Just got certified ? about package deal

[Sas]

Good luck trying to locate much of the more desirable gear as rental equipment. Most shops do not put the pricer and often times more desirable equipment into the rental fleet. I agree with Darcey's asertion that the Scubapro MK25/S600 combo is difficult to second guess...

Good shops will have their good stuff available for borrowing so you can try it out. That is how I make up my mind about my gear purchases now (after my first lot was inappropriate). So far I have not been charged any rental fees for this. You can also ask other divers to loan you their gear. I've borrowed different types of stages, different types of doubles, torches, different types of BP/W both single and double set ups and different harness types, fins and so on from both stores and other divers. I wish I'd realised most people are quite happy to loan divers gear to try out when I started diving!

 

[Splash-X]

I understand your point as that had run through my mind and is a very good point. I didn't care about the molded mouthpieces on the primary reg with and Air2 set up until I was told an OOA story with an Air2 and molded mouthpiece on the primary 2nd stage that ended up choking the OOA diver. This was because the mouthpiece was too big for their mouth because the "sides" extended too far back as they are designed so that you hold the reg. in your mouth with all of your teeth, not just the first half. So, if you have a small mouth and the reg you're being given has a molded mouthpiece that has been fitted for someone with a larger mouth and you have a bad gag reflex...well...yeah. You better hope you're not too far down!

A regulator can easily be used with only half of the mouth piece in your mouth, so sucking on HALF of the "U".

Any diver who can fit the whole entire molded mouth piece in comfortably must have some HUGE chompers. I cut about 1/3 of the length off of my molded mouth piece so it fit comfortably.


My wife and I both own the MK25 / S600 setup with molded mouth pieces. We LOVE the regulator. Its small and performs like a champ.

Good shops will have their good stuff available for borrowing so you can try it out. That is how I make up my mind about my gear purchases now (after my first lot was inappropriate). So far I have not been charged any rental fees for this. You can also ask other divers to loan you their gear. I've borrowed different types of stages, different types of doubles, torches, different types of BP/W both single and double set ups and different harness types, fins and so on from both stores and other divers. I wish I'd realised most people are quite happy to loan divers gear to try out when I started diving!

That is kind of my point. A good shop will assist you in trying out different gear styles. You may not be able to rent top of the line gear but they have middle of the road gear to get a feel for a jacket style vs a rear inflate vs a rear + side.

 

[Scott L]

Good shops will have their good stuff available for borrowing so you can try it out. That is how I make up my mind about my gear purchases now (after my first lot was inappropriate). So far I have not been charged any rental fees for this. You can also ask other divers to loan you their gear. I've borrowed different types of stages, different types of doubles, torches, different types of BP/W both single and double set ups and different harness types, fins and so on from both stores and other divers. I wish I'd realised most people are quite happy to loan divers gear to try out when I started diving!

Good point and that also goes to you Jupiter 31. Although my Halycon rig was not in my LDS's rental fleet the owner made his like set-up avialiable for use. One way or another and they will find a way for you to demo the gear. I wish I had all this good advise in the beginning and I would have saved a ton of $$$...

 

[paddler3d]

Congrats on your certification!

The ScubaPro regulator you list above is a solid regulator. You won't be disappointed with them. My ScubaPro reg is my secondary and my primary are my Apex. As for service, neither of them are cheap, but it costs me a few bucks more to service my Apex regs.

Buying your regulators and computer first and then later getting your BCD isn't bad. You get an opportunity to then try different BCD like everyone above is suggesting.

If you have your own regs and computer, you can travel and rent the rest of the stuff. You can get a regulator bag that is the size of a tiny briefcase. Keep this with you as carry on in the plane. Also, you know the history of your own regs.

Personally I'd avoid the AI consul computer and go with a wrist mount. There are a variety of reasons. I low vis I found it was harder to see a consul. If you want to try someone elses reg set up, they may be willing to part with their regs, but not their computer if they are using a wrist mount. I found it was easier to keep an eye on my depth, dive time, dive time remaining (NDL), & deco obligations when your computer was on your wrist and easy to see. The AI is nice in a computer and you can get wrist mounts that are AI as well. The Dive Rite Nitek Duo is a nice little computer at a good cost and if you start diving with two gases, it will grow with you.

Personally I'm not a big fan of the AIR 2 things. It takes practice to breath out of one of those things and manage your lift as well. I don't even like the conventional octopus system and it's teaching. My secondary reg is worn on a short hose on a necklace around my neck while my primary is on a 5ft hose that is routed under my right arm, across my chest, around the back of my head and to my mouth and that is the reg that I will donate. Also I sling a pony with it's own reg as a redundant air source. A Spare Air can also sort of meet this need.

When you try out various BC's try the whole BP/W thing. They are versatile and are surprisingly comfortable. Something that I do not think was mentioned above was that the BP removes some weight from weight belt. A SS plate is 5-5.5# and that is less weight on your waist and puts it on top of your lungs. It helps with trim.

Good luck in your endeavors!

 

[Crush]

Five thoughts:
4. Like others, I am not wowed at all by the Air2, nor for that matter by an air-integrated computer. A wrist mounted, non-AI, nitrox-capable computer would be very good, as would a real octo.

I have both an air-integrated computer and a wrist-mounted computer as a back-up. If you can afford it, such a setup gives you excellent safety and may only cost marginally more than a computer plus a digital bottom timer (the latter is for backup).

While I like having the option of both, if I had to go with one only, I would opt for the wrist-mounted unit as it is more convenient than always looking off the console for depth or N2 loading information. Having said that, sometimes the price difference between gauges (backup depth in case of computer failure and tank pressure) and an air-integrated computer is not great, so getting an air-integrated computer is only a small trade-up over getting gauges.

A real octo is far more comfortable (and safe) to use than a BCD-incorporated unit owing to the very short hose length of the BCD unit. If you end up doing any specialty diving courses (e.g., ice diving, cavern/cave diving, etc.) you will quickly find yourself required to buy a real octo and a seven to eight foot hose to go with it.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lead_carrier]

So I just got certified about 3 weeks ago and I am hooked. I go to Hawaii about 5 or 6 times a year and I would like to purchase my own equipment. I went to my LDS today and they have a package deal that I thought looked good. Here is the link

dolphinscuba.com/Scubapro_MK25_S600_ProPlus_2_Package_p/pkg_sp_mk25.s600.pp2c.htm

Do you think this is a good setup and price? Sorry about the link. It wouldn't let me post the url...


Thanks Scott

It's a good price and all of it is top notch equipment. Personally, I don't care for the S600 because you're paying for the macho look. You're going to get arguments both for and against the AirII. Personally, I use one and have no problem with them at all. The Knighthawk is a very good bc. Air intergrated computer? A personal preference. I prefer it on my wrist, but you have to make sure you just don't take it off and lay it down somewhere between dives.

Personally, I'd lean more toward this package. Scubapro MK16/G250HP Veo 100NX Package
A bit less expensive but still top quality gear.