Which package to buy?

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Follow up question: Are most of you loyal to one specific LDS or do you shop around and also buy online?

It depends on the LDS. Mine is fab, pretty excellent all around, and known from its online shop (DRIS).
 
Are most of you loyal to one specific LDS or do you shop around and also buy online?

I like my LDSs. I really do. They're great people, and I wish them the best. I have taken some classes from all of the good ones. I recommend them to other people.

I am also building my own compressor plant and buy all my gear from DGX, Leisure Pro, VDH, Piranha, and eBay.

Retailers are ephemeral, and you invest in "relationships" with them at your peril. Caveat emptor.
 
Thank you all for the input. Bonne Terre Mines is a guided dive. They have different "trails" that the dive master takes you on. I did the 1st 3 today. There was a couple swim through a, but mostly your in giant "rooms". I don't know how else to explain it and I don't know how to link the webpage on here. Basically everyone dives with a "normal" set up. Sorry, I don't know all the terminology yet.
 
Capsfan22 is right and exactly what I recommend to all new divers! Buy yourself a dive computer; it's the most important gear you will risk your life on. ..why rent something you've never used? They are so much more affordable now and I have the scubapro Aladin one and my husband has the later and better version, scubapro tec 3G (three gasses) because we can change the battery on our own; they're great, affordable computers with all the bells and whistles. Find yourself the right fins, mask, and boots (this seemingly basic stuff is actually not intuitive because everything fits fine until you find your version of seac fins and cressi big eye mask). Don't buy anything else until you dive a lot more and actually wear the bcd like a glove! This took me over 50 dives trying on new bcds all the time before choosing my Zeagle Stiletto. It also depends on the kind of diver you turn out to be (tech, wreck, rec, warm or cold water). Finally, the last thing I bought was my regulator (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my AquaLung Legend set as I can use it on warm and cold water dives! !!!!!!!!!!). Suits are preference and depending on where you dive you will need a different thickness. Bottom line on suits: you will always find one comfortable for you; buy one you will use immediately and for the near future.

Don't settle on a set. Most divers have a mix of everything and we compare to find better versions. Wait as long as you can before buying a BCD; it's the most important and expensive investment which will last over 20 years if you keep it well. Buy yourself a versatile dive computer that you can change the battery on your own (my husband had the Uwatech Aladin Pro, now purchased by ScubaPro, and the battery changes alone cost $100!). Buy a regulator once you know where you will dive as the cold water compatible ones are more expensive.

If I bought a set after getting certified, I would have a good AquaLung set. ...not my perfect Frankenstein I currently own! Thinking about selling/trading pieces individually is annoying and time consuming, especially if you find the perfect solution but wait until you sell yours before buying it. Just wait on some components; you'll be much happier.

I am sorry but I need to disagree with the advice you are giving. Dive computers only became popular in the mid-to-late 1990s when the prices started to drop. People have been diving without a computer for about 50 years before that. Some agencies GUE/UTD/ICE do not recommend a dive computer. So dive computers are not the most important piece of safety gear. Your most important piece of safety gear is yourself. Second, is a competent buddy.

I am glad you found the perfect setup but renting gear for 50 dives is expensive. Depending on the location that can easily cost close to $1,000. When dealing with a BC the most important factor is fit. That is why so many people gravitate to a BP/W setup because the fit totally adjustable.

As far as regulators go the most important thing is if they are tuned properly. There really are no bad regulators on the market, the product liability is too high for a company to sell a poor regulator.

When shopping for regulators the best value is usually found in the middle of the line. For Aqua Lung this is the Core (Titan LX) line. After that the increase in price is usually not worth the increase in performance. Regulators are a mature technology, any changes are evolutionary not revolutionary, no matter what the marketers say. As Capsfan 22 mentioned the Deep6 breaths the same as the Zeagle, because they are both based on similar technology. These designs are so old that they are no longer protected by patent. The Deep6 is significantly less expensive. Also I am not sure what you mean by cold water but most regs do fine in water mid-40s and higher.

Also you do not need to wait to decide what kind of diver you want to be before you buy equipment you can just buy equipment compatible with the highest level of diving you plan to do. If you plan on going tech, then a BP/W is usually used. If you want to dive under ice, then Poseidon regulators are among the best for that purpose. You want to go doubles then you need a first stage with good hose routing. etc.
 
Follow up question: Are most of you loyal to one specific LDS or do you shop around and also buy online?

