New to Diving, questions about my equipment

[undefined]

sdreefers (cute name, btw),

I understand the cost concerns, and also the interest in going FFM. I suffer intense jaw pain from diving. I ordered the Sea Cure but haven't dived it yet, but the reputation it has for being a valid solution to TMJ is quite good.

While PADI may not advise you to do this, what I have found that helps a great deal is to pop 400 - 600mg of Ibuprofin one hour before my first dive of the day, and another 200mg every 2 hours while diving. I'm sure someone on this board with more medical knowledge than me can give a reason why that is a bad idea, but it has worked wonders on relieving my jaw pain and making my dives more enjoyable.

I'd still have some concerns about diving FFM to start with. You should, at the very least, bring an extra mask with you should a problem come up with the FFM. It would be very uncomfortable for a relatively new diver to find themselves at 80' with a malfunctioning FFM, breathing off an octo with no mask.

These are just my opinions, and please do not take them as gospel or even necessarily correct. I just have reservations about diving a FFM without first having some experience and training, and even more so about using an FFM that most people on this forum consider to be a poor design. Scubatoys is a great site, and Joe and Larry and wonderful people, but that doesn't change the general dislike that many have towards the Ocean Reef masks. Whatever you end up doing, dive safe and enjoy yourselves.

 

[sdreefers]

sdreefers (cute name, btw),

I understand the cost concerns, and also the interest in going FFM. I suffer intense jaw pain from diving. I ordered the Sea Cure but haven't dived it yet, but the reputation it has for being a valid solution to TMJ is quite good.

While PADI may not advise you to do this, what I have found that helps a great deal is to pop 400 - 600mg of Ibuprofin one hour before my first dive of the day, and another 200mg every 2 hours while diving. I'm sure someone on this board with more medical knowledge than me can give a reason why that is a bad idea, but it has worked wonders on relieving my jaw pain and making my dives more enjoyable.

I'd still have some concerns about diving FFM to start with. You should, at the very least, bring an extra mask with you should a problem come up with the FFM. It would be very uncomfortable for a relatively new diver to find themselves at 80' with a malfunctioning FFM, breathing off an octo with no mask.

These are just my opinions, and please do not take them as gospel or even necessarily correct. I just have reservations about diving a FFM without first having some experience and training, and even more so about using an FFM that most people on this forum consider to be a poor design. Scubatoys is a great site, and Joe and Larry and wonderful people, but that doesn't change the general dislike that many have towards the Ocean Reef masks. Whatever you end up doing, dive safe and enjoy yourselves.

Thanks for the information. I called Joe at scubatoys and talked with him and we changed my order and now I am going with a nice traditional setup for myself and my wife. We are both getting the sea cure as well. Joe agreed, learn the traditional setup and then you can always upgrade to a FFM. I didn't fully explain that this was my very first attempt at diving, all I did was order the stuff. Those guys are amazingly nice people and willing to help with everything!!!! Joe had absolutely no problem changing my entire order over to a traditional setup and we even changed BC's to the zeagle one they have on their website. I initially told him that my wife had terrible TMJ and that holding a regulator wouldn't be an option because she had tried and failed at the LDS, which was true. I also really wanted a FFM because of the whole breathing through the mouth underwater for extended periods of time thing. Joe pointed out the sea cure and that's what we will try.

I fealt bad calling and completely changing my order on him but he was so willing to change it. He mentioned that we could learn traditional scuba and then once we got the hang of that we could goto FFM. I figure that the second stage could go on a spare tank down the road if I upgraded to a FFM.

Thanks for the help and I just would like to go on the record by saying Joe at scubatoys is great and I would highly recommend him to everyone looking to enter this hobby. Oh, and by the way, this board is great to and I owe you guys for making me think twice about me purchase. Basically we upgraded a few things and ditched the FFM.

Thanks,
Sdreefers
P.S. Glad you like the name. My first passion is saltwater reef tanks and this is my name on salt forums, so, I figured I might as well keep it over here!!!

 

[undefined]

I'm glad to hear you got things sorted out. Joe is one heck of a nice guy, and a pleasure to do business with. Our rigs just came in - I'm absolutely thrilled with the level of service I've received from Scubatoys. We'll be diving our new gear next weekend and will report back - but a cursory review gives me goosebumps with how good everything looks.

As for the FFM - you might want to try one down the road, but get certified and get used to diving without one first. I initially really wanted a FFM, but after doing a lot of research and looking at what others had to say about them I put it off. There are as many drawbacks to them as there are advantages, and at the end of the day we all need to just get out and dive - doesn't really matter as much what gear you dive with so long as it is safe.

Which Zeagle BC did you go with?

 

[sdreefers]

Fully Agreed! I decided to go with the Zeagle Brigade that they had custom made for them. I also still ended up going with the pro plus 2 computer w/ qd and compass. I am excited to get it! Thanks for the heads up on the FFM and when we get the hang of traditional masks maybe at that point we will get a FFM.

 

[undefined]

We just got our Pro Plus 2 computers in today (ordered two of them from Scubatoys). You might want to call Joe and have him add on the screen protectors (about $9 each I think) to your order to keep the computers from getting scratched up. I had emailed him about adding them, but it looks like they didn't make it into the package.

As for the Brigade - I have heard a lot of good things about that BC. Scott from Zeagle posts on this board frequently, and Zeagle makes a great product. You should be very happy with that choice and get a lot of use out of them. Which reg did you end up ordering in place of the one that comes with the Neptune?

 

[CoyKoi]

Congratulations, sdreefers, and welcome to the wonderful world of diving! Good choice on deciding to go traditional for starters. My TMJ used to flare up on dives. To keep it under control I've done 2 things:

1. Got a really comfortable mouthpiece. I didn't need to use Seacure, but I did go through several until I found one that was comfortable enough.

2. Use a bit of bio-feedback on every dive to remind me to relax my jaw. I, too, sometimes unconsciously clench my teeth during a dive -- the worst thing you can do to aggravate TMJ. I've gotten into the habit of reminding myself to relax my jaw every time I check my gauges.

Dive safe and have a great time!

 

[sdreefers]

Yeah, I would think that with the sea cure she should be able to tolerate it. I was concerned on multiple (2-4) dives per day.

 

[sdreefers]

Oh, Undefined, I got the aeris atmos pro regulator and also the zeagle RKO octo inflator.

 

[undefined]

Joe really likes that Atmos Pro reg - we chatted about it some when I was ordering my gear. I went Oceanic for our regs, but the Aeris is a good choice as well.

Don't forget to come back and report how everything goes once you get your gear in and have a chance to dive it!

 

[sdreefers]

I will let you know. Our classes don't start until May because they are all full, but, that's ok. Gives me plenty of time to learn how to use this stuff and to research. Good advice on the mouthpiece, this should help tremendously. The total cost of the setup was the same without the FFM, however, we upgraded the BC and the Octo.