Help A Newbie, Please.

[island_diver]

I'm an OW Certified and had done about 25 dives to date. All my previous outings, I was using equipments (including suits) from the dive shops that facilitates my dives. I really want to have my own equipment and have USD$1,500 budget.

Help me spend it on equipment I need (A BCD, Regulators (a HUB, perhaps), fins, mask, snorkel, etc.). I kinda really wanna invest on quality BCD and regulators and upgrade the rest when funds are available.

If you have no equipment, what would you buy (brand and estimated price of each would be appreciated)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Diver0001]

I'll give you some general recommendations and see what you can make of it

For a BCD go simple. A lot of bells and whistles are not necessary. Assuming you intend to dive with an AL-80 then something like the Aeris Atmos Sport BCD or the Aqualung Wave is good enough for starters if you ask me. They're inexpensive and you'll end up replacing them after a while so keep that in mind. Do not buy a HUB They are a stupid expensive POS that isn't even suitable as diving gear if you ask me. If you are intent on buying a good BCD that will grow with you then you will need to spend a lot more money on something like a backplate/wing setup or a good Zeagle. Buying a second hand BCD is a good option. There are a lot of them on the auction sites.

For a regulator I would suggest the Aqualung Titan. These are good but not overly expensive regs that will grow with you as you progress in your diving. Start by buying a good reg and then see how much money you have left for the BCD.

For fins I would set your budget at about $100-125. Don't buy really cheap fins or you will regret it. The Mares Plana Avanti Quattro are good fins and will make a good reference point for comparison.

For the mask. Buy one that fits well and is comfortable. Do not look at the price. Do not bother buying one second hand, do not buy one from the internet. Fit is everthing.

Don't bother buying a snorkel unless you intend to go snorkelling. If you really want one for diving then buy the cheapest one you can find.

If you're looking to buy a computer then look at the Suunto Gekko. It's a straightforward computer to grow with you to a point and it's inexpensive without being cheap.

Buy your weights from an Auction site. They're about 10 times more expensive if you buy them new and there is nothing about weights that can break or wear out.

I can't advise you about a suit because I don't know enough about your local conditions.

i hope that helps a bit. good luck

R..

 

[DBailey]

island diver,

I see you are from Chicago. In terms of an exposure suit for local diving, you are looking at three options and if comes down to your personal tolerance of cold: 7mm full wet suit, 7mm farmer john wet suit, and drysuit. The surface temperature rarely gets above 72F and at about 30 feet you'll hit the thermocline and it will drop into the low 60F or colder (down to about 38F). I just switched over from the 7mm farmer john to a drysuit, but with all the gear you have to buy, the drysuit will blow your budget.

If you plan to do some local diving, but mainly tropical diving on vacation, then a 5mm or 5/7mm might work. For the local diving, you'd want to add a hooded vest or somthing.

Ok, I am starting to ramble now. To the above, you'd probably want to add hood and gloves as well.

 

[lorien]

When I first started diving I went and bought all my equipment pretty quickly as I did not like the rental equipment that was avaialable to me and I felt far more secure knowing what I was using,etc. The problem that I ran into was tha the LDS's I was delaing with would not let me rent or try anything out before making the decision on what to buy and they all, of course, were recommending different stuff. I did my research and bought some good gear. However, now that I am more experienced and have had the chance to try different gear I find that I am replacing just about every piece of gear that I bought. It was expensive enough the first time, you dont' want to have to do it twice. Asking others did not help me at the time either as what is comfortable and adequate for one diver may not be so for another. The LDS I currently deal with (left the others flat) will let me try gear before I buy it and that makes a huge difference plus I really value the opinions and information I get from the instructors there as to what is or is not best for me and my use. I have already replaced my split fins, mask 3x, computer and am about to replace my BC & wetsuit. And I bought good gear, it just was not the gear I probably should have bought in the first place. So, if you can, find a LDS that you really trust and who will work with you to make sure you get to try gear and that you get what you are going to really be happy with as it is far less expensive to do it right the first time.
On the reg, personally I have the Scubapro MK25 S600 and I do love it but I have considered changing it to the Sherwood Blizzard which I keep eyeing with great interest. You may be diving in cold water so make sure you have a balanced reg and one that will work in the conditions you plan to dive in.

