shadragon:Soon after getting your OW qual, you eagerly go out and buy a wet suit, BC and AL 80 with Octo and show up at your local dive spot eager and ready to dive.
"Yeah, that's OK gear, but you really should have a steel tank for extra gas. You know... Safety first."
1st rule of diving: Plan your dive... dive your plan. (Includes rigging...)
2nd rule of diving: Plan your rig... rig your plan. (Which is, of course, closely followed by rule #3)
3rd rule of diving: Look cool.
Rules of consumerism apply... (there's a sucker born every minute)
Rules of dining apply... (appetite is usually larger than stomach)
Always remember that they can make gear faster than you can buy it... and the secondary market for you used stuff ain't that great.
Reseach before ya' buy... askin' some of the G.O.B.s on Scubaboard is a good place to start...
... and, if all else fails, get the spending limit on your credit card raised.
Doubles, eh? Hummmm....