I am not loyal and buy a lot online. A few weeks back I bought a new Subgear SG-30 from a dive shop on eBay. You many not know the name Subgear but it was the sister company to Scubapro. The SG-30 is the same regulator at a Scubapro C350 (the model before yours) and a MK-11 second stage. The cost was $150 shipped to me. The Scubapro version is $465. Granted it is newer and probably marginally better, but probably not worth 3 times the cost.

Blind loyalty to an LDS is foolish. They are a business and should work for your business. Dive gear has a high markup, so they should have room to wiggle.
 
I am sorry but I need to disagree with the advice you are giving. Dive computers only became popular in the mid-to-late 1990s when the prices started to drop. People have been diving without a computer for about 50 years before that. Some agencies GUE/UTD/ICE do not recommend a dive computer. So dive computers are not the most important piece of safety gear. Your most important piece of safety gear is yourself. Second, is a competent buddy.
Cool; everyone has their own opinion. Generally from my experience, most dive shops have very good, standard BCDs for rent and give you a competitive price when renting. The computers are OK, but sometimes quit. Since he disclosed he is a new diver, thereby acknowledging he won't know the dive sites and therefore plan or multilevel dives, I think it's the most important for someone to monitor depth, time, and ascending rate (they beep loudly when you're ascending too fast). Besides, we never go backwards when we discover a tool that aids us; if you insist on not getting a computer, I hope you have a depth Guage and know your dive! Cousteau already discovered many diving illnesses for us; no need to verify his dive bends theory! On a more serious note, all the shops I've gone with require a computer.
 
Cool; everyone has their own opinion. Generally from my experience, most dive shops have very good, standard BCDs for rent and give you a competitive price when renting. The computers are OK, but sometimes quit. Since he disclosed he is a new diver, thereby acknowledging he won't know the dive sites and therefore plan or multilevel dives, I think it's the most important for someone to monitor depth, time, and ascending rate (they beep loudly when you're ascending too fast). Besides, we never go backwards when we discover a tool that aids us; if you insist on not getting a computer, I hope you have a depth Guage and know your dive! Cousteau already discovered many diving illnesses for us; no need to verify his dive bends theory! On a more serious note, all the shops I've gone with require a computer.

Anna, I have several computers both modern and vintage so I am not too cheap to buy one. Dive shop rental equipment is really YMMV, some shops rent great gear while others rent lower-end gear also you have the problem of maintenance some shops are better at it than others. If they are renting computers that quit, then they can't really believe they are a safety device, can they?

I was certified in 1991, so I am not from the vintage era. At that time if you were on a recreational dive boat they arranged the trip so that all dives would be within the no deco limits. I am sure they do the same thing today. The litigation risk is too high, to plan risky dives. We had our timer, depth gauge and tables and all of us were within the no deco limits. Our ascent monitor was our bubbles, do not rise faster than they do. On these types of dives a computer is really useless.

Where dive computers are helpful is when you are situation outside of the tables: multigas and multilevel diving. They can also be a PITA, some of the older computers (and maybe some of the newer ones) would lock up when you went into deco and defaulted into gauge mode. Different computers use different decompression algorithms so you and your buddy could have different results if using different computers. Like I said previously, some certification agencies do not recommend computers.

The largest part of the dive industry's profits come from equipment sales. So there is a natural tendency to require more equipment. In the early days besides the mask, fins, weights, and exposure protection you had a tank harness, regulator, depth gauge, and watch. Then a BC was added, then a tank pressure gauge, after that an octo, then a computer, then an SMB, etc. More things to sell equals more profit. All of this is done in the name of safety, but does it really matter? When I read about accidents on SB (which is completely unscientific) I come to the conclusion that most of these unfortunate situations could be prevented with better training not more equipment.
 
As Capsfan 22 mentioned the Deep6 breaths the same as the Zeagle, because they are both based on similar technology. These designs are so old that they are no longer protected by patent.

Actually our Signature series is our own design with custom internal components we designed specifically for it. We do definitely appreciate the customer support though from everyone so far! Thanks to all.
 
Actually our Signature series is our own design with custom internal components we designed specifically for it. We do definitely appreciate the customer support though from everyone so far! Thanks to all.

I did not mean to imply it is copy of a Zeagle, Apeks, or anything else. I believe it is a barrel poppet design, so the technology is similar to most balanced second stages on the market.
 
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https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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