 

[Phud]

As fellow newbie, I have faced the same issues and decided to get a full set of gear -- wet suit (Henderson 3 mil), BC (Aeris Atmos XT), Reg (Atomic Z1), Octo, fins, booties, console (Atmos 2) -- I had a mask and snorkel. All good, but not the most expensive. Total cost - $1,500.68 + tax. Note: This is net of a 20% discount from the LDS for buying all the gear at the same time. I got to try it out in their pool before purchasing. Another point: This is a competitive business. Discounts can be had for the asking, at least here. My spouse bought her stuff from another shop (brand preference) and when she said that I got 20% off, they said they'd match it. If you don't ask, they won't offer -- no surprise there.

 

[RiverRat]

I'm an OW Certified and had done about 25 dives to date. All my previous outings, I was using equipments (including suits) from the dive shops that facilitates my dives. I really want to have my own equipment and have USD$1,500 budget.

Help me spend it on equipment I need (A BCD, Regulators (a HUB, perhaps), fins, mask, snorkel, etc.). I kinda really wanna invest on quality BCD and regulators and upgrade the rest when funds are available.

If you have no equipment, what would you buy (brand and estimated price of each would be appreciated)?

Thanks in advance.

BCD:
OK I also recommend to stay away from this HUB spaceship thingy. Do some research to find out what type of BC you want to get. "Air all around you" or back inflate. You may hear many conflicting stories on this subject. One thing to keep in mind is you want to purchase your BC to go DIVING with, not hang out on the surface. Although there are some differences all BC's will float you on the surface just fine. The important thing is that it is setup and trimmed out properly from the start. You'll have to think about integrated weights or a weightbelt or both. Triple L makes a simple no-nonsence BC that's also VERY inexpensive. For the price I don't think you could go wrong. Do your homework and filter through all the hype before you dump big $ here.
I won't get into backplates and wings here although that is another option for you.

Regulators:
I personally use Apeks ATX200 as it's a very good performer and I can get parts anywhere. It's built like a tank. Aqualung is another great choice. I bought a used Titan LX and it's a good reg. One thing to note if you're cold water diving you'll want an environmentally sealed reg. My Apeks is sealed out of the box but my Titan LX would need a retrofit to be sealed. More add on $. Even if you never want to fix your own regs think about parts availability if you plan on diving in remote areas. I can take a service kit with me so even if I don't want to be bothered servicing my reg a tech could do it somewhere and I could be back up and running the next day. Otherwise I'm stuck with a rental reg. Not good if I'm on the dive trip of a lifetime.
Also, if you're thinking of your own tanks, think about DIN versus YOKE regs now. If you want to go DIN you have to think about a DIN to YOKE converter for travel as most places are yoke. DIN is superior that's why all tech divers use it. If you buy a yoke reg and decide later to go to DIN you'll have to buy a DIN conversion kit, $50.00 or so. Just something to think about to save you $.

Computers:
I have a Suunto Vyper. It allows me to dive Nitrox mixes as well and is downloadable to a PC. Even if you don't have a Nitrox cert. you may want to make sure your computer is Nitrox ready. It wasn't long before I got into Nitrox and I was ready to go. If I had an air only computer I would of had to buy another one. The Gekko may be a good choice if it does Nitrox. I like the wrist mounts, cleans up dangly stuff. I just got a wrist mount compass too. I lost my original Suunto compass on a retractor, don't like cable/retractors anymore. So far I really like the Suunto. Easy to read underwater and gives me all the pertinent info at a glance. Even if I went into mild deco (not by choice of course) I feel the ceiling indicators would give me the info I need to get out of trouble. I've never owned some of these other computers with idiot lights but it seems to me I'd rather have depth, time and ceiling readings over lights especially in a deco situation.

