Volo and am pretty happy with them. I would love to try something like the Scuba Pro jets to see if really needed fins that cost as much as the volo's.

 

[Groundhog246]

I currently dive a Bare Extreme semi-dry (7mm) and have a White's sleeveless, hooded jacket (6.5mm). Suit itself (with a regular hood) is fine from the very low 70's, down to the mid 50's, after that I add the jacket. I have a one piece Mares 3/2 for the low 70's and up as well as a 3mm "beanie" for when the hood is too much. Also thin and thick gloves. So can adjust the "whole" rig as temps move. My wife has a White's semi-dry (ADV) and sleeveless jacket and the same 3/2 suit. We happen to be nearly the same size and a men's fits her better than a ladies. I've tried her suit for a dive and it's pretty much the same fit/warmth as my Bare suit. I don't like the White's knee pads. One ripped (I was able to repair) along a groove in the embossing.
Both are far superior to the john/jacket combo's I've used. Easier to get on and off, better overall fit (fewer gaps such as upper chest under the jacket where the john doesn't cover) and whether it's that or not, warmer. I also find mobility to be better (could be stretchier neoprene).

 

[hammerhead1026]

The most important advise I can give....make sure your BC has enough lift capacity. Depending on where you are going to dive and how much weight you will be wearing, not enough lift can ruin your experience. I dive in New England in a drysuit or 7mm suit. I would not wear a BC with less than 40lbs. of lift. I wear the Scubapro Classic. A little more money, but you will never have trouble on the surface. Safe diving.

 

[Tekkie]

Heres my two cents:

Mask- I would just try some on and choose which one fits the best. But I would not get a mask with more than two planes of glass. My mask has four and the picture can sometimes get distorted, for ex I might see doubble. Also If you plan on night diving I would look into a mask that has a black skirt. My mask has a clear skirt and when I am night diving it seems like there might be a few more people in the water if you know what I mean.

Fins- I currently have seaquest fins (dont know model) and I hate them. For one thing the blades are way to long. The total fin is almost three feet long! Now for quick bursts of speed there great, but for a slow steddy pace my anckles and quads get a little sore. The best pair to get I think is the Scubapro (US-Diver) Jet Fins. They are more than twenty-five years old, made out of unbreakable (well I havent seen them break besides the straps) black rubber. There not to stiff, not to soft, just right. And they are also fairly short so dont worrie about trying to get them in your suit case when your traveling to go diving. theres also other great fins, but if you want the best, go Jets.

Snorkel- I used one for all my checkout dives and two open water dives, its been under my bed collecting dust ever since. Just get the cheepest snorkel for Ow checkout dives and any other specialities you want to take. The biggest mistake you can make is going out and blowing fifty bucks on one of those stupid dry snorkels.

Regulators- Now its getting intresting. I have Scubapro regs. I chose Scubapro for a number of reasons. One, made in the good old US of A, so I dont have to wait weeks if for some odd reason my reg has to be sent back to the factore. Lifetime limited warrenty. And they are used in cold water, by tech, cave, wreck divers ect.... There everyware. The setup I have is the Mk25 with the G250HP as my primary and a R190 as my backup. Setup cost me lots of $ but it was worth every cent. And on Leisurepro you can save money. I would go with the Mk25 (I think now it has some soft of anti-freezign thingi on it) a good primary like the G250HP or there other high end model with a R190 or R380??? backup. I also highly recomend Apeks regs, there some of the best made, same quality if not greater than Scubapro. The only reason I didnt get an Apeks is that they are located in Europe. But now I think Aqualung? owns them so more parts and regs are comming to the US.

(Writers cramp.....)

SPG- Simple 1-5000psi or bar brass pressure gauage. Currently I think OMS makes some of the cheepest, but many other manufactors make em including Scubapro, OMS, Halcyon(dont know about it yet) and I think Dive Rite makes one too, if you want it all to match.

BC (this is only my oppinion)- I would go with a Bp/Wings setup for sure. I have a Halcyon pioneer 29lb wing with a stainless backplate and harness. Halcyon right now seems to be one of the most popular with Oxycheq growing in popularity. If you want to go the cheep way go with a regular Stainless Steel black plate, rig your own harness (directions every where on the net) and get a good wing form OMS, Halcyon, Dive Rite, Oxycheq ect... And also depending on which wing and backplate you get you might have to get a single tank adaptor. Pretty much all Bp/Wing manufactors sell one. (Links will be posted at end of post)

(lets see what else)

Computer- After I got my Bc, I ran out of mula ($) so I went the cheep way. I got a Scubapro/OMS bottom timmer and depth gauage. I dont know much about computers but most LDS seem to recommend Sunnto dive computers. They have an AI unit, but it will set you back about 750+ dollars.

Well I guess thats it.
Heres some links:

Backplates and Wings-
www.diverite.com/
www.halcyon.net/
www.omsdive.com/
www.oxycheq.com/

Regs-
www.scubapro.com/
www.apeks.co.uk/

Computer-
www.suunto.com/

Mask, Fins Snorkel-
www.scubapro.com/
(Dont know any others off hand)

O ya wetsuit. Just get a cheep one because before long your going to eather want a dry suit (most logical choice) or stay in a wetsuit.
Bare
DUI
Whites
Viking
Andys
ect..........
Good Luck!
Tekkie