The amount of diluted shampoo is negligible and I bet lots less impactful than peeing in the wetsuit.I consider defog cost to be not even worth considering and stream to sea is reef safe. But to each there own.
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
The amount of diluted shampoo is negligible and I bet lots less impactful than peeing in the wetsuit.I consider defog cost to be not even worth considering and stream to sea is reef safe. But to each there own.
Sealife Micro 3.0 camera and light set
I guess that this thread has changed direction from me whining about the LDS business model to a critique of my gear choices, so why not?
Now the reason this matters is this makes a large difference in what your choice of gear should be. For divers in group 2, a BP&W setup, being endlessly modifyable is great, but for divers in group 1, it's a phaff. The gear hasn't changed, it's the expectation / attitude of the diver that has changed. If you think you might progress to some techincal diving, or are even interested to want to progress your skills beyond the basics, then this sort of "flexible gear" is really a great buy.
On the other hand, if you just want to dive, perhaps on holiday, are happy enough diving without pushing any limits or doing anything more challanging, you'd be better of with a gear set more optimised for that case. A comfy, robust jacket BCD, yes, often frowned upon by more technical divers, but really, for purely recreational diving they just work. Easy to put on and take off, simple to maintain, comfy to wear, and not really user servicable, this is perfect for our Group 2 divers!
One question to the OP, what sort of scuba diver are you in terms of how you see your scuba gear?
Let me, try to explain!
There are broadly two kinds of divers in my experience.
1) Divers for whom the actual diving is the sport. The gear they use is a necessary evil, and is seen simply as a tool to enable them to dive
2) Divers for whom the sport is the diving, but also everything else, and especially the gear itself. They are as interested in the gear as the dives - well, maybe not quite, until you get to CCR level...... ;-)
Divers in group 1, really need to choose gear that suits how they dive and stick with it. Yes, get it serviced appropriately and look after it, but they generally don't want to spend too much time understanding or modifying / changing that gear. They'll come back from a dive, wash it, dry it, put it away and that's it.
Divers in group 2 will change everything all the time, modify, rebuild, experiment. For them, this is at least half the fun of the sport! It gives them something to do when out of the water, which, lets be honest, unless you are lucky enough to live somewhere you can dive from your doorstep, and your job allows you to do that, is the majority of the time
Currently, I'm not a diver. However, given how I engage in all of my other sports, I will almost certainly end up in group 2. (My wife is a firm group 1.)
I considered a BP&W set up, but it seemed like when putting together a BP&W kit, there are a lot of variables to evaluate and choose from. I figured that my chances of getting all those variables correct and assembling a BP&W kit that worked well was quite small when I have zero experience. A lightweight back inflate BCD seemed like a good compromise and a "gateway" to a BP&W setup further down the road.
The BCD is the article that has given me the most angst. I'm going to have to just pick one with the characteristics that I want and hope that it works out well for me. Of the three I am currently considering, I personally know a lot of people that use and like the Rogue, so that's the one I will probably end up with.
The Garmin computer/watch was an easy choice because I already use (and love) a very similar Garmin watch so I am familiar with its functions. Also, the relatively long range of the Garmin T1 transmitter means that I can monitor my wife's air while I am diving, which I like.
I picked the Atomic ST1 regulator because it's made in the USA, which I prefer, and it's the only reg I could find that is machined from solid steel, rather than chrome plated brass. I also really like the ball swivel feature that allows the second stage to pivot freely. I'm sure I could have picked a regulator that provides roughly equivalent function at a lower price, but I'm willing to pay a bit extra to get exactly what I want.
Fins and snorkel are the two items I've actually been able to try out a bit before I purchased. I used a number of different models and these fins and snorkel were the most comfortable and felt the best in use of any I tried.
I'm still not fully sold on the integrated inflator/secondary air source. I can see a lot of benefits of the traditional, separate octopus. I may actually buy a traditional octopus and try both systems and see which I prefer before I ditch the octo in favor of the inflator/secondary combo. So, for a while at least, I may end up with a dorky rig with both the inflator/secondary and the separate octo.
All the rest of my choices are pretty generic.
. . .
I considered a BP&W set up, but it seemed like when putting together a BP&W kit, there are a lot of variables to evaluate and choose from. I figured that my chances of getting all those variables correct and assembling a BP&W kit that worked well was quite small when I have zero experience. A lightweight back inflate BCD seemed like a good compromise and a "gateway" to a BP&W setup further down the road. . . .
SpitBuying mask defogger is a waste. Get baby shampoo