What kind of gear do I really need?

[Bob DBF]

Before you run out and buy, I always suggest that one check out the gear used by the experienced local divers and ask questions. You can do that while, as Colliam7 says "buying in an orderly, stepwise manner, renting gear as you gain experience, and using that process to try different brands / models / configurations", renting and/or borrowing gear you haven't bought yet.

I dive cold water in a wetsuit, and my old Sherwood Magnum works just fine at 45 degrees but I wasn't happy about my core temp on that dive, somehow it felt way colder than the 47 - 50 degrees I usually consider cold on a 40 min, dive. It just points out that you don't have to spend big to dive. Find the conditions you will be diving in consistently and buy your basic gear around that, and dive. You will always buy gear as long as you keep diving, trying to buy perfect for your long term diving when you start may have you paying more up front and still having to replace it later, or just regret overpaying initially.

Take your time, the Ocean will still be there.



Bob
--------------------
I honestly feel I'm a better diver now. I learned to respect the ocean the hard way. One swallow at a time. Mark Derail

 

[cocoajoe]

You probably won't pay any attention to this but I would make sure this is something you really want to do. There is a lot of scuba gear sitting in garages collecting dust from people who wanted to dive but lost interest.
That said, you can't go wrong with a BP/wings. Just make sure to show you how to set it up.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Oldenred, I am all for owning your own equipment, but you should be able to outfit yourself with good quality equipment for half of what your quoted. I also suggest you do your own shopping. On line, at other shops, wherever. You can get some opinions on different makes and their quality and value here on scuba board, but I think there is value to you doing the shopping, asking about equipment of more than one type, and learning from everyone you speak with.
DIvemasterDennis

 

[Dr. Lecter]

@ Dr Lecter: By leaving out a lot of equipement like exposure suit, fins, mask etc you make it sound cheaper than it actually is. I'm not in to prices in the USA, but I do dive in cold water and my suit was quite expensive.

But I do agree that doing your training and first few dives therafter with rental stuff is wiser.

I'd be surprised if the mask/fins/useless breathing tube -- much less an exposure suit -- was in the $3400 SP package. The OP can figure out their own personal gear - I'm just saying what big pieces of dive gear (BCD, reg, computer) I would personally pick for a new OW diver diving the conditions described.

The OP should be sure diving is something they'll want to do before they buy gear, but other than that timing is up to them. I showed up for my checkout dives with my own gear, liked knowing exactly what I had, that it fit, and how it worked. While the used Zeagle BCD got dropped for a nice used Halcyon rig pretty fast, I dove everything else I bought for a long time after OW.

 

[oldenred]

Thanks for the info and keep it coming. You are all giving me some good stuff to think about.

 

[Shasta_man]

Based on the subject line, you really need a regulator which is attached to a tank. Everything is secondary.

 

[Nasser]

Agree with the suggestions of building your set up gradually. Try out different options and seek advice from experienced divers in your area.. you will eventually develop your own preferences and approach.

I will say though that if you want to buy anything now then go for a dive computer. A Petrel may be overkill IMHO and until you get into tech there's no point in spending that much on a computer when your money is better spent on other important pieces of gear down the line. As you get more dives in, gain experience - things will sort themselves out and you will be able to make more informed decisions and prioritize accordingly.

(BTW a good number of very experienced tech divers don't even use a computer and prefer a simple bottom timer... but that's another story).

A Suunto or Uwatec, "recreational sport diving" computer will serve you well, be more in-line with your budget and if you can use it in gauge mode, then it will be fine for tech use.

 

[DeputyDan]

Scubapro equipment is really good but that price is really high.

 

[Frosty]

Thanks for the info and keep it coming. You are all giving me some good stuff to think about.

Someone earlier raised a good point--where are you at with your diving. -training,just certified etc?
My advise was based on you still being in the training stage.

 

[Altamira]

Hopefully you realize that most LDS, no matter how nice they may be, or how professional they are in running dive courses, are ultimately business people in the business of selling you equipment and courses. Of course you can buy what they want to sell you based on their inventory, or what they may think you need, but that may not be what you are going to actually want and/or need. You would be very smart to follow the wise advice of many posters preceding my response that advised you to wait until you know you are going to stick with diving, and have a better understanding of various types of equipment matching your diving requirements.