New diver, order of purchasing equipment

[hoboforlife]

Hi! I'm a new diver and planning to go for my AOW certificate + enriched air course because diving is pretty much awesome here in Hawaii. I'm definitely not rich, but I hope to own my own equipment as I've been diving at least every week on rental equipment. I was wondering what you guys think about the order I should buy equipment. I'm very happy with the basics (snorkel, mask, fins, boots, wetsuit). Should I buy regulator + octopus + spg first? or BCD? or dive computer first?... Maybe just save until I can buy it all at once? :crazyeye: I was thinking the BCD first since I can purchase and use the fastest. Where if I bought regulator, wait a few weeks, purchase octopus, wait a few weeks, purchase spg... Anyways, I've demoed a lot of gear, so I have a pretty good idea of what I want, I just don't know the order I should buy it. Time to go hunting in the marketplace. Cheers.

 

[buddhasummer]

If you are able to dive regularly owning your own equipment is IMO definatly the way to go, you know it's history, hopefully it's well maintained and most important familiarity. Having said that if wait a bit until you've done a few more dives. Try as much different rental equipment as you can to figure out what you like and what works best for you. If you find something specific that you're interested in post back and you'll get lots of mostly good advice. Rushing into buying gear is the best was to waste lots of money. Many new divers, myself included, rushed out bought what their LDS sold or instructor recommended and ended up buying again as we discovered for what ever reason we didn't like our initial choices. If you can buy once, buy right. Good luck.

---------- Post added July 1st, 2015 at 01:09 AM ----------

Specific to your post I think any order is ok but I would probably buy regs last if money was an issue, regs I think are less specific re fit, use etc.

 

[CptTightPants21]

No right or wrong answer. Here are my suggestions, in no particular order:

Buy a new computer so that you have the warranty. For hawaii, I love the Geo 2 and you can get them at an excellent price on Leisure Pro.

What kind of diving do you see yourself doing in the future? Go Backplate/Wing now or do you just want to be a simple BCD guy. Either answer is alright, just know what you are doing.

Hawaii basically means you can get any regulator and don't have to worry about sealed/unsealed. Atomic, HOG, Aqualung Titan, Apeks, Scubapro...doesn't really matter they are all pretty good.

How much money do you have at the moment to spend?

For your situation I would probably go computer first ($200-300) just because it is the cheapest item on the list and you can use it/take it anywhere. If you are diving, you are making friends, see if you can start borrowing some of their gear to figure out what you like, the differences between the brands, and to cut down on your rental costs. I ended up buying my own equipment fairly quickly (love paypal credit and taking 6 months to pay it off) because every time I rented something I couldn't help but thing...that's 5-8% of ownership right there for a single day.

Oh, and you own your own weights right? That was the biggest killer for me. $10 per weight rental when I could buy all my own weight for $40.

 

[danvolker]

Most important gear in order of importance:

1. Mask and fins ( comfortable mask without leaking, and fins are what get you down, up, and move where you want to--fins are your most important life support purchase, and you should buy the best, most efficient ones you can afford).
2. Bp/wing rather than jacket bc...will last for 2 or 3 decades if a decent brand. Many Jacket Bc's last 2 or 3 seasons
3. Inexpensive quality reg....entry level Scuba pro not a bad way to go with this. You don't need to spend a lot on a fancy high end reg.
4. Exposure suit....sometimes you can buy a wetsuit from rental gear at a dive shop, that fits well and will be fine.
5. you need a dive watch ( elapsed time bezel and water proof--can be very inexpensive)....and a depth guage....Alternatively a bottom timer/combo depth guage....dont waste your money on a dive computer. If you are doing 60 foot dives, with Nitrox, as a new diver you will be low on gas long before you will be any where near the end of safe no deco times on a dive. A few hundred dives later, depending on where you dive, you can decide if you really need a computer. I've have had many over the last several decades, but for 90% of the diving I do off of Palm beach, Fl, I have zero need for one. you should memorize the no deco tables.
6. Buy a volume discount card from a dive boat operation you like, and start to dive alot....this is where your money needs to go....and see what gear the boat operator has, that they will offer free or inexpensively to frequent divers. Typically in S Fl, weights and belt are free on most boats...as an example.

