Newbie Equipment

[KenH]

I am a newly certfied diver. My diving will consist of mainly warm weather dives in the carribean during vacations, maybe 3-4 times a year.---strictly rec diving. I would be diving with shops at whatever location I am at, so, would be renting equipment at those shops. I would like to start acquiring my own equipment, but, as I won't be diving a whole bunch each year,I am wondering what I should start with. So, far, my list includes mask, snorkle, fins (the easy stuff) but I am stumped after that. Should I go computer? (Vyper) Or reg? Or BC? I suspect my frequency of dives would play a part in my decision. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


KenH

 

[Scottri]

I would purchase my gear in the following order:

Mask
Fins
Exposure protection (wetsuit, skin, dry suit)
Basic Accessories (knife, lights, compass)
BC
Reg
Computer
Tanks

If you are doing most of your dives on vacation a computer would be one of the last things I would buy. They are expensive! Unless you are considering a wrist mounted one but even then the amount of diving you do may or may not make that a good idea.


Scott

 

[VTWarrenG]

Hi Ken,

Welcome to ScubaBoard, and congrats on your certification.

Here's the order in which I typically recommend new divers buy their gear:

1. Personal gear (mask, snorkel, fins, booties)
-------------------------------------------------
2. Exposure suit
3. Computer
4. BC
5. Regulator
--------------------------------------------------
6. Tanks, SMBs, slates, lights, reels, etc.

You normally would have had to buy personal gear (1) before even taking your class -- but I suppose you haven't. Those pieces have to be quite precisely the right sizes for your body to be comfortable and reliable. I put personal gear in its own category, because it's a "must buy."

The wetsuit (2) is next, for a couple of reasons. First, rental wetsuits are almost universally nasty. They're bleached out from chlorine, are full of holes, and are always the wrong size. A wrongly-sized wetsuit is hard to doff and don, and will not keep you warm. You'll be amazed at how nice it is to own a wetsuit that fits you perfectly. In addition, depending on your normal water temperature, invest in a high-quality hood and good gloves. I recommend a two-piece 5-7mm suit, 5mm gloves, and 7mm hood.

I put computer (3) next, because many recreational divers love them, but most rental computers suck. You're better off getting a little computer you like. I recommend a hockey-puck computer, wrist- or console-mounted. I do not recommend air-integrated or hoseless air-integrated computers.

You might want to wait on the computer though, and just buy a cheap bottom timer/depth gauge. Tables still work.

Next, get yourself a good BC (4). Opinions on BCs are as widely varied as opinions about cars -- you need to find one that fits you and your diving needs. Try a bunch out in a pool, if you can. I have to recommend a backplate and wings for comfort, utility, and simplicity, but I understand that BP/wings are not attractive to many divers.

Regulators are near the end of your gearing-up process (5), because they're expensive, and most respectable rental agencies rent pretty good regs these days. Unless you dive often, you might not need to get your own for a while. Just make sure the regs you rent are well-maintained -- they are life-support equipment, and you shouldn't "trust" anyone. If you start doing anything other than open-water recreational diving, owning your own regs is an absolute must. In addition, you might really enjoy the easier breathing and higher comfort of your own high-performance reg. Some divers take some acclimation before they're capable of discerning the sometimes subtle differences between low-quality and high-quality regs.

Next, there's everything else (6). I've put it all in a category by itself, because some of these extras are very cheap, and you'll want some pieces before others, based on how you dive. Surface marker buoys and signaling devices are important for ocean diving, so you should get those before jumping on a boat. Lights are obviously important for night diving. I wouldn't advise that you buy your own tanks unless you get into mixing, or there is no dive shop near your intended dive spots. Most of the time, tanks are so cheap to rent that the expense to purchase and transport them is unjustified.

Hope this helps!

- Warren

 

[Diverl]

I would purchase in a slightly different order:

Mask
Fins
Exposure Suit

Top three are the basics, If you re doing warm water diving a 3 mil wet suit is relativly inexpensive.

Regs - Get a high performance reg, much better than sucking on some rental that you are not sure where it has been, or how well it was maintained.

Computer - While you still need to know how to use the tables, a computer will give you longer bottom times on multilevel dives. You could also learn to use the PADI wheel for multilevel profiles. I prefer writs mount computers, ditch the console!

Basic Accessories (knife, lights, compass)
BC
Tanks

The two items (regs and Computer) will give you longer bottom times and make it easier to breath but are also a lot of money. These ar big ticket items for two or three trips a year. regardless of much or little diving you do you should have the regs serviced yearly. Make sure you do a lot of diving on those trips.

 

[KenH]

Good info so far, thanks! This follows my (inexperienced) logic. The mask, is a must do, as I have a big head and a moustache! Fins, snorkle, and skins/WS...OK. One of my issues is that I have a hard time trusting how rental places take care of the equipment, which is supported by the nasty wetsuit comment and liek Warren said about trusting.That is why I thought people would recommend a reg or a BC as a first major purchase, since it falls under "life support" . I figure I do not have the skills to maintain a reg, but my LDS, from whom I buy, does. Am I off base?

KenH

 

[VTWarrenG]

You have a good point about not trusting anyone on your life support equipment, Ken, and you're right.

Here's my opinion -- regs, when maintained properly, will perform well. Even if someone rents them and drags them through the sand five days a week, if they're cleaned properly after every use, and are serviced and maintained well, they'll still perform well. Regs don't really "wear" like wetsuits do -- a wetsuit is basically disposable, and is gradually worn out as its used. Regs have only a few wear items, and those items should be replaced periodically. Regs also don't have sizing issues, like suits. You can just grab one off the rack and use it.

