Gear question

[lobaugh]

I have recently completed my class and pool work and I will be doing my OW checkout the weekend of July 26th. After spending the weekend in the pool with rental equipment, I can see why owning my own is so important. As I am on a budget and can't afford to buy everything at once, what recommendations do you have for the order to buy the equipment? Should I invest in a computer, regulator or BC first? Also any recommendations on the brands and models of each?

 

[Dee]

There's alot of opinions about what piece(s) of gear to buy first and I'm sure you'll hear them all!

IMHO your BC and regs should be your first major gear purchase. If you can only afford one, I'd get a BC. Your BC needs to fit you well in order for you to properly learn bouyancy. Rental BC's are notoriously ill-fitting and give beginning divers the most trouble.

Rental regs and gauges vary in quality but they will all give you the air you need. When your budget allows you can purchase the regs and gauges of your choice....after you've done all that research you're gonna do!

For non-major gear...depending on where you'll be diving, you may need to invest in a wetsuit or other thermal protection soon. Rental wetsuits are the pits in lots of ways! No matter what quality BC and regs you have, whether they are yours or rent, you'll need to stay warm. Not only for comfort but for safety.

Just my 2¢

 

[Simplicimus]

I do not profess to be the voice of experience, as I am only recently certified myself, but I have just gone through the process you are starting. The basic issue you must face is that scuba diving is gear-intensive, and none of the gear is cheap. If you want to buy your own equipment, you're going to have to shell out a heaping mound of coin of the realm.

That being said, I recommend starting with the bc/backplate and regs first. You can get by with an (relatively) inexpensive depth gauge rather than a dive computer.

If you read through the posts from the more experienced people doing the most demanding dives, particularly the "DIR" group, you will see that Apex regs, such as the ATX 100, are frequently recommended. The "DIR" people also recommend a backplate and harness rather than a conventional BC, for a myriad of reasons it would be tedious to repeat here. The DIR people have made a concerted effort to find the optimal procedures and equipment to promote safe diving, and you would be well-advised to give their findings serious consideration. Although the procedures and equipment configurations were originally developed to conduct technical dives, the system is equally applicable to open water diving. You will also find a vocal anti-DIR contingent on this board, whose adherents seem to find the DIR approach unduly confining and autharitarian. My view is that the DIR people have the better of the argument.

 

[Uncle Pug]

 

[Crispy]

Cudos to you lobaugh !!

I think your going about this all RIGHT. As a newbie myself, I found that asking tons of questions, visiting all the LDS' in my area, and This Board to be very helpful. I wanted to buy my gear prior to my checkout dives for the simple reason that reguardless, I will be a novice diver (for awhile at least) and it would be easier to learn with my equipment while in the company of a Certified Instructor. That said;

I would recommend buying the best quality that your budget allows. Some "package deals" may look great but you may find that you will end up wanting to buy something better later. which will cost you more in the long run.

I would also consider an exposure suit (yes even for warm water diving) to help protect you from stings and scrapes. Hope this helps in some way !!

 

[chrispete]

I went through the gear question myself when I certified a couple of months ago. I bought my regs and a computer first, closely followed by my BC and wetsuit. It's kind of hard to say which I would pick to buy first if I had to start over, but here's what I (personally) would take into consideration if I did it again:

Regs - What kind of diving will I be doing in the future? I purchased a reg that has some titanium parts in it, and now I'm looking into a Nitrox course in the fall - bad news, I have to either have the regs refitted or replace them for Nitrox diving. (Although I really like the regs, don't get me wrong

Computer - I would recommend a computer, even an inexpensive model as it will give you more bottom time and (I can imagine) takes a lot of load off of you while you are underwater. Bad news - I purchased a standard air computer and again Nitrox will force me to look into upgrading.

BC - I guess I lucked out and my LDS has a good set of BC's available, they were mostly newer model BC's. I could have gone a little while longer than I did before buying mine, but I'm impatient, so... You may want to check on the quality of your LDS's rental BC's - you may find that they are close enough to the model that you want to buy anyway so that you can start getting used to the general setup, and I've heard that some LDS's will apply part, if not all, of the amount of your rental towards the purchase of your BC in the future.

Wetsuit - Don't underestimate thermoclines and/or water's ability to cool you down It can get rather chilly rather quickly down there - if you decide to dive without a wetsuit, don't hesitate to call the dive if you get too cold - keep in mind that it's your arse on the line.

