Newbie gear questions

Hi all,

Finally decided to take the plunge and buy my gear prior to my OW course next month. I'm looking at buying a Oceanic package and was wondering what experiences good or bad anyone may have had with these products? I'm looking at going in to deep/wreck diving down the track and want some gear to last with me.

Looking at;

Veo 100nx Comp
Oceanpro BCD
Alpha 8 SP5 reg and second air occy set
V8 split fins
Paragon elite semidry suit
Weightbelt, hood, snorkel etc...

Should i forget about the weight belt and go for the integrated system for the bcd? Should i upgrade the comp to the Veo 180 or is there not enough difference to justify the price? Sorry for all the questions but I got kind of overwhelmed when I looked at the range of gear available?!

Thanks,
Shaun

Predicated upon your statement that you 1: intend to go tech and 2: you want something that will last, may I suggest you go ahead and start your diving career with a back plate/wing rig with a simple harness. Some divers refer to this as a "Hog" rig.

You'll need the bp/w rig in the long run to acommodate double tanks.

It's simple, it's clean, it's streamlined and it's modular.

This is something you can put together yourself. Just assembling your own rig gives you a confidence in the equipment that can't, in my poor opinion, be found in an off-the-shelf item. In addition to the confidence factor, assembling your own rig give you an intimate knowledge of its constuction, capabilities and limitations.

A bp/wing rig is modular. The components are simple: a wing (air bladder), a back plate (steel, aluminum or composite material), 4 d-rings and keepers, and, if you choose not to use a weight belt, weight pockets that you can slide on to your waist straps.

Should any one part fail, the whole rig is not rendered defective (and it's a whole lot less expensive to replace).

As for fins? I'd recommend you go ahead and get some Jets or Turtles.

I'll let others jump into the regulator choices !!!

Safe dives . . . . . . . . .
. . . and safer ascents !

the K

Good advice above. However, I'd recommend you not purchase prior to your OW course. Get the card, then rent for awhile until you have an idea about what you like and don't like about different components. Buying now may just leave you with a bunch of equipment you're not fond of, and at the price, that's not something you want to do.

I'll second hokie here with the exception of the bp/w rig that Kraven was describing. Its hard to just guess at what you're going to like/need without trying out some of the stuff. I'm not sure that I'd go with a package deal because then you just have to settle on some things. If you're diligent in searching, you can find the stuff separately for about the same price and that way you can upgrade or pick and choose different option as you want.

well a BCD is BCD in my opinion...that being said I would not trade my BP/W for anything short of a shot at the stanley cup. I suggest you buy that as soon as possible, it forms the core of your rig, will last you a life time if cared for properly and the sooner you get used to using it the better. As for wetsuit I have no opinion as I have only conducted 4 'wet' dives. much to cold in newfoundland and nova scotia to dive in a wet suit all year round. As for regs if you plan to go tech I would most likely advise you (and I know some wonky tech diver who exclusively uses Oceanic will write back and flame me to death) to stick to big brands such as SCUBAPRO, aqualung, apeks, zeagle or maybe even atomic. Just because this is the equiptment that tech divers use and they will be able to help you with any problems that you might come across. my advice about buying a reg is to save your cash and buy the best reg possible (SCUBAPRO mk25/G250).

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

The Kraken:

This is something you can put together yourself. Just assembling your own rig gives you a confidence in the equipment that can't, in my poor opinion, be found in an off-the-shelf item. In addition to the confidence factor, assembling your own rig give you an intimate knowledge of its constuction, capabilities and limitations.

the K

Click to expand...

That's the MAIN reason I'm glad I went to a BP/W. I put it together myself and I know how everything on it works. (I know it's not much but, I know it!)

Michael

Hi all,

Thank you all for all the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

After some research and consideration (thanks to all the responses from members) I have come to the following conclusion:
I am better off renting my LDS's gear till I obtain my OW certificate then invest in a BP/W set up?

Can anyone recommend an online store that specialises in BP/W set up's?

To the K: Thank you for the recomendation of the BP/W, after some research it seems like the perfect choice! Do you know of any guides/faqs about this set up to help? It seems like a pretty complicated arrangement!

Thank You: hokie_diver, headonkey, scubawally, mwhities

I recommend DSS. Granted, I've only purchased from them, so I am pretty much going to always purchase from them. Tobin is a great guy to talk to and very knowledgeable about his products. Look around at different options and try borrowing or renting several different BP/W setups. Find the one that works the best for you.

Michael

One of the great websites to check for info on bp/w gear (tech gear in general really) is:

http://www.gue.com

or

http://www.5thd-x.com

ScubaShaun:

Hi all,

Thank you all for all the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

After some research and consideration (thanks to all the responses from members) I have come to the following conclusion:
I am better off renting my LDS's gear till I obtain my OW certificate then invest in a BP/W set up?

Can anyone recommend an online store that specialises in BP/W set up's?

To the K: Thank you for the recomendation of the BP/W, after some research it seems like the perfect choice! Do you know of any guides/faqs about this set up to help? It seems like a pretty complicated arrangement!

Thank You: hokie_diver, headonkey, scubawally, mwhities

Click to expand...

Don't let the gear intimidate you. At first it all looks really complicated, but it isn't. It's just NEW to you.

If you can stick a piece of cord through a hole, you can setup a bp/wing rig.

If you'll look at some of the on-line dealers like DiveRiteExpress, you can find some pics of the wings, plates and harnesses.

One simply routes the webbing through the top slots on the back plate, puts a keeper and d-ring on what will become the shoulder straps, then routes the webbing through the bottom slots to create the waist bands . . . add a keeper and d-ring to each waist strap, place a buckle on the left waist strap and then attach the crotch strap.

Then you come back and make the adjustments.

You won't have any problem.