I just finished my PADI OW certification and Nitrox courses. I am in the process of picking out my first set of gear. My LDS sells and services what I have picked out so far, but I cant help but consider a b/p and wing. I think I have decided on an Aqualung Legend Reg, Zeagle Ranger BCD, and Suunto D9. Would it be worth considering the DSS b/p and wing? I will be diving a lot of quarries and lakes around where I live. I will certainly be reef diving as well. I want to buy equipment upfront that will provide me with room to grow and plenty flexibility. Has what I picked out so far been good choices? Any advice will be appreciated.
Gear Choices for New Diver
- Thread starter AQUAH0LIC
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Asking "What kind of gear should I buy" is kinda asking which make/model of car you should be driving. It all comes down to a matter of preference. What you've listed so far are good options, but so is just about everything else out there on the market.
If it were me, I'd say the best thing you can do is to rent/borrow some gear and try it out. There should be someone local who has a BP/W you can try out and see how you like it.
The two most important things are your comfort and having an LDS that can service said gear if you need it.
If it were me, I'd say the best thing you can do is to rent/borrow some gear and try it out. There should be someone local who has a BP/W you can try out and see how you like it.
The two most important things are your comfort and having an LDS that can service said gear if you need it.
bmcsteve
Contributor
I am surprised that no one has jumped on this yet.... Anyway, here is my 2 cents on this subject. Since you are newly certified, I would take some time and rent different configurations of gear before you buy. That way you can try it out a few times and see what you like and dont like about it.
I love my gear, but I wish I had taken this advice before I bought it as there are a few things that I dont like about it. When I bought my stuff, I only looked at it online and read the manufacturers descriptions. My LDS had what I thought I wanted in stock, and the owner did give me lots of advice with my choices. He even has a money back guarantee.... the problem is that I didnt really discover what I would have liked better until after I had dived the gear about ten times or so.
Anyway, at the very least, ask your LDS if you can try it in the pool before you are committed to keeping anything you "think" you want. Hope this helps.
I love my gear, but I wish I had taken this advice before I bought it as there are a few things that I dont like about it. When I bought my stuff, I only looked at it online and read the manufacturers descriptions. My LDS had what I thought I wanted in stock, and the owner did give me lots of advice with my choices. He even has a money back guarantee.... the problem is that I didnt really discover what I would have liked better until after I had dived the gear about ten times or so.
Anyway, at the very least, ask your LDS if you can try it in the pool before you are committed to keeping anything you "think" you want. Hope this helps.
Tomikp
Registered
You gear should be planned according to your diving targets. If you want to dive in quarries, your gear should differ from gear used for occassional sea diving. Step by step you will learn you need a good light for example. But for this purpose it is better to buy a wing more than a jacket. Next you will learn it is better to use frog kick more than the classic kicking (quarries usually have more silty bottoms). The water in quarries can be colder in quarries than the sea water. Therefore you should think about 1st. stages designed for cold water. For further advices you should exactly know, what are you diving targets to the future.
hudson
Contributor
Yes a BP/W is definitely worth considering. Problem with renting is it could be impossible to rent a BP/W depending on your location. Of course, you are very unlikely to have fit problems with a BP/W and a hog harness. See this thread for more advice:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/250604-bcds-first-time-purchase.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/250604-bcds-first-time-purchase.html
AQUAH0LIC
You're on the right track and asking the right questions.
As soon as you say quarry I say cold water. You may not be dipping into the real cold water right away but trust me it's down there and then there is the "off season" diving. Remember that to a regulator anything below 42F or so is considered to be cold. I think in Aqualung that means you want something with a Supreme branding. The extra cost is modest and you will be covered for growth.
The ranger or the DSS rig are both good choices and either will support your growth for a long time if not forever. You get to personalize the DSS rig a bit more.
Pte
You're on the right track and asking the right questions.
As soon as you say quarry I say cold water. You may not be dipping into the real cold water right away but trust me it's down there and then there is the "off season" diving. Remember that to a regulator anything below 42F or so is considered to be cold. I think in Aqualung that means you want something with a Supreme branding. The extra cost is modest and you will be covered for growth.
The ranger or the DSS rig are both good choices and either will support your growth for a long time if not forever. You get to personalize the DSS rig a bit more.
Pte
Last edited:
... yep... best possible advise. I'd add that you should try them in different water conditions as well... you may well find that a rig that works well for you in calm waters might not seem to perform as well (or as comfortably) in stronger currents... or surge... or... whatever.
Try thinking of this not as buying a "scuba rig"... but buying tools... you want a set that works together, gets the job done and makes you the most 'comfortable' (ie., be able to do the most work without having to fight to tool)... there are a LOT of options out there... and many *right* decisions.
Good luck...
(Oh... and I dive a Legend... no complaints... no problems... but I also have used some of my LDS's Sherwood, TUSA and Genesis regs... don't have any complaints or problems with them either...)
[added] I missed the "quarry" thing... being from Central Illinois I do a bit of quarry and lake diving myself...
Yeah that is kind of a problem. My LDS sells the equipment that I am interested in purchasing, however you can not rent the specific ones I like. I did get to use a few different models of regulators though. I always seemed to breath more comfortably from the Legend than the other models. I found myself asking for that one during training dives. I did get to use both side inflated and back inflated BCD's. I was able to maintain good horizontal orientation with both, but the back inflated ones seemd a little more comfortable. They also seemed to have less "clutter" around the front of the chest. I really wish I could try a BP/W but I know that the LDS doesnt rent those. Maybe I will ask one of the instructors to see if they could let me try their personal one.
Having recently found out how much the D9 costs, I'd recommend rethinking that one. If you want a Nitrox compatible Suunto computer with a transmitter for AI, I'd get the Vytec with transmitter, and save yourself enough money to pay for your regulators . . . The D9 display is smaller, and the electronic compass isn't that useful -- You're better off with a Suunto SK7 in a DSS boot, which is much easier to use.
I'm a BP/W fan, especially if you are going to dive in cold water, for a number of reasons. But one of the biggest is that fabric BCs have intrinsic buoyancy (my husband's Balance has 3 lbs of buoyancy) and you have to carry lead to sink the BC. Cold water diving requires enough weight as it is; I don't want to carry MORE just to sink my gear. In addition, putting five or more pounds of your ballast into your BC makes it that much easier to find places to put the rest of what you need to carry, and it encourages a horizontal position in the water.
I'm a BP/W fan, especially if you are going to dive in cold water, for a number of reasons. But one of the biggest is that fabric BCs have intrinsic buoyancy (my husband's Balance has 3 lbs of buoyancy) and you have to carry lead to sink the BC. Cold water diving requires enough weight as it is; I don't want to carry MORE just to sink my gear. In addition, putting five or more pounds of your ballast into your BC makes it that much easier to find places to put the rest of what you need to carry, and it encourages a horizontal position in the water.
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