I will be completing my certification dives for open water tomorrow and plan to buy some equipment . I want to get a BC that holds a lot of weight and has a lot of lift (interested in rescue diving) I have settled on the Genesis Recon, a Genesis GS2000 reg and Sherwood wisdom computer. I also would like to carry a backup air supply. I like the size of the pony bottles but they seem cumbersome compared to a "spare air" setup. Most of my diving (for now) will be recerational only. Any suggestions on my equipment choices, or any other "newbie" tips are most appreciated (please be gentle!).....Barry
New diver just completing open water dives
- Thread starter BBianco
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Ahoy there BBianco! Welcome to the board!! Feel free to jump in anywhere and ask questions or just leave your 2psi. 
You may be intersted in the Scuba Board Clubs section of the board. There you can find clubs in all the major states/regions represented, coordinate meeting up for dives, getting together, trips around the state to different dive sites, and some general prattle about diving.
Another forum that may interest you is The Art of Scuba Diving. Under that heading you'll find New to Scuba, Dive into Fitness, Public Safety and many more that as you become involed with the sport may or may not interest you depending upon where your intersts grow.
Most importantly, have fun and don't feel shy to ask questions!
You may be intersted in the Scuba Board Clubs section of the board. There you can find clubs in all the major states/regions represented, coordinate meeting up for dives, getting together, trips around the state to different dive sites, and some general prattle about diving. Another forum that may interest you is The Art of Scuba Diving. Under that heading you'll find New to Scuba, Dive into Fitness, Public Safety and many more that as you become involed with the sport may or may not interest you depending upon where your intersts grow.
Most importantly, have fun and don't feel shy to ask questions!
ShakaZulu
Contributor
Damn bro, you might as well get into wreck recovery with so much lift. Are you sure you want to make such a decision so soon.
H2Andy
Contributor
BBianco, welcome aboard. For single tank diving, you don't really need any more than 30 lbs of lift, and that will cover you even as a rescue diver. spare air is a highly debated
issue, and you should wait on making a decision until later, when you can see for yourself whether it makes sense.
my suggestion to you (unglamorous as this is) is to rent for a little bit, do some reading, and eventually go with a backplate and wings set up rather than a BC, as this is the most flexible and efficient set up there is.
welcome to this wonderful world (and get your wallet ready... it's expensive!)
issue, and you should wait on making a decision until later, when you can see for yourself whether it makes sense.
my suggestion to you (unglamorous as this is) is to rent for a little bit, do some reading, and eventually go with a backplate and wings set up rather than a BC, as this is the most flexible and efficient set up there is.
welcome to this wonderful world (and get your wallet ready... it's expensive!
)BBianco: Welcome! I'll second some of the opinions already expressed here, wait a bit before committing to some of these purchases. IMHO, one of the most improtant things to buy first is good fitting exposure protection, then try different equipment and configurations with the exposure protection you are going to be using regularly. Comfort, fit and suitability to the type of diving you will be doing is of utmost importance.
Scott Riemer
Contributor
Welcome. I'll offer no advice since I haven't decided on what equipment to buy myself. Listen to some of these folks, they're very knowledgeable and helpful. Welcome to diving.
You might want to fill out your profile.
You might want to fill out your profile.
*Scuba*Princess*
Registered
Sounds to me like you've got a great package set up. You don't mention where you are from, but if you are diving cold water with the extra weight needed, then the extra lift is a necessary safe guard. I dive with several people who use the Recon and are thoroughly satisfied with it. Since it is a back-mount, be sure not to over-inflate at the surface as it will want to tip you face down. The Sherwood computer is nice....it counts down your safety stop in seconds and has a quick disconnect. One change I'd recommend is to get the Sherwood computer without the compass and buy a Suunto compass separately and put it on a retractor. The Suunto compass is far better than the Sherwood in my experience.
Rather than buying a pony bottle consider buying a Steel 100, to give you more air and dive in thirds....One third of your air on the way out, 1/3 back and 1/3 for safety.
If you are travelling by air and want to take a pony with you, you must remove the valve from the cylinder to meet transport regulations.
Enjoy your dive adventures.
Rather than buying a pony bottle consider buying a Steel 100, to give you more air and dive in thirds....One third of your air on the way out, 1/3 back and 1/3 for safety.
If you are travelling by air and want to take a pony with you, you must remove the valve from the cylinder to meet transport regulations.
Enjoy your dive adventures.
desksgt
Guest
Welcome to the Scuba Board!
Welcome to the board!!
I would like to mention that I have the Recon BC, the GS2000 Reg. I found the Recon to be a bit "tech-y" for me at first. I was having probs staying on the surface in a face up posture. Then a close friend informed me that, as Scuba Princess mentioned, I had way too much air in it. That BC is designed to carry a "load". Like, Deco - stage Bottles,reels and other gear. By itself, its way more BC than you need (unless you weighed 450 lbs). If you have issues with the water and you need to have your lower chest above the waterline, then this BC is not for you. Its a great BC to grow into however.
My suggestions;
Keep the Recon and place a 3 or 4lb weight in each of the two non-ditchable pouches right behind the tank straps. This will counterbalance some of the weight and make you "tilt back" somewhat.
DONT fully inflate the BC on the surface, this will do nothing more than force you to fight the physics of the BC. When you inflate fully, the BC is going to do its job and try to pull you above the waterline as far as possible. Inflate it to about 55-65%. With the counter weight and minimal inflation,(and not being over weighted) this will keep you level. If your uncomfortable, keep the reg in. If your in a really bad situation and out of air, then your going to ditch your weights anyways and switch to your snorkel. (NEVER be cheap on a snorkel, it will pay off when you need it most).
