Bright equipment colors worth it?

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EllyBell

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Messages
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Location
West Bend, WI
# of dives
100 - 199
Just finished reading through the book for my OW cert class and noticed that in the pics of people underwater those with bright yellow or pink equipment stood out in the water. (and yes I did do a bunch of searches on the forum before posting)

I'm starting to look for some basic equipment, wetsuit and fins, and am wondering if I should just go with what's best for me or would trying to find something with a color that would stand out a bit underwater be worth it?
 
It depends on the water you dive in.

In low vis dirty stuff florescent colors on extremities make it easier to keep track of a buddy.

Hunting generally is lower impact colors or black.

In high current areas where loosing the boat or beach is possible being a BBT (bigger brighter target) is good to help search and rescue to find you. This can be a bright suit, BC, carry streamers or dye packs, long duration lights, etc. For the best chance of rescue carry a PLB or EPIRB in a pressure case plus any combination of the others. Long swims home suck big time.
 
It's all a matter of preference. If you think you will be sacrificing quality just because it is brightly colored, you are wrong. That being said, some of the more classic, tried and true, dive gear only comes on black(jet fins). Just do your research, find what you are comfortable using, then try to find it in neon green, or hot pink, or whatever your little heart desires. Just don't let color be your main determining factor, or you could get stuck with some yumyum yellow paddle fins made of cardboard.
I tend to dive in black. I like it. It's a personal preference. My girlfriend likes to stay visible, so she has a lot of yellow gear. Yellow, black, purple with blue polka-dots, just make sure you are comfortable with the gear, and you'll be fine. I have been able to find yellow purge covers, yellow hoses(obviously), yellow mask, fins with yellow. I am trying to incorporate some yellow into her Ranger LTD.
The point is, if you want color, then dive in color!!
 
Photographers will appreciate the extra colour and you might just end up in more photos. :D
 
Despite the "I dive only in all black" crowd, color is just your personal preference. Dive what you like, like what you dive.

I buy gear based on my need, quality and the value first, color is not a concern unless it's pink!
 
This all depends on how much you dive.

For example, here's the typical "life cycle" for someone that does ~ 60-100 dives a year:
  • Buy brightly colored gear for <insert your favorite> reason.
  • Dive for a year. Look good.
  • During next year, notice that colors have faded.
  • Dive for remainder of year, wincing over faded colors every time you look at them.
  • Following year, replace colored gear with black.


Unless you have a reason - public safety, professional model, whatever (where it's part of your budget to replace the gear so that it's always bright) - start with black and get another couple years of looking good out of your gear.


All the best, James
 
You'll get BLACK and you'll LIKE IT.

I have as much bright stuff as I could get my hands on, and that's ended up being just the mask, snorkel, fins, and one tank. The rest is black because I simply couldn't find anything else.
 
I think the key is to buy gear that fits and works for you. If you prefer bright colors, and the gear you otherwise want is available in bright colors, then that's great. If you find, for example, a mask that fits perfectly but is only available in black, I certainly wouldn't discard it because of the color.

fdog is perfectly right, though . . . Almost anything that's a bright color will fade with time. I still wish they made Jet fins in yellow, though. It's by far the easiest color to see in our turbid water.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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