What would you buy first

[tkevcu]

I'm wondering... in what order would you buy your gear?


I bought the mask, fins, snorkel, boots when I was OW certified. My first equipment purchase after that was a computer. For Christmas, i received some gift cards and I will probably get more when my birthday comes.


I'm not sure what I am going to buy next. I'm leaning towards a BC (probably a BP/W setup). For those of you who have been diving for a while, I'm curious what order you would buy your equipment in if you had to start over.

 

[mikeawags]

The first thing I bought was my own wetsuit. I also installed a pee valve in it. I don't like swimming in pee.

Sent during my 10' deco stop

 

[tkevcu]

I didn't know you could put them in wetsuits. I thought those were only for drysuits.

 

[farsidefan1]

I would go with the BC as well. I like my Stiletto (Zeagle)because of the integrated weight system and nice pockets. That way I don't have to patch on that stuff. Also the Stiletto packs extremely well. Good luck with whatever you choose. I recommend you try jacket, back inflate and the BP/W before you make a decision. Whatever works best for you. Don't just blindly act based upon others suggestions. Will most your diving be local or will you be doing a lot of airline travel with nasty weight restrictions. Will you be diving cold or warm water? All these factor in. There is no one and only right choice. Try them and then choose.

 

[tkevcu]

Thankfully, my LDS is very helpful when it comes to trying equipment. I expect the bulk of my diving to be local (or at least local enough to not require airline travel, since even the drive to FL isn't that bad). I don't expect to dive water any colder than the 40's to 50's, and that's the bottom the local quarry.

 

[Paulmal]

Depending on your location I would get a drysuit or wetsuit. I would lean toward the drysuit because Your profile did not say what state you were from. Unless you live and dive in warm water, A drysuit will allow you to dive comfortably year round. And you can dive a drysuit in warm water so you can dive it during the summer as well.

 

[diverjen]

Mask
Snorkel
Fins

Wetsuit

Dive Computer

Regulator Setup

BCD

 

[rhwestfall]

what diverjen said. If you know the environment you are going to be doing your diving in, a WS/DS is the next logical choice. I will honestly say that the BCD decision should be after an "extensive" use of the various styles, and making sure you are using them set up correctly...

 

[Bratface]

Wetsuit
BC and Regulator
Computer

 

[TSandM]

The way I look at it, the most critical things to own are things that have to fit to work. Exposure protection is a big one in this category -- if you are renting a wetsuit, it is unlikely to fit as well as something you bought for yourself, and poor fit means a colder dive. If you aren't comfortable, you won't go diving, so wetsuit, hood, gloves and boots are high on my list of early purchases.

After that, your BC is another thing that has to fit. If it's sloppy or not proportioned for you, it will be uncomfortable and the tank won't be stable in the middle of your back.

In contrast, a regulator is a regulator. So long as the rental regs to which you have access are well-maintained, they are fairly universal, so I think that purchase can wait.

A computer is an odd one. Although many rigs have console computers, so there is no "fit" involved, it IS nice to learn the displays and menus of your computer well, and a lot of people keep their dive logs by downloading their computers. So that's an item that might take a higher priority, despite being rather generic.