What Gear to purchase first?

[Gamby]

Im a college student who recently got AOW certified as well as dry suit, nitrox and night diver certs (all from PADI). We have a diving club here at school that provides low end gear to members for dive trips/classes. The club primarily dives in the great lakes in northern NY, close to where the school is. Also, the club will be purchasing dry suits so i dont need to worry about that right now. I'm looking to start getting my own gear and am not sure where to start. Both the regulators(Aeris A2) and BCD's (Aeris Sport Jacket style) that the club have work fine but leave a lot to be desired. I don't have any frame of reference because i haven't had the chance to dive anything else, but the regulator seems to be a little difficult to breath on at times and from what I've read other regulators would probably do a much better job. As for the BCD, i have dove another Jacket style BCD and was better able to distribute my weight and remain trim in comparison to the one the club provides. The club's BCD lacks pockets on the tank straps so all my weight in is the quick removal weight pouches and as such I struggle to remain horizontal in the water and often roll forward on the surface. I'm interested in trying out a BP/W as many people here swear by them.

Edit: I have most of the basic gears already such as mask, fins, gloves, and a primary and secondary dive light. Club supplies other basic things such as safety sausage, slate ect.

For financial reasons, I can only purchase one or the other which is unfortunate.

What gear would be best to purchase first and for what reason?

(Also, i would be purchasing the gear used to save some money)

Thanks a lot!

 

[Bubbletrubble]

A BP/W isn't the be-all-end-all of diving. A simple jacket BCD should work fine for any OW recreational diver. The rub is that most divers don't have the patience/imagination to figure out how/where to position weight on the rig to promote proper static horizontal trim. You should explore other inexpensive options for optimizing weight distribution on the club's BCDs -- removable XS Scuba weight pockets can be positioned on tank cambands or a weightbelt can be loaded up with weight and attached directly to the tank. Since BP/Ws place weight over one's lungs (when the diver is horizontally positioned in the water) and are negatively buoyant in "stock" configuration (due to unnecessary padding), BP/Ws probably require less tweaking for trim and allow the diver to wear less ballast. Those are nice advantages. Definitely borrow a BP/W and try it out for a few dives. When you do, make sure that the harness is adjusted properly. That can make a huge difference. If you're tight on money, look to buy a used rig.

As for the reg, if I were in your shoes, I would just learn how to tune the Aeris brand of regs. It's probably a rather straightforward procedure requiring no specialized repair tools that would take all of a couple of minutes to do. Purchase an inexpensive i.p. gauge ($15-$20) to keep tabs on the performance of the first stage. (Frankly, I think that an i.p. gauge should be considered essential dive gear and be used during every pre-dive gear check.) I'm willing to bet that the reg being "a little difficult to breath" [sic] had more to do with poor tuning of the second stage than it being an inherently crappy reg. Another possibility is that the second stage is in need of being overhauled, since rental gear is typically used "harder" than privately owned stuff. Any time/money spent on learning more about the club's reg fleet will serve you well once you have the wherewithal to afford your own. Don't be one of those divers that regards his reg as a magical black box that enables UW breathing.

 

[ScottyJoefish]

Save your money until you can buy new gear that fits and is of high quality. Use the schools gear until then. The problem with the regs breathing hard could be lack of regular servicing. Used gear is just that used. If you feel the need to buy used - be sure to have it serviced and checked out by a reputable service center. That cost alone should make you think twice about buying someones used life support system.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Dive some more! Rent gear for a while. Then I would buy a Reg and BCD probably save enough to get both at the same time.

 

[knowone]

BEUCHAT Regulator Octopus and Gauges (eBay item 110639765366 end time 31-Jan-11 12:23:02 AEDST) : Sporting Goods

I bought a VX10 iceberg, DIN with adaptor, a few years old
from a dude in Manhattan of few months ago for $57.11 USD.

Serviced MINT.

 

[FireInMyBones]

The order I recommend:​

Mask and Fins Whatever you like. I bought used Jet fins on ebay for [red]$30[/red] + shipping. Just about any mask will do (though I recommend one that fits well ).

I never liked having people pee in my rental suit, so I went with a wetsuit next. On sale around [red]$150[/red]

Next I bought my own regulator. After owning many, I have found that a middle of the line reg and identical safe second with a simple SPG is a very reasonable way to go. I bought my single tank setup for around [red]$450[/red] (one first stage, two identical second stages, SPG and all the hoses).
I assume that you learned tables in your class, rather than wasting money on a computer, it is cheaper to go with a digital depth gauge and timer. They can be found cheap [red]$150[/red]if you look for them and do about the same thing. Plus it keeps you in charge of your diving. A wrist compass can be had for like [red]$30[/red].

Some people have made their own back plate, if you do not have the resources you can buy one for around [red]$75[/red]. A wing will run you around [red]$300[/red]. The harness can be had for around [red]$30[/red]. You do not have to go this route, I mentioned the prices because you said you were interested. A cheap $40 used BC can work too, but I love my BP/W.

 

[Stu S.]

Most of us have an array of items that you can't typically rent. You will probably need these sooner or later, and your college may not provide them:

Safety sausage (SMB)
Signal mirror
Knife or shears
Flashlights, large and small - the new LED's are great
Slate
Slate with compass is better

These are not particularly expensive.