Thanks all! I wasn't trying to ignore this thread, just never had it pulled up on my computer and I hate typing on my phone/tablet.
On your equipment, you can have a priority list. Mask, fins, snorkel and wet suit come first. For me, I would do computer and regulator next. The BCD last. Also, I don't like the jacket kind. It restricts movement or it feels that way. Remember, anything you get, you will have to drag through the airport. I also have a camera, lenses, strobes, housing, ports and I often feel like a Sherpa.
Check for mask, fins, snorkel, wet suit, and computer, though I'm not a big fan of the current fins. Bought mask/snorkel/fins used from a coworker who gave up scuba (as a midwest diver, he said he needed to **** or get off the pot, and decided to get off the pot). Fins are stiff, which I don't mind so much except the foot pocket really isn't big enough for my size 13 foot. The hard snorkel I want to replace with a folding snorkel I can keep in a pocket. I'm planning on a BP/W myself, after spending numerous hours lurking on SB. Planning to get it from DSS, but I need to get and know the buoyancy of my future 7 mm suit before Tobin will sell me the wing(s) I need. My wife has already said she wants a jacket kind and not a BP/W, because she wants to feel it "hug" her.
Dragging it all through the airport is what I don't look forward too. When we went on a 4 night trip to Cancun a year ago, we each had a carry-on, checked bag, and personal item (backpack/purse). I said never again shall we take so much that we never used, and when we went on our 7 day honeymoon we took one checked bag each and one personal item, no carry-ons. It was a joy going through the airport! The life of a scuba diver, I guess...
Peoria - were your cert dives at Haigh? Has to be, from your description of the green murk. I describe it as swimming in green jello with a sandstorm.
And, yes, get a computer for your wife.
If your wife is going to be your buddy, she has to get past the going on ahead thing. Best is side by side.
No, worse. Chillicothe rec area, just outside Peoria. A very shallow quarry. I don't think it reaches 30' in the deepest area. No diving facilities on site, bring everything including air. There's a few training platforms so rusted they have holes, a school bus the same way, two boats and a small airplane fuselage sunk.
After the first dive, I talked to her and the next two dives she stayed right next to me, side-by-side.
Wetsuit - well worth paying for a good one (you should be able to get someone to do alterations on your current suit if you decide you want the zippers (they do make life a lot easier).
Good plan on the quarry diving - if you get used to "cold water" diving in low(ish) vis, blue water diving is a relative breeze after that. It sounds like you are quite an aware diver so keep that attitude (I always try to improve something each dive if I can so try to be aware of what I did well or badly).
Task loading gets better with experience so get out and div
Hmm, good idea. I bought it custom made from Aquaflite, and while it fits good, I could have the back drawn in slightly. I was thinking of sending it in to have that done, I could just pay them to add the zippers in too. Overall, I'm very happy with the suit.
Understood. "Diving on your buddy's computer" is still an iffy practice, though way better than no computer at all. If you do so, you need to stay together, so you have the same dive profile and level of effort. Your wife's wanting to swim on ahead sans computer, kind of defeats that idea. You'll both get the hang of it, and likely will both have computers anyway in the future. Most rental places in the states will supply one, i guess maybe not elsewhere?
She did stay with me after the first dive, after I talked to her about it. I forgot to mention that in the first post. I planed to rent one for her when we got there but they had no gear to rent, only the basics to supply divers (mask/fins/snorkle/BCD w/ non-computer console). We will get her a computer for diving this coming spring.
As newer divers a computer will assist in monitoring your ascent rate to prevent ascending too fast.
Each diver needs a personal computer to correctly determine this factor.
The DM took her up the first dive, with me nearby, and I held onto her the next two dives so that two of us together could hold the safety stop better than we could separate, as new divers. It did start beeping at me the first dive, as I need practice controlling my ascents, but I immediately knew why it was beeping at me (>40 FPS ascent) and vented my BCD right away to slow down.
One final note regarding your mention of purchasing a custom-fitted 7mm: While I don't have a cold[er] water exposure suit yet, hours of reading the posts here have convinced me to skip the 7mm and go straight to dry. Considering what I'd guess the cost of a good quality custom-fitted 7mm suit to be, that may be an option you want to consider as well.
Finally, congrats on your marriage! You're very lucky to have a diving partner in your spouse. My wife is just not cut out for diving (and that's OK - I'd rather she be safe and dry than forcing herself to do something she's uncomfortable with). I am fortunate to have an adult son who dives and lives somewhat nearby but it does complicate vacations since I'm always looking at places to dive and that's definitely not her top priority.
Well, dry would be nice, but custom isn't too bad, and being 6'05" and 155 pounds I imagine any non-custom dry suit would be too baggy leading to fighting with a big bubble all the time. It's why I went custom wet, because no pre-made wet would fit me well! (correct me if I'm wrong)
Aquaflite's prices on custom suits are really good. With shipping, I paid $368 for my 3 mm fullsuit, including a sleeveless jacket (extra $58) I can put on to help keep my core warmer in cooler water. And $100 of that is a custom fit charge, which does not apply to future suit purchases unless you gain or lose weight. That $100 goes to making a paper cut-out of your sizes, which they can store and use for future suits, and I added $30 for a sidestripe, $23 for a relief zipper, and $7 for a keypocket. So really I could have gotten a plain, custom fit 3 mm fullsuit for only $250.
A 7 mm suit, now that I've paid the custom fitting charge, is $207 for the suit. Add in another sleeveless jacket for $51, arm and leg zippers for $30 each (pair), relief zipper for $35, side stripe for $28, and I'm still looking at $381 plus shipping, which is considerably less than a new (custom?) drysuit. Of course a drysuit will last longer, and keep me much warmer on cold dives...
Zippers may matter, or not, depending on the elasticity and cut of the suit and your body shape and flexibility. I wear a two-piece 7mm wetsuit that doesn't have any zippers, and I like it.
The zipper thought came to me as I was trying to get into my wetsuit on the boat. Some of it is because I'm new to it, but I'm really skinny with large feet and just getting my size 13 feet through the tiny ankle holes was somewhat difficult. As the suit is custom fit, it's not tight but it hugs my skin well, especially after peeling the top part off between dives and putting it back on wet.
Zoops are cheap, go ahead and get your wife one. With the level of diving your are doing it is all that you really need. And the two of you will be on the same algorithm.
That's the plan. Plus a Suunto allows uploading her dives without buying a second USB cable.
