same already-asked questions here, but need help anyway!

Hello all! I'm a fairly new diver. Got my PADI "C" and TDI Nitrox, and plan on going all the way to the top, and would love to teach after I retire (hopefully). I also work for a fire department and am a new member on the dept. dive team. We aren't certified "Public Safety" divers, but I'm hoping we will be going that path within a couple of years.

I (luckily) get to refill all my own air use, and have the basic stuff, but am TOTALLY confused about the rest.

I've been diving zero vis river, and been spear fishing in low vis lake and bluewater (love the gulf!). I've read many opinions about equipment, but maybe someone who is where I want to be in the future may have a better take:

My 130' dive was the coolest dive I've ever done so far, and I want to eventually do deco diving;

I plan on doing the Bikini Atoll (175') or similar deep wreck diving in 1 to 2 years;

My agenda isn't "money" driven, but I want the best equipment for my purposes the first time around, rather than buying, and buying, and buying.

As far as the regulators and guages or computer, what is the preferred equipment for this type of stuff? Is AI really frowned upon? I would love to have wireless AI (like D9, Atom, VT Pro, ect.) but have read this type of diving recommends an SPG anyway. Do people eventually go console comp AI? I really don't know much about regs either, and want to buy the most appropriate the first time around.

Any help?

Thanks in advance!

Mason,

As a fellow PSD diver and IANTD PSD Instructor Trainer, I salute you for doing the work you do.

There is a lot to be considered here, and no one can lay down absolute guidelines.

PM me with a contact, or try e-mail at

airlandseatrng@sbcglobal.net

and I'll give you a call to chat over some of this.

check the regulator sections. i personally think that most of the regs out there are capable and are of good quality. you can get more superior ones but basically most of them are the same especially in the high end. You will get many varied comments and opinions on diff brands and models. in the end it will be you who will have to sift through the sea of information and eventually decide for yourself. i was in the same boat as you several months ago.

look for something which is easy to service and has availability of spare parts. since you are inclined to go tech in the future you might as well get a reg suited for the job. in my personal experience, in the philippines most tech divers use scubapro and apeks. scubapro being more popular with the recreational community and apeks the more popular amongst the tech crowd. you cannot go wrong with one of the two. good lcuk and keep us posted.

If you are wanting to get into deeper/deco diving later on then you may well want to consider getting a backplate and wing setup.
As far as regulators go, there are various opinions out there...for standard recreational diving, just about any balanced reg will do fine (but take into account coldwater requirements if needed).
For deeper/deco diving you will want to get an extremely reliable regulator that can be worked on easily and is easy to get parts for.
My personal favourite is the Apeks range...the TX50 is a great reg, as is the ATX200 and others.
There are many other good choices out there with Scubapro seeming to be another hugely popular choice.
I would recommend that you get a nitrox capable wrist mounted computer that can also be used in gauge mode (I use a Suunto Vyper, but there are many other choices). You will find that consoles are not generally considered good choices for tech/wreck/deco diving as they are unnecessarily bulky etc..
A stand alone SPG with wrist mounted compass and wrist mounted computer or depth timer is by far the most used set up for this type of diving.

mason:

As far as the regulators and guages or computer, what is the preferred equipment for this type of stuff? Is AI really frowned upon? I would love to have wireless AI (like D9, Atom, VT Pro, ect.) but have read this type of diving recommends an SPG anyway. Do people eventually go console comp AI? I really don't know much about regs either, and want to buy the most appropriate the first time around.

Any help?

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

You and I seem to be on a similar path, with a similar goal, but I certainly won't be ready for deep wrecks in one or two years. It's a long path for me to feel safe.

Given what I've read, and learned from people who've done the dives I want to do, and what you appear to want to do, the name of the game when going deep is reliability. Mistakes or failed equipment at 40 feet is inconvenient. Mistakes at 120 may be recoverable. Mistakes or gear failure below 200ft can quickly kill. Again, I've not been there but I understand some of the issues.

That said, I don't know anyone who uses air integrated computers other than for strictly recreational use. Too unreliable. Not to mention when going deep, you aren't using a single tank anymore, so you are going to have to monitor pressure on 3 or more of your own tanks, and keep an eye on your buddy's tanks as well. I don't think I've ever seen a cave or wreck diver with a console. Far too bulky. Apeks, Dive Rite, ScubaPro, and Posieden seem to all be popular choices for technical regulators. In terms of a BC, BP/W is really the ticket here. If you're going to get to deeper dives, you're going to be carrying stage bottles and/or deco bottles. This is much easier once you get rid of the jacket BC.

I'd suggest you spend some time around divers who do the kind of diving you want to do. And spend some time lurking around technical diving boards to learn what people use and WHY they use it. It's proven very educational for me.

Best of luck to you, and dive safe!