I started out really NOT liking this BC and was dissapointed despite the deal I was offerd. After about 10 dives with it though, im glad that I have it. Also get the "Kit" that comes with it. It comes with a modest knife, Console retractor and a flashlight on a retractor. It comes with the installation Hdwr and is VERY easy to install. It runs about $85.00(depending on your LDS's markup)
Also, ensure that you have the most recent version of the Recon. MAKE SURE it has the clips to hold in the ditchable weight pouches. The older ones have only the velcro. Velcro is good but...........it gets clogged with sand and you have no way of knowing if you have good bond, it DOES fatigue after a while(decreases in resistance to pulling) and there is no way to be sure the weights will stay in place until you decide its time to release. Lose a weight pouch-or worse...2 and, you have the makings of a runaway ascent.
The GS2000 Reg is, IMHO the best Reg Genesis makes. I like being able to "tune" the resistance as I dive and under different demand conditions. Genesis is NOT the only Reg to offer this feature though, but a feature that I think should be considered when purchasing.
I didnt get the Wisdom Computer, I got the React Pro. This is NOT to say that the Wisdom is not any good. The only features that were important to me at the time and, still are is; being downloadable and Nitrox compatable. They will all tell you Depth,Time,Temp,Psi Remaining as well as various tables for deco and most will give the date for future reference. The React Pro does this for me for ALLOT less. Also I didnt like the "Quick disconnect" feature because in my world- EVERYTHING FAILS and I just didnt want to have one more potential area that was prone. Now, I have to admit, that $$ being no option, I would have gotten the Wisdom because the layout on the screen is in my opinion, the absolute best thing out there and you can gather all the necessary info with only a quick glance. But I was trying to outfit myself and the wife on a pre determined budget and I didnt want to finance anything or carry a balance on the card(s).
Anyways, that my .02, hope I was able to be of some help. This board is THE authority when it comes to tapping into peoples knowledge/exper. Use the search feature and you will most likely find the answer to any question you may have..
Enjoy and wecome!
I would like to mention that I have the Recon BC, the GS2000 Reg. I found the Recon to be a bit "tech-y" for me at first. I was having probs staying on the surface in a face up posture. Then a close friend informed me that, as Scuba Princess mentioned, I had way too much air in it. That BC is designed to carry a "load". Like, Deco - stage Bottles,reels and other gear. By itself, its way more BC than you need (unless you weighed 450 lbs). If you have issues with the water and you need to have your lower chest above the waterline, then this BC is not for you. Its a great BC to grow into however.
My suggestions;
Keep the Recon and place a 3 or 4lb weight in each of the two non-ditchable pouches right behind the tank straps. This will counterbalance some of the weight and make you "tilt back" somewhat.
DONT fully inflate the BC on the surface, this will do nothing more than force you to fight the physics of the BC. When you inflate fully, the BC is going to do its job and try to pull you above the waterline as far as possible. Inflate it to about 55-65%. With the counter weight and minimal inflation,(and not being over weighted) this will keep you level. If your uncomfortable, keep the reg in. If your in a really bad situation and out of air, then your going to ditch your weights anyways and switch to your snorkel. (NEVER be cheap on a snorkel, it will pay off when you need it most).
I started out really NOT liking this BC and was dissapointed despite the deal I was offerd. After about 10 dives with it though, im glad that I have it. Also get the "Kit" that comes with it. It comes with a modest knife, Console retractor and a flashlight on a retractor. It comes with the installation Hdwr and is VERY easy to install. It runs about $85.00(depending on your LDS's markup)
Also, ensure that you have the most recent version of the Recon. MAKE SURE it has the clips to hold in the ditchable weight pouches. The older ones have only the velcro. Velcro is good but...........it gets clogged with sand and you have no way of knowing if you have good bond, it DOES fatigue after a while(decreases in resistance to pulling) and there is no way to be sure the weights will stay in place until you decide its time to release. Lose a weight pouch-or worse...2 and, you have the makings of a runaway ascent.
The GS2000 Reg is, IMHO the best Reg Genesis makes. I like being able to "tune" the resistance as I dive and under different demand conditions. Genesis is NOT the only Reg to offer this feature though, but a feature that I think should be considered when purchasing.
I didnt get the Wisdom Computer, I got the React Pro. This is NOT to say that the Wisdom is not any good. The only features that were important to me at the time and, still are is; being downloadable and Nitrox compatable. They will all tell you Depth,Time,Temp,Psi Remaining as well as various tables for deco and most will give the date for future reference. The React Pro does this for me for ALLOT less. Also I didnt like the "Quick disconnect" feature because in my world- EVERYTHING FAILS and I just didnt want to have one more potential area that was prone. Now, I have to admit, that $$ being no option, I would have gotten the Wisdom because the layout on the screen is in my opinion, the absolute best thing out there and you can gather all the necessary info with only a quick glance. But I was trying to outfit myself and the wife on a pre determined budget and I didnt want to finance anything or carry a balance on the card(s).
Anyways, that my .02, hope I was able to be of some help. This board is THE authority when it comes to tapping into peoples knowledge/exper. Use the search feature and you will most likely find the answer to any question you may have..
Enjoy and wecome!
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Howdy!
Welcome to SB!! :happywave Put us in your computer's favorites and check in often. This is a great place to learn, compare, argue
Look around our various forums - everything from New-To-Scuba to Instructors-Only to Dive Medicine.
don
BTW - it would really help in future discussion if you'd complete your Profile. Click "User CP" upper left of this page, then go down to "Edit Profile."
Welcome to SB!! :happywave Put us in your computer's favorites and check in often. This is a great place to learn, compare, argue
Look around our various forums - everything from New-To-Scuba to Instructors-Only to Dive Medicine.don
BTW - it would really help in future discussion if you'd complete your Profile. Click "User CP" upper left of this page, then go down to "Edit Profile."
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