good scuba brands? newbie

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LakeMountD

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well this xmas i was fortunate to get money for scuba equipment.. i am new to the sport and well i just need to know some good brands of stuff.. also brands to stay away from.. i know this is really important.. i didnt want to just jump into buying anything, figured i would ask you guys :).. i also got a genesis pod that has a compass, depth, psi, and temperature into a 3 pod design, is this nice?

its this one.. and its the second one from the left

Genesis
 
First, welcome to the board.
You have kind of ask the "which is better Ford or Chevy" question of the scuba world. There are a lot of good brands, Genesis being one of them. I use a similar console. There are many on this board who do not like consoles for many reasons,some valid, some....well lets say I don't quite agree. You may want to exchange the depth gauge for a computer. They don't cost that much more and you will most likely end up wanting one anyway.
The best advice is to beg/borrow/steal/rent as much different gear as you can and dive it as much as possible before you decide. While I like to buy as good a quality as I can afford, at times it does not make sence to go for the best. If you end up only doing a couple of warm water dives a year, almost any gear will do.
Over the years, Apeks and Scubapro have been the reg of choice for a lot of the divers on this board, myself included.
BC's are all over the place. Some of the names most often mentioned are Scubapro, Zeagle and Oceanic. You will no doubt be told about BP/wings (BP=back pack) as well. Dive Rite, Halcyon and OMS being the big names there. (BC's vs BP/wings-- This is a huge Ford/Chevy debate here)Both have valid arguments IMHO.
Best advice, look at and if at all possible dive, every brand/style you can find. Weigh the pros and cons for YOUR needs and diving style and buy what you like/need in as good a quality as you can. Don't let the local dive shop pressure you into only buying their particular brand. Don't be in a hurry to buy. Scuba gear will last many years so take your time to decide.
 
Do you have enough $ to suit up from head to toe? If you have only enough for a single piece of equipment, I recommend that you get a BC - weight integrated - this will allow you to focus on buoyancy control and trim and thus establish mastery in these areas. Buy a little more weight and buy weight in smaller increments so you can make more accurate adjustments depending on the rest of the equipment you'll be diving with. Next purchase a quality regulator - this is the one piece of equipment in my opinion - for which there is no room for compromise - buy top of the line - titanium 1st and 2nd stages.

Of course the specifics of the models of BCs (or BPs) and regulators will depend on the type and area of diving. Can you elaborate on this for us?
 
I agree with most of what has been said, but if you are looking at nitrox in your future I wouldn't go the titanium route. IMHO, that is a lot of money (they generally cost more) to spend on something to save a couple pounds and there is the, albeit controversial, issue with using titanium regulators with high o2 content mixes (esp. >40% deco mixes).

I know Mares specifically warns against using their titanium reg with nitrox and AFAIK, the Atomic M1 is the only reg they make that they advertise can handle >EANx50 (and it's limited to 80%)...the T1 has a warning not to exceed 40% mixes.

Here's a recent thread that covered the same question:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19144

I think it boils down to the following:

1) mask, fins, snorkel...may as well buy them.
2) regulator
3) you already have gauges
4) BC
5) wetsuit
6) tanks (probably not necessary right now)

So on the wetsuit, regulator, BC decision you can go any which way. If you are hard to fit and have trouble renting wetsuits (or an aversion to wearing something someone else has urinated in) you may want to get that first. The others are right on about the regs and BC...however, since you already have your own console, it is going to either 1) not get used or 2) be a PITA to switch out with rental 1st stages each time you rent. I would probably get regs next so you can permanently attach your own console to them.

Whichever way you go, welcome to the board and good luck!
 
But you know O-ring I didn't actually know that about my own regulator. Good points. For the record I've taken IANTD and ANDI level II courses, though I've only personally dove to 40%. From all that I've read about the subject of Titanium and high oxygen levels it doesn't sound like it is fully proven to a certainty though. Sounds like a lot more research has to be done on this subject.
 
Longer intervals between servicing. I've taken my Atomic in already ahead of schedule - they said it looked fine - nothing had to be done. Funny thing is already had done well over a hundred dives.

Next month I'm going to force them to overhall anyway. But that is a very nice benefit about the non-corrosive factor of Titanium. And yes as O-ring said T1/T2 can be pricey - but IMO worth it.
 
DiverBuoy once bubbled...
But you know O-ring I didn't actually know that about my own regulator. Good points. For the record I've taken IANTD and ANDI level II courses, though I've only personally dove to 40%. From all that I've read about the subject of Titanium and high oxygen levels it doesn't sound like it is fully proven to a certainty though. Sounds like a lot more research has to be done on this subject.
DiverBuoy... I agree that there is a lot of ambiguity about titanium and high o2 mixes. Kinda like the whole o2 clean business. I think you are right on the research point...

IMHO, buying a titanium reg is a LOT of cashola to lay down when starting out. If I had the choice of getting a decent workhorse reg (middle of the road Apeks or Scubapro) AND a BC or just a titanium reg...well, I would go with option 1.

BTW, LakeMountD, the second thing you will notice about scuba (the first is how expensive it can be) is that there are a whole lot of opinionated folks, like myself and DiverBuoy, running around with advice to give you :wink:
 
O-ring once bubbled...

DiverBuoy...
BTW, LakeMountD, the second thing you will notice about scuba (the first is how expensive it can be) is that there are a whole lot of opinionated folks, like myself and DiverBuoy, running around with advice to give you :wink:


Darn Eric, I feel slighted, ignored and just plain rejected.....but then again, that's MY opinion....hehehe
 
herman once bubbled...



Darn Eric, I feel slighted, ignored and just plain rejected.....but then again, that's MY opinion....hehehe
I forgot how opinionated herman is...I figured you already knew so didn't need to mention it... :wink:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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