Scott,
Congrats on your OW cert, you are well on your way to enjoying a wonderful sport!
You are doing the right thing, get everyone's opinion, research, and form your own. With that said, here is my $.02
Exposure - I dive a Henderson hypersuade (like the hyperstretch, but will not "pull" from velcro from a comberbund). I love this suit because it fits, period. I have a 3mil, but for your location, if you are going to dive wet, I would consider a 7mil or at minimum a 5mil with some extra core protection (your shorty you mentioned). If you are going to consider dry, Henderson makes a great suit called the "Arctic" (pretty sure that's the name) for about $600. It is a 7/5 neoprene, and is a good quality suit for the price.
Mask, snorkel, fins - Let me start by saying, there are probably more masks, snorkels, and fins on the market than any other piece of diving equipment. When you are selecting this and other types of gear, you might look to what folks who do technical diving use. Here's my reasoning, technical divers will use what is proven again, and again with the least failure rate. The equipment will be the most rugged, and provide the best performance in all conditions overall. If you ask most technical divers, they will tell you that they dive their basic tek rig even when recreational diving... so with that said, mask would be a Scubapro frameless (great mask, excellent vis, low profile, quality seal), snorkel.... hehe, no.. and if you must, get a foldable one that can be stowed. Fins, either Scubapro Jetfins, Turtles, or the Quattros (as tempting as splits might seem, I would not buy them, but if you want to find out for yourself, buy a pair somewhere where they can be returned easily, like Diver's Direct).
Bouyancy and weight - OK, you mentioned that you want equipment that can grow with you. A BP/Wing combination is always a good choice, however you could take it a step further. OMS makes a great harness system called the IQ. It is not really a "BC" per se, because you have to buy a wing for it (any wing will fit), but it provides the flexability of a standard web harness (it is web based), but it adds padding where it is needed, and provides a nice platform whether you're diving rec or tek. One other advantage is that if you are diving single cylinders (which I'm imagining you will be for a while), you dont need a backplate, however, when you decide you need one (either for weighting or mounting doubles), you can easily add it. Do yourself a favor though, do not buy the "sagless" weighting system from OMS, but rather opt for something like the Halcyon ACB weighting system, or a good 'ole weight belt.
Regulator - I will agree with most in this thread and say that Atomic and Apeks are both solid choices. However, if you happen to have a dealer in the area who can service them, Poseidon Xstream is a solid environmentally sealed cold water reg that just plain works. They can be a little pricey, but this reg delivers a smooth stream of air at any depth, and IMHO, they are engineered with the fewest failure points in the market. I'm sure that folks will chime in and say that they are expensive to service and find parts for, but if you have a decent dealer, this is not an issue, and I personally don't mind paying a few extra bucks for quality, but that's just me
Computer - Lots of choices here.... but let me try and break it down a liitle bit. Most of today's computers use one of two different algorithms to compute your NDL (no-decompression limit), Buhlmann, and modified Haldane. Modified Haldane is the least consevative of the two and therefore will give you a greater bottom time than a comparative Buhlmann based computer. Alot of folks have mentioned Suunto, which uses a proprietary RGBM model, but I do not know enough about this model to make a comparison between it and the Haldane or Buhlmann. Anyone help out here?
Most "recreational" computers will go into a "lock out" mode if ever put into a deco situation even by accident. More often than not this will result in your computer operating in gauge mode only for 24 hours. Of course, by PADI standards, if you slip into a deco profile, even by accident, they tell you not to dive for 24 hours, but I digress... Myself, I dive a Cochran Gemini II. This is an air integrated wrist mount computer with a ton of things that I think are important. The biggest feature in my opinion is that the Gemini is like two computers in one providing redundancy to itself. The tank unit is not just a transducer/transmiitter like the Suuntos and Oceanics, but an actual separate computer that provides info to the wrist unit, unless there is a failure, in which case the wrist unit takes over with the current values (minus of course, your tank pressure). Both tank and wrist unit have user replaceable batteries (AA's in the TU and N's in the WU), and the TU actually has two separate compartments that hold 2 AA's a peice in case one floods it will operate on just 2 in the other compartment. This computer will do up to 3 mixes any of which can be nitrox up to 99%, and it will not lock out on you if you slip into deco, it will calculate your deco time even if your on the surface using 21% air at ambient pressure. It even knows the difference between salt water and fresh and will adjust your depth reading accordingly. there are alot of computers out there, but just take a look at this one before you make a choice, you won't be sorry you did.
http://www.divecochran.com/computers/Gemini/index.html
(now for my disclaimer) A computer is in no way a replacement for a good working knowledge of dive tables and your dive plan, but should be used as redundancy for your brain, just like you carry a spare reg.
I wish you the best of luck in your purchases and your future diving. Dive safe and never stop asking questions, even the "stupid" ones, or the ones that will get you flamed like "What's the advatage of DIR again?":boom:
