Which gear to buy/not buy?

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kmabellw

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Hi, all! I'm new to diving - was recently certified and looking to do my first dive in the coming weeks, but I'm hoping you all can point me in the right direction as to which brands/styles of gear to buy or avoid? I'm going to start with just a mask, snorkel and fins (unless you suggest otherwise). Thanks!
 
kmabellw:
Hi, all! I'm new to diving - was recently certified and looking to do my first dive in the coming weeks, but I'm hoping you all can point me in the right direction as to which brands/styles of gear to buy or avoid? I'm going to start with just a mask, snorkel and fins (unless you suggest otherwise). Thanks!


Well, its always better to buy your own gear, all of it. If you need a reason, all you gotta do is scroll down to the discussions regarding hurling in your regulator, performing the Warhammer Maneuver, or peeing in your wetsuit. :D

Its a big $$ hit, but its sooo worth it.
 
Welcome to Scubaboard. I'd suggest spending some time browsing in the Equipment forums. Just about any piece of equipment you could contemplate buying will have been discussed there at some point.

If you fill in your profile with where you are and some information about the kind of diving you are contemplating doing, people will be able to give you much more focused and useful advice.
 
I would recommend you look up reviews on equipment on the boards, but there are so many biased opinions that you may get conflicting information. You have to remember also that at some points throughout the year you are going to have your gear serviced and you don't want a dive shop two hours away from you as your only option for servicing. So maybe talk to the shop where you get serviced and see what they say without getting duped into too much of a spending spree. Shop online and compare that with any brick and mortar shops to see if you can get pricing in order.
 
A couple of suggestions - I would avoid buying an all-in-one configuration such as the HUB. This has the bc and regulators all combined into one inconvenient unit.

Snorkle - if you are going to be doing mostly diving, snorkles are not really a requirement. This is contrary to what you probably hear during your scuba class. I'd suggest the sherwood avid snorkle because you can fold it up and put it in the pocket of a bc as opposed to having it strapped to your head 80' down.
 
kmabellw:
I'm going to start with just a mask, snorkel and fins (unless you suggest otherwise). Thanks!

Mask: Fit is the most important thing. Try it on before you buy, or return it if you order online and it doesn't fit just right. Low volume, frameless masks seem popular. $40-60 should do it.

Snorkel: Most divers stop using it after the first few dives, so I'd recommend the cheapest one you can find, or maybe a small fold-up snorkel that you can put in a pocket when not in use. Avoid all the gimmicky stuff like dry snorkels.

Fins: The two main catagories are split and paddle fins. Best to do a search of titles with "split" and "jets" on them in the fins sub-forum. Also do a search on any model before you buy it.

Be careful when buying gear, there's a lot of crap out there! Just spend the time reading up on it first, and try to find out what the experienced members here or out in the real world use (and scuba instructors don't count because they often use whatever their shop is selling).
 
I would buy a wetsuit unless you are diving only in very warm water. Actually even if I was diving in warm water I would still buy one...good protection. This would be my first purchase. Rental wetsuits are torn, don't fit right, and other people urinate in them. So go with the suit first. Next I would go to an LDS and try on masks. Find one that fits really well and then buy it from Leisurepro or Scubatoys (much cheaper than getting one from an LDS). As for snorkel....doesn't really matter...whatever you like and are comfortable with. Fins....these are more difficult. Probably should try them on at an LDS like the mask and then purchase them from the aforementioned companies. Make sure they are flexible enough to be comfortable for you. I bought Cressi-sub pro lights and found them too stiff so I went with Mares Quattro Avanti. Love them. Good luck though. Study up and make smart purchases.
 

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