If a reg is properly cleaned, maintained, and serviced, it'll do all right, even if it's a rental. Rental regs, of course, should be serviced more often and more thoroughly than personally-owned regs. The only problem is that it might be hard to know for sure that your shop maintains rental regs properly.

IMHO, you should buy your BC before your reg, because it'll make you much more comfortable and capable underwater. BCs wear out, so rentals are usually in tatters. They also don't ever fit quite right. That's why I'd get a BC before a reg.

On second thought, you should probably demote your computer down past the BC and reg... I mentioned that you might want to delay the computer purchase in my first post, but with more thought I think you DEFINITELY should. You can live without a computer quite well, especially because your gas consumption as a new diver will almost certainly make you gas-limited rather than time-limited on most dives. You'll benefit more, as a new diver, by having a proper-fitting BC and well-maintained reg.

- Warren

 

[ninja]

I would say for gear purchaces:

mask, fin , snorkel...

than Bcd. Main reason it holds your kit together and it is hard to get a proper fit out of rental departments and diving your own provides familiarity...when ya keep changing the BCD it can cause problems

Next go for a higher end breathing regulator something easily serviced and has readily available parts scubapro, mares, Apex etc. personal choice....

Now exposure protection 2 to 5mm depending on the amount of tropical diving you will be doing I run a 3/2 on 4 dives per day in th carribean..

Thats all ya need for travelling!!

Good luck..
NINJA

 

[MikeS]

Ken,

I am new to SCUBA and in the process of taking the open watercourse. I waited till I could buy all of my own equipment before getting into SCUBA and have purchased everything but weights and a tank. Here is my two-cents on what to buy first based on lessons learned in the class.

1. The most important thing is to get a good mask; don’t go cheap here. The fit of the mask (seal) and how comfortable you are with clearing it will be the single biggest factor in your enjoyment of the class. The key is to get a mask that seals without having to pull the strap so tight that you have a red ring around your face for a week every time you use it.

2. Get a wetsuit for the class. So many of the students in my class have poor fitting wetsuits. They are constantly either struggling to get into them; or the suit is to loose and they get cold. From my experience the fit of your wetsuit is greatly affected by the amount of time you spend trying them on. When I bought mine I spent about two hours. I highly recommend at least trying on the size above and below the size you end up buying and at least two manufactures. If your local dive shop doesn’t have these sizes, do yourself a big favor and go somewhere that does.

3. Next get a BC. The hardest skill to master, for me anyway, is buoyancy control. The BC makes a great difference here. All have slight yet significant differences such as where the bladder, inflator, and deflators are located. I also think it is imperative to know where everything (octopus, see snips, inflator/deflator) is by feel (with your eyes closed and/or mask off).


The class has been great, you'll have a lot of fun. The only part I don't like is haveing to get out of the water when the class is over!

 

[tholt576]

After Mask, Fins and Snorkle, which I assume you had to buy before your class, get your wetsuit. The price of renting one compared to purchase makes it the smarted buy moneywise. Also it's nice to have one you know fits, since the fit of the wetsuit is the most important thing about it.

Also any doodads that you want to have with you. e.g. knife, shears, etc. These things are not expensive and don't generally come with the rental kit.

Next I think you should save up and buy the BC, Reg, Oct and computer all at once. You can save money if you get this stuff all at one time. You can split out the BC and the reg if you want. If you do get the BC first and then the reg/octo/computer.

Make sure you get tanks last. The return on investment is slowest on them and it's very convenient to let someone else take care of them.

 

[waterdogs]

All of the post are accurate, from one newbie to another the "basics' are essential" (mask,fins,snorkel,wetsuit) plain and simple if you take classes, this is what you'll need first and formost.

Then the trouble begins. Once you begin aquiring your gear, your personal gear, "you just can't stop".

I made it through the basics ok, did pretty good even hitting the LDS specials at christmas for me and my future wife, then the trouble began. I began researching regs, then bc's, guages, computers, watches, additional classes, trips, then I found THIS BOARD. OH STOP ME NOW! Then the VISA BILL COMES. I SPENT WHAT!!! It get's ugly, trust me, but it's fun.

I guess it all depends on what you want out of it, how much you think you will dive and how much you feel like spending. Im the kind who if Im going to do this, I'm going to have my own gear, period, not just pieces here and there, ALL OF IT.

Here's the GOOD/BAD NEWS (purchases)

Waterdog Future Waterdog (wife)
Bc - zeagle Seaquest Diva LX
Regs - Apex tx50/tx40 Tx50/tx40
suits - .5M, 3MM, 5MM .5MM, 3MM, 5MM
Fins - Volo's Dacor Panthers
Mask - Cressi BEyes Cressi BEyes
Snorkle - Tusa Imprx Tusa Impx
Boots - mares Dacor
Gloves - Mares Dacor
Bags - Armor Luggage Akona mesh and dry
Knives - Mares tris Sea Elite
watch - Citizen Hypeaqua Citizens dive
Mask 2 - Mares esa Mares lycra
Computer - Suunto Cobra Mares Mission 3

Lessons - Private for (2)

Results - PRICELESS!!
VISA $3000-$4000

And we won't hit the serious diving until July 1 (VIslands)

GOOD LUCK,

waterdogs