What looks clean can be contaminated. Unless it's autoclaved or gassed with ethylene oxide, it is considered non sterile. I haven't seen any of the sterilizing equipment in the dive shops I have been in, so I assume the worst. The op asked what the options for equipment are and after years of diving, I still like new gear. Usually works without bother. I especially like the idea of buying the equipment, learn how it works and practice with it. The LDS would be a good place to start. May not be the cheapest, but the moral and technical support can be important. Whatever choice, he will have a cool jet ski to get to the dive sites.
future diver with some gear questions
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Vincent54, do you think new equipment is somehow sterile? And as Nimoh said, any used gear should be serviced (and cleaned) properly. When I clean my regs they all get a vinegar/water soak in a heated sonic cleaner. Almost everyone I know of does this when they service regs. It's not an autoclave, but nothing new is being autoclaved anyway. As for the regs rented without mouthpieces, I'll go ahead and wager 2 things. 1) It's so the shop doesn't have to pay for replacing them...they can sell them to unsuspecting renters. 2) It's more hype intended to "scare" people into buying new gear.
All that said, if you prefer new, buy new. I'll save my money on gear and travel more...(though my dive count may not show it).
All that said, if you prefer new, buy new. I'll save my money on gear and travel more...(though my dive count may not show it).
The point was, you can get a set of brand new Hog's for $300ish. Why by used at all when you can get brand new high performance gear that most of the tech/cave community loves to use? We aren't known for diving with junk or "cheap" stuff
Just one example:
HOG Brand Regulator Packages - Dive Gear Express
I know you're at least half joking, corvettejoe, but most of my regs have cost me less than $50 (in fact I got two regs plus 2 sets of jetfins, plus 2 other sets offins and some other gear for $80 in one purchase. Sold the 2 pairs of jets and recouped my money already.) I like the older, metal-body 2nd stages that breathe just as well and many of the modern regs, including the HOGs, are direct descendents of, if not direct copies, of those designs.
To each his own though. Next time I'm in Orlando, perhaps we can meet up and compare regs to see which is better for the money.
To each his own though. Next time I'm in Orlando, perhaps we can meet up and compare regs to see which is better for the money.
flots am
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If you took some ocean or lake water to a microbiologist for analysis, I suspect you would be less concerned about having a "sterile" regulator.
Nothing about SCUBA diving is sterile, except perhaps the inside of the tank (maybe). That's why you have an immune system.
flots
Craig66
Contributor
I have a graduate degree in Microbiology, and yes scuba diving is very far from sanitary or sterile. The ocean, the quarry, the swimming pool, the rinse tanks....
You are sharing a lot of germs all the time by dunking your gear in to these "contaminated" pools of water. I still plan to dive in all of these pools and use the rinse tanks. There are a lot of fun things we all do that involve sharing germs, but it doesn't keep us from doing it.
Everyone has to decide which values matter to them...
Ironically I now work in Cardiology, where stressing too much about things such as germs causes whole other diseases.....
You are sharing a lot of germs all the time by dunking your gear in to these "contaminated" pools of water. I still plan to dive in all of these pools and use the rinse tanks. There are a lot of fun things we all do that involve sharing germs, but it doesn't keep us from doing it.
Everyone has to decide which values matter to them...
Ironically I now work in Cardiology, where stressing too much about things such as germs causes whole other diseases.....
Last edited:
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
I'm a little late to the party but I'll throw in a word.
At 31 and right out of the military you're probably in pretty god shape so I'll take that into consideration.
The first things I'd get would be your fins, mask, and wetsuit. For FL I'm assuming a 3 mil would work or a shorty?
Get Scubapro jet fins or turtle fins. Those old style heavy rubber black fins are the best. Originally from 1965 and still the best fin out there.
If you were older or had joint problems or had no strength or a multitude of other issues I'd say look at split fins, but in time I think you'd be upgrading to jets anyway. Get spring straps for them too.
Get a new low volume mask like an Atomic frameless or a Oceanic shadow or something of the sort. A large volume mask will get annoying after a while and they don't have a good field of view because the mask is too far away from your face.