 

[iamrushman]

very good advise from above ....
danvolker

 

[TSandM]

I usually say that one should start with the things which have to fit to work properly. Wetsuits don't keep you warm if they don't fit properly . . . but you might not even be using one, depending on your cold tolerance, and given where you are. BCs also have to fit, to be comfortable and keep the tank stable on your back. Regulators, on the other hand, are something which is fit-independent.

However, I am starting to change my tune a bit, because a lot of people are logging their dives with their dive computers, so buying one of those first might make perfect sense. That way, you have a record of all the dives you have done, regardless of the other equipment you had to rent to do it. In addition, there is great utility in studying the manual for your particular computer, so that you know how to use it, and how to interpret the information it gives you, both in normal operation and in urgent situations. Computers vary enormously from brand to brand (and sometimes model to model), so unless you always rent from the same business, you may well always be using a computer that you don't know very well.

 

[Nemrod]

You must have a computer and get one that can handle nitrox. If one attempts to not use a computer it causes many dive ops to break out in hives and froth at the mouth as their attempts to control and nanny you will be partially thwarted because there is no record of the dive for them to check.

N

 

[tuk]

I have a DM buddy that recommends an SMB first. It's such an often overlooked item but his argument makes a lot of sense. If you do a lot of boat dives, you're eventually going to find yourself further away from the boat than you're comfortable with. A head bobbing at the surface is nearly invisible after not too much distance. An SMB is a relatively cheap investment and you're much more visible. And don't skimp on the whistle. Yelling doesn't travel well and you'll get a sore throat long before you think them see you.

After that, I like a computer or reg set. I bought my first reg set after my first dive vacation and two dives with a questionable SMB. Knowing the history of your air connection is a good thing. If you wanna be really safe and have a lot of fun, go sidemount and dive with two independent air sources.

PS- a dive watch for bottom time and good skills with your dive tables will save you when your primary computer fails and you've loaned out your backup... don't ask how I know.

 

[Malpaso]

I'm going to make a recommendation in a completely different direction - regulator first, which is what I did. The reason? It's the most personal piece of gear, it's in your mouth. Would you rent a mouth guard for sports, a toothbrush, etc? I don't care how much dive shops and dive ops claim they sanitize them, and yes you car bring your own mouthpiece and change it every time you rent (which is an expense and effort each time) but I'd rather have my own reg than any other piece of gear. When I travel and dive, I don't always take all of my gear, but I always take my reg, and it's always in my carry on.

 

[phoenix31tt]

I was recently a new diver and rushed out and bought everything fairly recently before doing research (it's hard for me to try different types of gear so research is all i have). Based on my experience i would say get a Computer first, one that is nitrox compatible. The option is to rent from shop or use tables. Tables decrease your bottom time and renting doesn't give you dive history and could be inaccurate if the shop happens to give you a computer that was dived recently.

The second Item on my list would be a regulator. This is a crucial piece of equipment and owning one means you are sure it's serviced regularly etc and as someone else mentioned you know where your mouth has been. Unless buying used I think it's cheaper to buy it as a package (first stage + 2 second stages). even used there are plenty of great packages out there that also includes an SPG. Either way look for a regulator that you can either easily service yourself (if you're into that), or can be easily serviced by your LDS. For warm Caribbean diving there isn't much more consideration to be put into it imho.

For items that are fit dependent, you could probably get what you want in terms of fit from most dive shops so i would purchase those last if you found gear that fits right, works well and are always available to you for rental. That Includes, mask, wetsuit, BCD, fins. Wetsuits are all about thermal protection and fit. If you know you are good with a 3mm then getting one in your size would mean you would use that for a long time before rebuying. Masks are pretty basic as well in terms of general consensus; As long as it fits your face well you are good to go. Low volume is a bonus and you could always change the strap to eliminate that failure point. BCD and Fins however, i ended up getting all new BCD and Fins after researching different types and their advantages/disadvantages so I would say put alot of thought/trial into that before purchasing.