The equipment that I'm going to replace for Nitrox diving will become my backup equipment / loaner equipment for a friend if one of them should decide to try diving, which is what I was (kinda) intending to do in the first place - buy one set of gear, replace it over time, and have a backup, but it's a more expensive proposition than it seems up front.

Again, this is my $.02 and I'm not sure what the board's exchange rate is running at right now, my advice may be worthless for your situation

 

[O-ring]

...money says you will end up doing what I did. Spend a while agonizing about it and then start "diarrhea ordering". You just can't help yourself...

Mine went like this...ordered a light and a knife...then a BC/backplate & wing...realized I needed some SS bolt snaps to hook the light on and ordered those, but had to order some hoses and stuff to make it worth the shipping costs (can't just get a bolt snap, right?). Realized I had a hose kit and no regs...regs came next...then forgot I needed an SPG to go with my regs so ordered that (what's another $75, right?). I was ready to go..oh crud...wait, I have an SPG but no way to tell what depth I am at...computer came next (who wants a console when you can get a nifty computer...didn't want to have to sell it on ebay and buy a computer later, right?)...dang...I forgot to get a suit...would hate to have to rent a suit again...bought a suit...boy, sure would be nice to have a tank to test all this stuff out with before I really go diving....a tank showed up in my living room promptly...

Get the idea? This was all over about a 3-4 week period. I couldn't stop...since all the gear works together, I drove myself nuts not "finishing" the project.

Get a Visa and go to work..I sure haven't regretted it..

 

[lobaugh]

Something I forgot to say earlier:
My wife and daughter are getting certified with me. So, every time I buy something for me, I feel like I have to buy a similar piece of equipment for them. ARGGH!!! This would have been sooo much easier to do when I was single.

 

[O-ring]

lobaugh,
My gf has been certified since 96 but has never had her own gear...when I got certed and I started getting my gear I got hit for personal gear, wetsuits, a light, and some other misc stuff she wanted. The only thing that has saved me from getting her a whole kit is that she doesn't think it makes economic sense since she is a "tropical snob" and wants no part of local quarries...she dives a few times a year at best.

Good luck...I can't imagine having to buy for three...it will be slow, but worth it! I am working on her now so I can get a drysuit...I find it helps to uhhh... understate, yeah that's a good word , the cost of the *whole* thing and then say, "well, I need underwear too", and yeah, "pockets are extra, I had no idea"..

 

[FredT]

There are 4 divers in my family. ;-)

This required some careful consideration. The fallout became:

1. Buy modular hardware of similar construction. I have regs from Oceanic, Scubapro, and Beauchat. All have the "same" first stage so internal parts interchange. Most share some common parts in the second stages.

2. Buy used or in bulk where practical. Tanks, weights, webbing, etc don't ever really wear out. I'm up to 20something "active" tanks, with several in "ready reserve" needing only a visual to bring them up to "fill me" status. Saving $50 to $100 a tank buying used starts to make sense at that level. I want to have enough bottles ready to go for the family to hit the water for a weekend without hassling with fills or rentals. I don't always make it, but most trips are "fill station free" at least in spirit. This comes form my early days diving in Oklahoma, where the nearest fill station was 3 hours from the lake if the marina's compressor "went down", as it had a habit of doing! 6 hours driving for one hour diving takes one hell of a bite out of a weekend.

3. Keep common parts common where practical. As an example I've "standardized" on Sherwood and Thermo tank valves. The innards and external hardware of these effectively interchange with one O-ring substitution necessary on the Thermo. This simplifies repairs as they can be done in batches, and inventory control is simpler due to fewer required parts.

4. Remember that gear can be "yours, mine, and ours." Not everybody needs to carry everything on all dives. Flags, reels, lift bags or sausages, and goodie bags come to mind here. "Personal" gear is that though. Plates and harnesses are "personal" since setup and harness adjustment can be a minor pain. Wings and cleaning supplies etc are common goods.

5. If you have ANY mechanical ability harness it and learn to do whatever maintenance you can. The guy at your LDS may be a saint, (If so help him by routing new students to him!) but there is no reason you should fund his retirement all by yourself. I went a step farther and started designing making scuba gear from scratch.

FT