New divers need equipment help.

[tbone1004]

Circling back to the bp/w, the OP didn't give any indication about what diving they were doing and blindly asked what I would recommend for equipment. I gave him my opinion. You can disagree with that opinion, which you do, but he asked for my opinion. Now I could have gone on for a long time about the reasons for them, but recommended searching instead as the subject gets beat to death regularly and I knew full well that everything I said would end up getting echo'd by someone in the upcoming 6-10 pages these threads usually grow to.

On the plate. Fred T was the only one making long plates and he is no longer. My issues are at the surface due to poor harness angles and one of the agencies I teach for does not allow use of anything but one piece harnesses. I would rather get a backplate that fits properly than bandaid the root cause of the problem which was ill-fitting gear.
You mentioned Hollis switchback, while I do own a Katana that was given to me by Hollis, it is the only piece of their gear that I own and likely the only one I will ever own. The quality is not there and the company is atrocious to deal with. You mentioned Tobin being not one of the easiest guys to work with for some, but at least you can get a hold of him. The horror stories of trying to deal with AUP are far worse.
I mentioned why I think his kydex plates are superior to aluminum, and while I agree that for singles there are other lightweight options out there, there are still some features in the SS plates, which is what I recommended, that make it stand out from the competition as I mentioned above.

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

I've done a thread clean-up to remove the bickering that is of absolutely no interest or use to brand new divers looking for equipment advice. And I moved the thread to the New Divers forum - which has special rules to prevent it starting up all over again. I will ban anyone from further participation if it does. I also split off an off-topic (but interesting) discussion into its own thread located here...Why do some agencies recommend using a bottom timer instead of a computer Marg, SB Senior Moderator

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[scrane]

My son and I got certified last year but have not dived since, mostly because we do not have equipment. It is time to get some but one reason we have not done so yet is we do not want to get the wrong equipment. If you could share your thoughts about what equipment, by model and reasons it would be most appreciated.
We have fins and masks but need pretty much everything else. Any help would be kind, thank you.

If you have no dives beyond certification I think it's too early to think about buying equipment. I would wait to find out if you even enjoy diving. Rent some equipment, go dive, and talk to other divers and see what they are using.
Craigslist is littered with dive kits from people who bought before they thought.

 

[RayfromTX]

There will always be bashers and fanboys. I am neither. I own DSS backplates and wings and in my somewhat limited experience I have yet to see anything on the boats that make me regret my choice. There is not a huge difference. I do like how easily the wing comes off the plate and how short the inflator hose is. Many of the design characteristics seem to be inspired by diving rather than marketing.

I bought early. I refused to dive rental gear after bad experiences with how it and the instructional gear was maintained.

 

[EireDiver606]

If you get a cutting tool, many people like the Trilobyte. I do, too. Fits in a thin pocket on my BCD front strap. Dive Gear Express sells a similar product with a rust proof blade, IIRC. I'd consider that. If you get a dive knife, tastes vary. I prefer rust proof (unlike your BCD D-rings, the stainless steel in dive knives often rusts fairly readily), and that means a titanium blade, or an H1 steel blade from Spyderco.

trilobite is very good but can only cut thin rope or line.

I disagree with getting a titanium knife for a number of reasons:
1. Titanium knives are really really expensive like at least 80€ which is like 100$
2. Titanium knives aren’t as sharp as stainless steel knives and can’t be sharpened by normal civilians
3. I think a lot of people buy titanium knives because they think they look cool ( I’m not saying you do but I’ve seen a lot)

For your cutting devices, get a stainless steel EEzycut Trilobite https://goo.gl/images/8Vad6e or diverite or whatever takes your fancy 25 € and a small victorinox knife Victorinox Serrated Paring Knife 7.5cm - C756 - Buy Online at Nisbets (NOT a SWISS ARMY KNIFE!!!)(I got mine for 3€ that you can put in a webbing sheath (really sharp, small, cheap to replace if lost)

 

[EireDiver606]

If you want gear that you won't feel compelled to upgrade from, it will cost you a good amount, especially if you get a drysuit. tbone's suggestions will run you 2k, then a drysuit can be 1500 to 2k on top, or 400ish for a semidry.

If you are budget constrained, consider used rental gear from a LDS (most sell their rental sets at 50% off) for the short term till you can replace with higher quality gear.

I agree with this completely.

Get good stuff from the start, not necessarily the most expensive item on the wall, but the most reputable, reliable and for a good price.

The best gear isn’t THE most expensive piece of gear.

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

More off-topic bickering and posturing continued in spite of my earlier warning. I have done what I said I would do. Marg, SB Senior Moderator

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[woodcarver]

Titanium knives can be sharpened using ceramic. They won't hold an edge for quite as long as a stainless, but how much cutting will you do underwater? Not all of the titanium knives are expensive. I have 2 of these:
Promate Titanium Folding BC Knife
Sharpened them and used one hunting to see how they held up. Skinned 2 muleys before it needed sharpening. Titanium is no good if you use a knife as a prying tool!

The Trilobite is great for quick clearing of stuff like fishing line, but has a limit to what will fit in the cutter. Major advantage is you can't poke a hole in something with it (like yourself or your bcd).

 

[dmaziuk]

The only cutting tool I got to actually use so far is trauma shears, cutting old fishing line. Mine are something like 5 bucks for a two-pack from amazon, plus a molle holder. They do rust around the pin but at that price who cares. They cut through 1mm aluminum, too, and can open tin cans by cutting off the rolled edge -- they won't last long if you do that much but again, at that price...

 

[EireDiver606]

Titanium knives can be sharpened using ceramic. They won't hold an edge for quite as long as a stainless, but how much cutting will you do underwater? Not all of the titanium knives are expensive. I have 2 of these:
Promate Titanium Folding BC Knife
Sharpened them and used one hunting to see how they held up. Skinned 2 muleys before it needed sharpening. Titanium is no good if you use a knife as a prying tool!

The Trilobite is great for quick clearing of stuff like fishing line, but has a limit to what will fit in the cutter. Major advantage is you can't poke a hole in something with it (like yourself or your bcd).

I personally wouldn’t use a folding knife in the water because you can cut yourself easier than a fixed blade. I’m not sure how you could even open a folding knife with 5mm gloves?....

You also said titanium won’t hold an edge as long as steel. I wouldnt care a

It’s not about about how much cutting I’m doing underwater but I am of the philosophy that, if I needed one, I don’t want to pull out a dull titanium knife. I want a small sharp serrated stainless steel blade that will cut whatever I need for that time even if I have to buy more of them than titanium in the long run.

If you need a knife, you need a f***ing knife!