new divers! gear choices

[NateS]

Hi guys! I'm new, both here and to diving. My wife and 2 friends tried diving in the Maldives, we did "discover scuba" and it was freaking amazing! We did it again the same day, and 2 more dives the next day. It's now a year later and we have planned a trip to Seattle to visit fam, then to Big Island, Hawaii. In Seattle we'll get our Open Water (4 dives) and nitrox (for safety, not longer bottom time) certs. In Hawaii we'll do 5 boat dives, 1 manta ray night dive, and 1 blackwater dive.

The blackwater dive requires Advanced Open Water or 25 dives. We don't meet the requirements (it'll be our 15th dive) so they agreed to evaluate us (calmness, buoyancy) on the other dives then decide if we can do the blackwater. I really hope we do well and get to go! Part of what sold them on doing an evaluation was that diving in Seattle is difficult (cold, low vis).

Anyway, I hope that wasn't too much backstory! Since we are now dedicated to scuba, I'd like to get some gear from the start:

• A BCD is bulky and expensive, so I guess we should rent?
• A regulator isn't a personal item (except the part that goes in your mouth, eww!) so should we also rent that?
• Our own dive computer sounds good for safety. It'll be good to have when doing Open Water so we'll get familiar with it.
• I like the idea of a tank gauge that is also a dive computer, since then the computer knows the air remaining. Is it usual to rent a regulator but use your own gauge/computer?
• I think having our own wetsuits would be nice. I'm looking at the Radiator 1.5mm steamer (look at me, using the terminology already!). Is that a good choice considering we'll probably only dive in warm conditions? (21C+ or 70F+ water) For some reason they don't have a ladies 1.5mm steamer. Should we get the 0.5mm suffice? The general consensus seems to be that the Radiator suits are equivalent to a +1mm typical suit.
• Did I miss any equipment we might find useful as newbies?

 

[Saloooh91]

Normally in Kuwait the dive centers ask the students to buy their own boots, fins and mask. On my first open water pool dive, I used the centers mask and it was horrible. It becomes foggy every time I clean it till I spit on it a couple times. And I'm pretty sure other people spit on it before which is disgusting lol.

I recommend buying your own mask, fins and boots.
Right now I use a scubapro gloves although IDK how many mm they are. They work good for the terrible Kuwaiti sea.

 

[NateS]

Ah, I should have mentioned we have mask, snorkel, fins. 2 of us (my wife and I) use 2mm neoprene boots to avoid chafing with our full footed fins.

In Seattle we'll need gloves and boots. I'm not sure my 2mm boots are good enough there. I hope to rent gloves since I won't be diving in cold water much.

 

[dmaziuk]

I like the idea of a tank gauge that is also a dive computer, since then the computer knows the air remaining. Is it usual to rent a regulator but use your own gauge/computer?

I believe the opposite is usual: the shop will not like you putting your spg/sensor on their equipment.

 

[NateS]

Yeah I was kind of expecting that. Would they typically allow it anyway? Is it common to have the dive computer know about air remaining?

 

[Nasser]

If you plan on diving the Pacific NorthWest then forget about a 1.5mm or even a 5mm wet suit...these are cold waters and most dive with drysuits. However if you're primarily diving in warm waters then look at a 3mm steamer. Even in very warm waters the water can draw heat from the body quickly and having a full suit is good protection from jellyfish stings, fire coral, scarpes, etc..

Since you have fins and a mask then the next logical step would definitely be a dive computer. You don't need anything fancy - maybe a good entry level unit with Nitrox capabilities will be adequate.

As far regulators and a BCD... rent for a while and try out a few options, then you can see what your preferences are for the type of diving you're doing and make more informed purchases.

 

[KevinNM]

I did a bunch of dives with Jack's in Kona. They can rent you everything you need (and I mean everything) right at the dock before you get on the boats. It's going to be basic recreational gear, but I don't remember hearing any complaints. If you bring your own gear they can take care of storing that between dive days too. Though I wouldn't bother with that for just fins, booties and mask it's useful if you have a BCD, regs and exposure suit too. I had AI transmitter issues on a dive and they were willing to hook up one of their SPGs to my regulator.

I saw one girl diving in two 7mm suits layered and a guy on the same dive in cutoffs and a t-shirt, so how much suit you need varies by how much you feel the cold.

 

[NateS]

Nasser, sounds like good advice, thanks! I'll wait on the regulator and BCD.

In Seattle a dry suit (with certification) is $125/person. Since we don't plan on being in cold waters most of the time, we'll do without. My wife is going to freeze getting our OW cert! Maybe she can wear whatever 3mm wetsuit we buy under the one they give us.

