Hi,
I have yet another post from a newbie looking for a set of gear. I appreciate those with experience to give me some comments.
I plan to dive in Ontario during summer - Kingston, Tobamory. Eventually (2 years or more) I plan to get a dry suit and try cold water diving/ice diving. Also I plan to go to warm countries maybe once a year.
For the regulators I'm looking at several options:
My other question is regarding a wetsuit. As I said I won't be buying a dry suit for a while. I was looking at 7 mm suits, hoods. But there are also semi-dry suits for about 100-150$ more than a regular wet suit. Is it worth it? Is there a lot more maintenance as well - like taking more care of neck seals etc?
Thanks for your comments.
I have yet another post from a newbie looking for a set of gear. I appreciate those with experience to give me some comments.
I plan to dive in Ontario during summer - Kingston, Tobamory. Eventually (2 years or more) I plan to get a dry suit and try cold water diving/ice diving. Also I plan to go to warm countries maybe once a year.
For the regulators I'm looking at several options:
Mares 12S - inexpensive, specs say balanced diaphragm first stage. I believe it won't work for ice diving out of the box, need a cold water kit? But can't find how cold it will go. Annual maintenance.
Mares Abyss 22 - is it worth the upgrade? I think the service interval is 2 years?
Overall what's the warranty period for free servicing parts on Mares?
I was also looking at Atomic Z2x. This is now getting much more expensive. Also they offer lifetime parts not contingent on service period. But, I wonder how true that is in practice. Their list of authorized dealers doesn't list any store in Canada that I'm interested in buying from (such as dansdiveshop.ca).
My other question is regarding a wetsuit. As I said I won't be buying a dry suit for a while. I was looking at 7 mm suits, hoods. But there are also semi-dry suits for about 100-150$ more than a regular wet suit. Is it worth it? Is there a lot more maintenance as well - like taking more care of neck seals etc?
Thanks for your comments.