Equipment Question (noobie)

[GCullen94]

Miguel I would seriously consider changing LDS's if they are pushing you to buy all your gear this quickly. It sounds like they want to make a quick buck off of you by overselling you. I would also seriously reconsider your standpoint on a backplate and wing as they are what most divers end up going to eventually for their characteristics in the water. I made mistakes by buying gear too quickly and ended up selling most of my original and buying new gear.

 

[SuperMiguel]

Well the LDS is only pushing me to get the mask, fins and snorkel for my open water cert, then my cousin told me to get the nitrox one, and the guy im doing the open water with, he said that he does the nitrox on the advance training, that he doesnt have it alone, and he did recommend that if i want to do the advance to do it with my own gear, he didnt seem to care (i know he does) where i got my gear from, but he recommend getting my own for the advance i guess im the one that is on a hurry to get the gear.. Maybe i just need to stfu and relax and wait

 

[iluvtheocean]

Thanks i guess that kinda the point for this thread so i dont get "fuc*ed" by the sales guy at the store, Like "oh you need need to get this computer that cost $800 if not you will die".

hmmm.. the shop i got my OW from required mask,fins,snorkel, and weights (figured on 10%) --didn't have to buy any of it from them though.. rental of everything else was included (including the boat trips)
not a bad shop, decent instructor - but didn't offer any help with diving afterwards (like a dive club, or recommendations towards one of the many down here) they sell mostly aqualung & scubapro.


as a rule --- ANY SALESMAN is going to recommend whatever they can make the most money on... doesn't matter what they are selling...
unless you have money to burn -- rent until you are ready to buy and make your decision based on your budget, what kind of diving you're doing, and how often!!
jacket, back-inflate, BP/W, various brands -- try rental from different shops until you find one you like....
everyone has their own preference on regulators & computers -- i like atomic for my reg and all of the atomic line breathe exactly the same-- it's just the different materials...

you're in florida --- the only consideration you will have about warm vs cold is how thick your wetsuit is going to be for the season.

don't worry about spearing until you're certified and comfortable underwater -- spearing adds big taskloading and can affect your buoyancy depending on what gets speared.


i bought a back-inflate and will eventually go to backplate & wing myself... and i have splits and hollis f1 batfins


the only opinion i'll give on a computer when you eventually buy it -- yes make sure nitrox compat. other than that it's whatever you want.
all regs are nitrox compat out of the box up to 40% and say it in the manual.

don't be afraid to wait to buy.... and it's possible to find good deals on used equipment too... either on here or craigslist locally. also many dive shops after a while retire their rental gear that's in good shape for great prices. ask around at various shops....

 

[SuperMiguel]

hmmm.. the shop i got my OW from required mask,fins,snorkel, and weights (figured on 10%) --didn't have to buy any of it from them though.. rental of everything else was included (including the boat trips)
not a bad shop, decent instructor - but didn't offer any help with diving afterwards (like a dive club, or recommendations towards one of the many down here) they sell mostly aqualung & scubapro.


as a rule --- ANY SALESMAN is going to recommend whatever they can make the most money on... doesn't matter what they are selling...
unless you have money to burn -- rent until you are ready to buy and make your decision based on your budget, what kind of diving you're doing, and how often!!
jacket, back-inflate, BP/W, various brands -- try rental from different shops until you find one you like....
everyone has their own preference on regulators & computers -- i like atomic for my reg and all of the atomic line breathe exactly the same-- it's just the different materials...

you're in florida --- the only consideration you will have about warm vs cold is how thick your wetsuit is going to be for the season.

don't worry about spearing until you're certified and comfortable underwater -- spearing adds big taskloading and can affect your buoyancy depending on what gets speared.


i bought a back-inflate and will eventually go to backplate & wing myself... and i have splits and hollis f1 batfins


the only opinion i'll give on a computer when you eventually buy it -- yes make sure nitrox compat. other than that it's whatever you want.
all regs are nitrox compat out of the box up to 40% and say it in the manual.

don't be afraid to wait to buy.... and it's possible to find good deals on used equipment too... either on here or craigslist locally. also many dive shops after a while retire their rental gear that's in good shape for great prices. ask around at various shops....

I dont know if rentals works the same way paintball does , i used to play paintball alot and most of the times the rental guns and tanks failed, always had leaks and they were the cheapest tank and gun that you can find.. Im not sure if diving rental is the same where they just give you the cheapest stuff they could afford and well im not sure i want to risk my self using a 20 year reg and die because it failed.. Im not saying this is the case with the shop i picked, i just dont know if thats the case..

---------- Post added September 26th, 2013 at 05:30 PM ----------

Im also not sure about used stuff like this local guy: Zeagle Flathead 7 Regulator Scuba dive diving selling a flat head for $300, but im not sure if ill be risking my self by buying something used.

 

[GCullen94]

That makes more sense. Well if I was in your shoes this would be my list...
Regs:
HOG D1/Classic Second-stage
Apeks XTX50's (Free octo promo going on right now)


BC
Diverite SS Backplate with transplate harness (more like a "standard bc") or simple harness
Diverite Voyager wing
OR
HOG ss backplate and 35lb wing
if you still want a standard jacket
Scubapro Knighthawk


Comp
N2ition is a great unit, I dive the diverite version of it.
Hollis DG03

What's your exposure protection?

 

[SuperMiguel]

How is that zeagle flat head used for $250? Guy says it's about 1 year old and it's on good conditions, any risk of geting it??

 

[GCullen94]

There's always a risk in getting used gear. You also have no idea of the history behind it. He can say it's in good condition all he wants but who knows if he's completely flooded the first stage at some point? who knows if it was left out all day in the sun how and often? There are a lot of "What if's" with used gear. Personally I only buy used gear from someone I know and I see how they treat there stuff. You'd have to take it and have it serviced by your LDS plus parts.

 

[SuperMiguel]

But if I buy it, can I take it to my LDS can they tell me if it's good? Or it's always an unknown? Can I just get it rebuild for like $90 if it has some issues?

anyways how good/bad are those flathead 7 LT?

I guess because they are not environmental sealed, it wont really matter since im in tampa, florida? and it only gets cold for few weeks a year, and i probably wont be getting in the water when is that cold?

 

[chrpai]

Careful. Some dive shops get pissy when you buy used stuff.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If you want my opinion I would say rent for as long as you can and go to as many dive shops as you can. Keep your ears open and your mouth closed (I'm being polite). It's too easy to get the "smarts" too soon and think you have it all figured out.
When you settle on a shop that you really like and can mesh with, do a few trips with them and dive with lots of locals. See what they use and get advice from real people, not people on the internet. Save the internet for when you already know a little so you know when you're being BS'd.
At that time you can decide to get some used gear, some new gear or some of both.
Try split fins, paddle fins, and long freediving fins.
Try a low volume mask, a bigger mask and see which you like.
The reg is almost irrelevant. A $300 reg can deliver air just like a $1600 reg, they all work underwater. There really isn't any dangerous junk out there unless it's some really old relic and even then many of the "vintage" regs work as good as the new regs.
It's in how they were treated, maintained, and by whom.
You will be buying some gear twice, there is no way around it. You don't know what you don't know.
You will also be getting better and what you thought you liked and worked at one time you may find one day that you don't like that particular piece of gear anymore and want something different.

We try to fast track too many new divers (I'm guilty of it), I'm refering to all the divers on this board with years of combined experience, but we fail to remember we were just like you at one time.
You almost have to experience for yourself what took us years to figure out. There is no way just to mentally download it like a file into your brain and expect to fully understand the why.