The Radiator suit is 1.5mm but is equivalent to 2.5mm. I guess if you're recommending a 3mm the Radiator could be a little cold, especially on multiple dives. The Fourth Element Thermocline (2mm but equivalent to 3mm) looks nice, maybe that is a better option.

KevinNM, cool, we are also using Jack's for 5 of our 7 dives. We are using Kohala Divers for the other 2. I know we can rent everything, but the cost starts adding up: $34/day for BCD, reg, wetsuit, computer at Jacks, $35/day at Kohala. I figure if we are ever going to buy our own gear, might as well do it sooner and save some cash.

 

[dmaziuk]

Yeah I was kind of expecting that. Would they typically allow it anyway? Is it common to have the dive computer know about air remaining?

1. I'm sure you can call ahead and ask. 2. Basically, your rental octopus will have a pressure gauge and air-integrated computers are noticeably more expensive. So people with budgets tend to feel they aren't enough bang for all the extra bucks.

 

[diversteve]

You really shouldn't consider anything less than 7MM everything in Seattle. That water is cold - even in the summer. So is SoCal. But rent since you likely won't be doing that much. Especially after diving Kona after diving Seattle...lol. If you can rent 7MM boots also - it's kind of hard to fin when you can't feel your feet. In SoCal I know immediately when I grabbed my 5MM boots instead of my 7MM boots.

Also full-foot fins with boots is an unusual configuration to say the least. Most divers consider full-foot fins for snorkeling but use open heel fins/boots for diving. On Kona you may find partly the reverse is true - boat staff often use full-foot fins for ease of getting in/out since they're often the last one off/first one on the boat. I dive at many of the better known dive destinations and I have yet to see a diver with full-foot fins - maybe once. In places like Bonaire - it will result in your feet getting shredded before you even get out deep enough to put them on.

You can pay to have a mouthpiece changed on a rental regulator - they run about $20 plus labor if any. But plan to pay the rental for the entire dive period since that ties up the use of their regulator. Another eeww!! to consider is that people get seasick on dive boats. And you will be taught to expel thru your regulator - not remove it - if you have to.

No one is going to really be comfortable with you adding your gauges/computer transmitter to their regulator. Strip the threads and it's a paperweight. They might be willing to do it for you but don't show up 20mins. before your dives expecting that to happen. It's probably not free either if their tech has to do it twice. Plus again you then have to rent that regulator for the duration since they can't use it with your stuff attached. I'd personally take it with me if I did that so they don't accidentally let it out - how do you determine liability if your $400 transmitter is suddenly missing.

Another issue to consider is that rental regs are often lower end. So have one high pressure port. Often rentals include a depth/pressure gauge on a hosed console. So there's no 2nd port for your transmitter to monitor air pressure even if you were willing/able to DIY. Also I believe there's at least two sizes of port allen keys needed, one for some Scubapro (and other OEM older style 1st stages) and one for everybody else.

It's "common" for the computer to know about air remaining if you purchase an Air Integrated computer - either a hosed model or a wrist model with transmitter (which btw adds $3-400 to the price of most) Otherwise they're just smart depth gauges that tell you how long to do your safety stop and log all the details of your dive for later inclusion into software programs, online dive logs or even your phone. An AI computer will function in this mode also during dives if you don't have the transmitter installed.

As far as BCD's rent one in Seattle. It will likely be a basic, safe jacket style that will work and will have enough capacity for all the extra lead you'll need to compensate for - both in lift capacity of the wing - a 7MM wetsuit with you in it needs a lot more weight to sink than a 1.5mm suit off Kona - and also possibly in weight pocket size/capacity - unless they teach you in a weightbelt which is also pretty common.

Later look into a travel BC if that's what you'll mostly be doing. They're lighter, smaller, some even roll-up and will fit easily in a carry-on, cheaper etc. To see the differences check out some BC mfr's sites - Zeagle's model is the Covert, Aqualung's the Zuma, Scubapro's the Lighthawk. All have specs/pictures so you can tell the difference. AL and SP also have a chart detailing the lift/capacities across their entire line.

And post in the specific areas here about each piece of equipment and ask for recommendations.

I'd be diving in a skin on Kona - I do on all the other islands. More for protection from the lava on shore dives. You want something on the Manta dive also because you'll be standing in/near the reef so your ankles/shins can take a beating. My buddy is about 185 and gets cold easier, his default suit there is a 3MM. You can always unzip if too warm but you can't add as easily if too cold. Also bring something to wrap up in if you plan to stay in your suit on the boat ride back - it's pretty cold and windy at night.