Equipment

[Adrianvzla]

Good day Guys,


I am in the process of purchasing my Scuba Gear, already own 3/2 wetsuit, fins, mask and snork. I have been looking in my LDS and online (LP and D-S.com). LDS are a bit on the steep side, but have bought small things to support them. I am on a budget.

I am looking for a BC that can be easily put away in my suitcase when I travel, Cressi Air Travel and Cressi R1, are 2 of my interest. These 2 BCs I seached both can come with a package or bought on there own. My concerns are if my selection are a good start-up for Diving. each time I go diving I rent the equipment, I am ready to start using my own and stop using rentals.

List of Items that I am interested:
-BC: CRESSI AIR TRAVEL OR CRESSI R1
-REG: CRESSI SUB ELLIPSE BLACK/AC2 IN LINE PISTON (YOKE), OR CRESSI XS COMPACT MC5 REG
-OCTO: CRESSI SUB ELLIPSES, OR CRESSI SUB XS SCUBA DIVING OCTOPUS
-CONSOLE: CRESSI MINI CONSOLE without computer or CRESSI SUB ARCHIMEDEd II COMPUTER CONSOLE
-WRIST: CRESSI LEONARO.

I plan on using this equipment for both Shore, Boat and Lake Dive.

Any advice?


Highly appreciate any advice, suggestion or thoughts.

 

[beaverdivers]

Any advice?


Highly appreciate any advice, suggestion or thoughts.

Cressi makes some good gear. Just wondered if you are set on Cressi or are you interested in what Scubapro has to offer? What is your budget?

 

[Adrianvzla]

Cressi makes some good gear. Just wondered if you are set on Cressi or are you interested in what Scubapro has to offer? What is your budget?

Well I am not totally set with Cressi but my wife is. I can open up to other brands if they are travel friendly.
Budget 800-1000$.

 

[00wabbit]

How many dives do you have? I bought all my gear at the beginning and have now sold all of it to switch to a completely different set-up. The only thing I havent replaced yet is my leonardo because it does the job well and I don't need much more yet.

Look at and read about backplate and wing set-ups. When I changed over it made a huge difference. They are the same or less than many b/c's and are re-configurable for your whole dive career.

I have a Cressi MC9 balanced adjustable reg that only has about 20 dives on it. It was recently serviced. Let me know if you are interested. You will still need to buy and octo. This is just a first and second stage.
The reason I am selling it is that I have been doing mostly cold water diving and needed to have cold water sealed regs.

 

[Adrianvzla]

Buying her a set as well. So the budget is double. Each set has a budget between 800-1000

 

[Bob DBF]

I've not actually found any any brand that gives the best value for every diving product, may be you should expand your search outside Cressi, although they may be good product.



Bob
-------------------------
I may be old, but I'm not dead yet.

 

[ajcyang]

Check out the "close-out" sections in the online stores.
They usually have some great deals. Just make sure they have good reviews from past posts on SB as well.

I agree with Bob, maybe venture out of cressi products to other varieties.

Also, try to see if your LDS can match the price. It keeps them in business and you get much better service from then for the future.

Happy shopping

 

[MrChen]

Use camelcamelcamel.com to monitor amazon pricing. You can get that octo for 90 on weekends and nights. You can also find the cressi titanium elipse with mc9 for around 250.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[fjpatrum]

I have no experience with Cressi so I can't speak specifically to your choices but, with that kind of budget, you can buy some great gear. Any recognizable brand will last you a lifetime, if you stay recreational. If you're possibly thinking about tech diving in the future (caves, wreck penetration, really deep, etc) consider buying DIN regulators and "appropriate" BCD. Again, the regs will last you a lifetime if properly maintained, no matter what brand you buy.

Other than that brand isn't particularly important and they're all reasonable quality. At some point someone started a thread "what's in your kit" or something and the responses are very telling. I don't think there was a single response with only one brand in their gear selection (except possibly for brand new divers and BeaverDivers, who is a Scubapro dealer and very vocal about their quality.) Some brands just won't fit your wife the same way they'll fit you. Some build better BCs than regulators, or vice versa. Some just add a bunch of marketing gimmicks and jack up prices... some are minimalist approaches.

Consider looking at the used market, if you're comfortable with that, and do some comparison shopping based on features you think are important to you (or will be). Check out a couple of different BC styles to see if a jacket is right for you or back inflate or even a Backplate and Wing (BP/W). They all work and they all have their pros and cons. The zealots will tell you there is a right answer, but I'll leave that to them (and you) to decide.

 

[Adrianvzla]

Thank you all for your response. I will take your suggestions into consideration.