Purchasing Equipment

[Squidley]

Hello,

I just wanted to get some feedback on what to purchase first as far as equipment. I am not looking for namebrands or type of equipment.

I am just getting back into diving along with my daughter. I know the gear can add up, so we will be renting gear at first. So my question is: If you were to buy gear a little at a time, what gear would you buy first?

Make a short list in order of purchase as a guideline, for example: 1.Snorkle Gear 2. BC 3. Wetsuit 4. Tanks 5. Knife/Tools 6. Diving Computer.

Any input will be greatly appreciated, as I will be buying for two people I can only purchase a couple things at a time.

Thanks,
Gary

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

www.scubatoys.com has some great closeout deals right now. I just purchased an Aeris Atmos Pro reg and Aeris Atomos 2 computer. As a Scuba Board member you get 10% the posted internet price when you call and ask for it. They will meet or beat any other price you find.

 

[David P]

1) personal gear (mask, fins, snorkel, gloves, booties)
2 or 3ish) you might want to buy your BC and regs at the same time, what if your bc has an air2 on it and the regs you rent dont come with that hose or the other way around?
3rd or 8th) exposure suit, do the local rentals fit you well? are they in good shape, do they stink of piss and dead fish? This may be the second piece of eq you buy if your not an off the shelf body type, or it may be the last thing before a tank you buy...
2nd through millionth) doo dads, bolt clips, knives, lights, all the cool stuff....

Last) Tank

sorta joking, totally honest!

 

[scarefaceDM]

Nice to see your going to share the underworld with your daughter.

First thining is. The basics

1- Mask, fins, snorkel (eek ) and booties. One cutting tool. Watch.
2- Wetsuit -3-5-7mm etc which ever you need for the environment you will be. Hood gloves.
3- Reg set - compass
3a- BC.
Now that you have the basics for scuba...I would go for tanks

After that computer or bottom timer.

Just a note. In the process of gear selection...depending on the enviromnets you will be diving etc...saftey gear can be purchased: Two cutting tools, SMB, whistle, mirror, flash light.

For the most part try things on. Wetsuits, BC booties etc...before you buy. Even an online deal or Ebay..run down to your local LDS and see if they have that model if so try it on...

Safe dives

Stephen

 

[ScubaAdam]

I am in the same boat as you and the people at my LDS told me to buy everything that gets fitted to me first, the reason being is that if you are renting equipment you never have to worry about them running out of your size and you miss a day of diving. So with that said, after I got all the basics (mask, fins, snorkle) I bought.

1. Wet Suit
2. BC

After that I am trying to figure out if I should buy a computer next or a get the reg/octo/SPG...I just bought my BC last month, so I have some saving to do before I can buy my next toy.

One advantage to buying things one at a time is normally if you keep going to the same LDS, they will let you use some of the rental/demo equipment so you can play around with a lot of different stuff before you make your purchase. It will really help out alot. For example, I did my training on a jacket style BC and figure that is what I would buy. But the guys at the LDS had me do a dive with one of rental Back inflate BCs and I loved it. So that is what I got. Just some thoughts, hope it helps.

 

[wallacm]

This is what I would do.
1. personal gear, mask fins, wetsuit etc
2. regs (I personally would stay away from the air2 type systems)
3. BCD by now you hopefully have tried different systems
4. computer or tanks (although I would go with the computer because tanks are cheap to rent, and you then you dont have to worry about doing annual service on them and hydros)

As far as purchasing these equipment, I would check out on the internet, granted they are always lower than LDS, and don't carry the manufacture warranty. I would purchase either, from people on forums that have extra gear (they usually aren't trying to make money on their gear, just get out of it what they have in it, if it is new) or from the LDS. I would find a LDS that you like and trust, and then do some comparitive shopping, and then go back to trusted LDS and have them make you deal.

As far as renting goes though, if you only go to one LDS, they most likely only have one type of rental equipment to try, so before you buy you should try as many different types of equipment as you can such as jacket bcs, back-inflation (most shops dont rent BP/W's that i know of, but a back-inflation will give you a good idea how the BP/W will work. The BP/W is just very streamline, and you will only have pockets that you put on there that you will use, not any extras)

Anyways good luck with your choice, and hope you and your daughter have a lot of safe fun diving.

