So I'm new to this...

Yes so today I decided to sign up for a diving class that the University is offering here. I do not know anything at all about diving... They tell me that they give you the stuff you need while you're in the class but I think I'd like to buy my own. Can someone make a good recommendation as to what I should buy, brand names, etc. ?

Thanks!

js

jhstuckey:

Can someone make a good recommendation as to what I should buy, brand names, etc. ?
js

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Don't worry about brand names go to your local dive shop and get them to help you
fit the mask and fins. Try the school gear other than mask fins and snorkel before you buy your own regulator and bc. When you do buy your regulator get one with a balanced first stage, you may not notice the differance in how it breaths but they are much more reliable.
Have fun and be Safe.

Randy

jhstuckey:

Yes so today I decided to sign up for a diving class that the University is offering here. I do not know anything at all about diving... They tell me that they give you the stuff you need while you're in the class but I think I'd like to buy my own. Can someone make a good recommendation as to what I should buy, brand names, etc. ?

Thanks!

js

Click to expand...

Do you go to UA? I live in Hoover and go to jeffstate currently but considering transferring to UA, if not then UAB next semester. As far as gear get your mask and fins for the class and then decide what gear would be best for you after you're certified. Will you be doing your openwater dives at bluewater? I'm there just about every weekend.

Cool--

Okay so I think I may go ahead a buy my suit also-- Someone have anything to say about suits?

Another thing: I do not like the idea of putting my mouth where someone else's has been... What part do I buy besides the whole BC if I want something that's mine to use instead of the part that everyone else has used to breath though?

Thanks!

js

I agree with Cap335. That is the only equipment you should buy right now.

Do you know what type of diving you will be doing after you get your certs? Ice, cave, the ocassional rec diver, DIR? It is hard to know where your training will take you.
After you get your c-card rent different brands/styles etc...You will begin to get a feel for what is right for you. Then read the comments/reviews on Scubaboard.

If you rush out & buy the whole shebang, chances are you will be replacing a good deal of it down the line. I made the mistake, years ago, of buying a piece of equipment based on a review in a dive magazine. I blindly thought they must know what they are talking about. I was wrong. It was, hands down, the most expensive thing I own & the biggest mistake.

Suits - depends on where you will be doing most of your diving after your certified. And how quickly you get chilled. Nothing ruins a dive like being cold.

You don't breath through the BC.

I think you need to wait to buy your equipment until you have gone to the classes.

Kat:

Suits - depends on where you will be doing most of your diving after your certified. And how quickly you get chilled. Nothing ruins a dive like being cold.

You don't breath through the BC.

I think you need to wait to buy your equipment until you have gone to the classes.

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Oh that's exactly what I am going to do-- I thought that the BC comes w/ like a "breathing attachment" I must be wrong.

Thanks

I think your best bet is to try and get old of your teaching book or buy the book it self, like the PADI openwater course book (thats if your with padi) and watching the vhs/dvd of the course video your doing. Then you'll get to grips with what everyone is talking about above.

jhstuckey:

Yes so today I decided to sign up for a diving class that the University is offering here. I do not know anything at all about diving... They tell me that they give you the stuff you need while you're in the class but I think I'd like to buy my own. Can someone make a good recommendation as to what I should buy, brand names, etc. ?

Thanks!

js

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You have a pretty good local dive shop there in Tuscaloosa, atleast as far as I can tell from the single time I was in there. Friendly DM working it at the time, don't remember his name offhand though. One of my best friends took the course through UofA, course, he already had his C-card, but he said it was just as good as the course he took through the shop local to me. He still lives up there if you end up like this whole SCUBA thing and need a dive buddy.

bpage08:

Do you go to UA? I live in Hoover and go to jeffstate currently but considering transferring to UA, if not then UAB next semester. As far as gear get your mask and fins for the class and then decide what gear would be best for you after you're certified. Will you be doing your openwater dives at bluewater? I'm there just about every weekend.

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The course through UofA will run through the certification course, up until the checkout dives. I believe the students have to complete that part on their own due to insurance liabilities or something - atleast I believe thats what my friend told me, course, my memory sucks.

I have a best friend living in T-town, I've been trying to get him to go to ABWA one weekend I'm up visiting. Its only like an hour away eh?

jhstuckey:

Cool--

Okay so I think I may go ahead a buy my suit also-- Someone have anything to say about suits?

Another thing: I do not like the idea of putting my mouth where someone else's has been... What part do I buy besides the whole BC if I want something that's mine to use instead of the part that everyone else has used to breath though?

Thanks!

js

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Everyone is a bit different on what they can stand as far as water temperatures, but the closest diving holes to Tuscaloosa are quarries. Temps in the 80sF ontop during the summer and 50sF at depth in the deeper ones, pretty much year round. If you stay within the top 50'ish, you'd probably do pretty well with a 3mm full suit with a hoodvest or something in the winter - assuming you're atleast somewhat tolerable to the colder waters.

Goto the diveshop and buy a mouthpiece or three. Thats the part on the regulators that you will be putting your mouth on, sometimes the inflator on the BC will have one as well for oral inflation.


Yeah... and War Eagle!

Welcome to the world of diving JS. You have much to learn and the first lesson is patience. Keep an eye on ths forum, the new to diving forum and devour the gear forums. There you will learn more than you imagine and you want to learn this stuff before you start paying for new toys.

I agree that the first things you will want to get are a mask since a good personal fit is critical and with that a snorkel. Next will be fins and to insure a good consistent fit booties to go with them. I'd be more concerned about being in your own booties than using a regulator someone else had before you.

Once you have the above items stop take a deep breath and get certified. You can start shopping but don't buy until your certified and hopefully in your area ayou can rent items that you're interested in buying. If not try to find dive shops that will let you try your selections in their pool before you buy. Getting stuff out in open water a few times is preferred.

Depending on your budget and personal preferences there are many trains of thought about what to buy first and so on. If you search you will find numerous threads that hash this out.

For now concentrate on getting all you can from your classes and have fun.

Pete

jhstuckey:

Yes so today I decided to sign up for a diving class that the University is offering here. I do not know anything at all about diving... They tell me that they give you the stuff you need while you're in the class but I think I'd like to buy my own. Can someone make a good recommendation as to what I should buy, brand names, etc. ?

Thanks!

js

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