If you get a snorkel for any reason, get a straight J style if you can find one. The bulky snorkels with all the valvers and anti splash balls and gizmo's are a waste of time and money and you will hate it. You may not even need one if you do a lot of boat diving. The only reason I use one is because I shore dive and go through kelp beds on the west coast.
For BC, I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but get a Back Plate & Wing set up. You might train in a jacket but just the fact that you found scubaboard means that you will be doing a lot of reading and if you get into BC threads you will soon see debates about BP/W's vs jackets and it's enough to spin your head around and you will find out about them sooner or later. I'm keeping in mind the 31 year old from the military and I know how you guys are wired, trust me go with the BP/W.
With that you will possibly need a weight belt but in FL that doesn't amount to much.
For regs this is wide open and unfortunately there isn't a right answer.
I personally like to get used stuff, but I've also been doing this a while and I like to work and rebuild my own gear.
One brand I would probably stay away from just from a political and price reason would be Scubapro. I think they are hugely over rated and way over priced for what you get.
However, I have a lot of older classic Scubapro that I love. But then again I do my own services and this stuff is vintage enough that other companies are putting together service kits in the after market world so I can get it.
I also like older Aqualung especially Conshelfs. They are a simple bullet proof regulator and BTW a favorite of the military that has been used for years. They are a diaphragm style so they are sealed and I have found sources for parts no problem. Aqualung I think is probably the best overall choice as far as getting it serviced anywhere and getting a reg that is tried and trued since the early 50's.
Other good brands:
Atomic
Sherwood
Mares
Oceanic
Apeks
Dive Rite
Zeagle
Hog
And many others...
They're all good.
Poseidon is very good but hard to find parts and service.
For the rest like gauges computers etc.
I would just get a simple metal 2" glass and brass pressure gauge that clips off on your left hip on a D ring. Put a compass on your left wrist and a wrist mount computer or bottom timer on your right wrist and go diving. Big bulky consoles just bang into stuff and are a pain in the ass.
And last, get and octopuss not an Air2. They seem like a good idea but hard to manage when and if you actually have to share air with somebody. First your primary hose length will be really short for the share-ee, and the air2 will be difficult to work the low pressure inflator dump as you go up and also trying to breathe off it.
You might even consider the long hose route - do a search or start a thread.
I personally use two 40" hoses both run under my right arm. One is bungeed under my neck and the other in my mouth. If and when someone needs air they get the one in my mouth and I take the one under my chin.
I don't care for the really long hose like the 5' or 7' that wraps around your body.
At 31 and right out of the military you're probably in pretty god shape so I'll take that into consideration.
The first things I'd get would be your fins, mask, and wetsuit. For FL I'm assuming a 3 mil would work or a shorty?
Get Scubapro jet fins or turtle fins. Those old style heavy rubber black fins are the best. Originally from 1965 and still the best fin out there.
If you were older or had joint problems or had no strength or a multitude of other issues I'd say look at split fins, but in time I think you'd be upgrading to jets anyway. Get spring straps for them too.
Get a new low volume mask like an Atomic frameless or a Oceanic shadow or something of the sort. A large volume mask will get annoying after a while and they don't have a good field of view because the mask is too far away from your face.
If you get a snorkel for any reason, get a straight J style if you can find one. The bulky snorkels with all the valvers and anti splash balls and gizmo's are a waste of time and money and you will hate it. You may not even need one if you do a lot of boat diving. The only reason I use one is because I shore dive and go through kelp beds on the west coast.
For BC, I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but get a Back Plate & Wing set up. You might train in a jacket but just the fact that you found scubaboard means that you will be doing a lot of reading and if you get into BC threads you will soon see debates about BP/W's vs jackets and it's enough to spin your head around and you will find out about them sooner or later. I'm keeping in mind the 31 year old from the military and I know how you guys are wired, trust me go with the BP/W.
With that you will possibly need a weight belt but in FL that doesn't amount to much.
For regs this is wide open and unfortunately there isn't a right answer.
I personally like to get used stuff, but I've also been doing this a while and I like to work and rebuild my own gear.