SPG: If you go with a wrist computer you obviously won't need an SPG with Depth guage AND computer. You'll only need an SPG. So don't buy a console. Get a nice Brass or Stainless pressure guage. I just got a nice OMS guage on Leisurepro. If you still want a console I'll sell you a used Sherwood mini console cheap

Fins:
Personally I think split fins are overhyped and overpriced. I learned just fine in my Jet Fins and have grown to love them. A stiff non-split will give you more "power" off the line and if you compare to a split, the split will feel "flimsy". The split fin will allow you to be more efficient at higher speed using a modified flutter kick. Depends really on the type of diving you'll be doing. IMHO, I think you'll be better off in a non-split right now, but that's my HO. Do some research. You can get used Jet Fins for $25 on Ebay and always resell them.

Masks:
I started with a standard DeepSee mask. It worked but can't even come CLOSE to my new Aqualung Mythos. Low profile, no side windows, great mask. Retail about $75.00, online about $50.00 from LP.

Snorkel:
I bought a $25.00 ScubaPro, only use it for snorkeling now.

Wetsuits:
Sounds like a 7mm for you, not sure. I bought a back zip one piece O'Neill and have grown to HATE the back zip, always jams. For tropical I have a Henderson 3mm shortie and another 3mm full.

If you buy smart on a decent no-nonsence BC you'll save mucho $ to put towards a decent computer, regulator and mask. You can also save buy not spending too much on overpriced fins.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

I would recommend that you heed the advice of the other posters: Do not buy a HUB. It was a solution to a problem that did not exist.

I have been fortunate to have dove in a number of places over the past several years, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Jamacia, Costa Rica, Cayman Islands, and will be headed to Cozumel next week for my 14th time.

I have seen a few divers using HUB's and it was not a pretty site. They are way too complicated, not streamlined and if any one thing breaks the whole unit is down.

Check with Larry at Scuba Toys, and Adsupply who are regular posters on this board. Tell them what kind of diving you are doing or may be intersted in doing. They can help with regulators, wetsuits and BCD's. Also compare prices at your LDS.

My regulators run from Dacor, Mares, and IDI. I just both two IDI regs from Adsupply last month for about $130 ea. and they worked great at 100 feet two week ago. My drysuits are O'Neil and White's, my fins are black Scuba Pro Twin Jet split fins. And my masks are black Tusa Liberators with drop in prescription lenses.

I have three Backplate/wing combos but also have a couple of BCD. I love my BP/W setups but they are not for everybody.

Get a good air/nitrox wrist computer. All you need is a pressure gauge not a console and you will be set. The less clutter you have the better. Pass on the air integrated models as they are more expensive.

You can certainly buy gear off Ebay but be extremely careful. You may find a great buy on some used regulators that turn out to be good door stops because the company quit making parts several years ago. You can find drysuits in the $400-$800 range that should work good.

With $1,500 you should be able to get a very nice setup.

Good luck,

Jim

 

[RDP]

The HUB sounds like a good all-inclusive plan, but theory and reality are often different. I would stay away from the HUB.

Seeing you are from Chicago means lots of cold water. A 7mm farmer john would allow you to shed some suit if you go to warmer water. When it comes to a mask, buy the most comfortable no matter what the cost. I have several different fins Mares Quatro, Apollo Splits, & ScubaPro Jets. The splits work great if there is current, but I prefer the Jet fins over all. Jet Fins are only about $65 online. Don't overlook a backplate & wing setup as opposed to a jacket style BC. There are lots of good low cost regs out there. The Aqualung Titan, mentioned already, is a great time proven design.

Hope this helps.

 

[Firebrand]

I'm having a brainfart...I can't remember what H.U.B. stands for?

 

[Diver0001]

I'm having a brainfart...I can't remember what H.U.B. stands for?

It's German for humans in imminent danger....

R..