 

[SharkDiver36]

I'm going to disagree with most people that have posted so far and suggest that you purchase your gear in this order and tell you why:

1)Personal Gear - Mask, Fins, Booties, Gloves
It's yours and you wear it all the time. Buy something that fits well and is comfortable. This is the core of your gear other than life-support (Regulator).

2) Regulator & Computer
Where ever you go you can take this with you. You know when it's been dropped, dragged and serviced last. There are a lot of ways to save money with diving and in my opinion your regulator isn't one of them. There is a BIG difference on how a $200 regulator works and breath's compared to a $500 regulator!! Why should you work any harder, or have something in your mouth that doesn't breath as easy, if not easier than on dryland? This is your true life-support gear, treat it as such., save money buying other gear, not on your air supply.

3) Light(s)
Water filters light and the first color you loose is red. Even if your in 30' of water a good light can go along way to enjoying your dive better and seeing all the colors below 30' or looking into some hole you found

4)BC / Wetsuit / Accessories
My suggestion is rent for a while. Once you figure out how much you're going to dive and where (warm/cold water) you can focus on the type of BC and wetsuit you want. There is what I call "warm water BC's" and "cold water BC's". In colder water, like diving off the coast of NJ, you need to carry a little extra gear like a reel because visibility can get low at times. BC's have different features and lift capacities and you'll most like want a more "rugged" BC if you're going to dive in waters similar to these than if you only dive in the carribean or FL.

There is a ton of gear out there, think about what's most important to you. Put them in a priority order, think about where your diving and the type of diving you're going to do and buy the gear in that order. To me the most important piece of gear is your Regulator and Computer, this is LIFE SUPPORT equipment. If you can save a buck or two, do it on a BC, fins, snorkel, and other things; not what you breath off of at 90'.

Enjoy the diving!

 

[Vercingetorix]

would check out on the internet, granted they are always lower than LDS, and don't carry the manufacture warranty

ScubaToys is on the internet and carries all manufacturer warranties. Their prices are low and they will price match.

There is a BIG difference on how a $200 regulator works and breathes compared to a $500 regulator!!

You can buy a $400 regulator (Aeris Atmos Pro) for only $200. I did. It's fully adjustable from free-flowing on the surface to almost zilch; adjustable venturi assist, too. The reason for the big price drop is ScubaToys is making room for the new $400 Aeris Atmos Pro 400 reg.

 

[lmorin]

Is money an issue? If not, adopt one of the strategies described above. With my wife and me, money was an issue, so we bought things in this order:
1. mask, fins, snorkel, booties
2. wetsuit (because it is personal and individual fit became important for my wife)
3. new fins for my wife because the originals were too heavy
4. reg, bc, computer simultaneously
To have broken purchase #4 into individual steps would have lessened the cost per purchase, but we saved about 30% of the total price by getting package estimates at two competing local dive shops and by paying cash. Another important part of this equation was that we decided we did not like renting different types of regs and BCs each time we dove. Too many complications with fit, maintenance and where to store the octo, among others. We have been very happy with this strategy.
5. accessories (knife, shears, lights according to developing needs)

 

[undefined]

1. Personal gear. For me that is fins, booties, and mask. Snorkel's are for sissies

2. Safety gear. SMB, Sausage, Finger spool or reel, whistle, dye packs, etc. This is almost never provided in the Caribbean for rentals, and I'd rather bring my own in case of a mishap.

3. Computer. I would rather have some record of my dive and knowledge of how close to NDL I am coming than trust a DM who may or may not be diving the exact same profile.

4. Regulator and mouthpiece. I want to have service records and confidence in what I'm breathing off of. I also suffer from jaw fatigue and intense pain after some dives, so the custom mouthpiece is a medical purchase

5. Wetsuit. Depending on where and when you dive, you may or may not need one. If you need one, it's nice to know that you will be the only one to pee in it.

6. BC or BP/W. You'll eventually get tired of wearing 40 different BC's that may or may not fit perfect.

7. Accessories. You've run out of real gear to purchase but can't help wanting to buy all the cool stuff on the market....