One brand I would probably stay away from just from a political and price reason would be Scubapro. I think they are hugely over rated and way over priced for what you get.
However, I have a lot of older classic Scubapro that I love. But then again I do my own services and this stuff is vintage enough that other companies are putting together service kits in the after market world so I can get it.
I also like older Aqualung especially Conshelfs. They are a simple bullet proof regulator and BTW a favorite of the military that has been used for years. They are a diaphragm style so they are sealed and I have found sources for parts no problem. Aqualung I think is probably the best overall choice as far as getting it serviced anywhere and getting a reg that is tried and trued since the early 50's.
Other good brands:
Atomic
Sherwood
Mares
Oceanic
Apeks
Dive Rite
Zeagle
Hog
And many others...
They're all good.
Poseidon is very good but hard to find parts and service.
For the rest like gauges computers etc.
I would just get a simple metal 2" glass and brass pressure gauge that clips off on your left hip on a D ring. Put a compass on your left wrist and a wrist mount computer or bottom timer on your right wrist and go diving. Big bulky consoles just bang into stuff and are a pain in the ass.
And last, get and octopuss not an Air2. They seem like a good idea but hard to manage when and if you actually have to share air with somebody. First your primary hose length will be really short for the share-ee, and the air2 will be difficult to work the low pressure inflator dump as you go up and also trying to breathe off it.
You might even consider the long hose route - do a search or start a thread.
I personally use two 40" hoses both run under my right arm. One is bungeed under my neck and the other in my mouth. If and when someone needs air they get the one in my mouth and I take the one under my chin.
I don't care for the really long hose like the 5' or 7' that wraps around your body.
OP
tenacious
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well I've made some progress! there is so many choices for scuba stuff, i have spent days looking at this and that and reading reviews on everything. I have purchased a mask and snorkel, 1st and 2nd stage regulator , and a 3 gauge console. i messaged 3 people selling stuff on here to possibly buy what they were selling and got 0 responses. it worked out for the better i believe, i think i got a good deal.
for the mask and snorkel I went with the atomic frameless in clear, and the sv2 snorkel.
for the regulator I went with a new atomic z2x. scuba.com had a brand new demo for $280. It does have the DIN fitting instead of the yoke, but I don't think that will be a problem.
I got a TUSA (360u) 3 gauge console new demo as well from scuba.com for $130.
i am seriously eyeing up a hog single tank backplate and wing package. they have a package for $399 which I think is very reasonable after some of the others I have looked at. i guess I would have to add the single tank adapter and backplate pad to it, but the total would still be under $480.
time to start shopping for an octopus I guess.
---------- Post added September 12th, 2013 at 05:50 PM ----------
in true "me" fashion, i found a deal I couldn't say no to and just bought a scubapro pure tek bp&w complete single tank setup for $385. another demo from scuba.com! i don't think i can lose with this setup, if I don't like it i could probably sell it for a small profit. I have factory warranties with this bc, the regs, and the gauges. here is a link to the crazy sale stuff: Open Box/Demo/Like New BCs, Regulators, Computers & Gauges - Scuba Gear
for the mask and snorkel I went with the atomic frameless in clear, and the sv2 snorkel.
for the regulator I went with a new atomic z2x. scuba.com had a brand new demo for $280. It does have the DIN fitting instead of the yoke, but I don't think that will be a problem.
I got a TUSA (360u) 3 gauge console new demo as well from scuba.com for $130.
i am seriously eyeing up a hog single tank backplate and wing package. they have a package for $399 which I think is very reasonable after some of the others I have looked at. i guess I would have to add the single tank adapter and backplate pad to it, but the total would still be under $480.
time to start shopping for an octopus I guess.
---------- Post added September 12th, 2013 at 05:50 PM ----------
in true "me" fashion, i found a deal I couldn't say no to and just bought a scubapro pure tek bp&w complete single tank setup for $385. another demo from scuba.com! i don't think i can lose with this setup, if I don't like it i could probably sell it for a small profit. I have factory warranties with this bc, the regs, and the gauges. here is a link to the crazy sale stuff: Open Box/Demo/Like New BCs, Regulators, Computers & Gauges - Scuba Gear
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