Beginner set-up

[Malene]

Mares rover kit
Hi everyone, first of all, I am from Quebec Canada and just got my OW cert. I learned from your site that I should be renting gear before buying but , as I don`t plan to take more advanced diving courses, I wanted your opinion. There is a deal at a dive store here in Quebec that include a Mares Rover bcd, rover reg. and octo, mission 2 console for 700$ canadian. For a beginner, is it a good set-up ? I think the price is good. Thanks in advance and sorry for my english cause I am french canadian.

As everybody has advised you before, I would suggest you take your time before buying any equipment. It is better to try it, discuss with other divers before spending a lot of money.

Also you don't have to buy everything at once. I first bought a wetsuit, that I had custom made. So from this moment, I did have to fight my way into the wetsuit, and felt really confortable.

Then I bought a regulator, and I got the Aqualung Legend although I was still considering myself a beginner at the time. Like Oly5050 says, there is no reason for beginner to get lower quality equipment, on the contrary. My diving improved a lot with this regulator that I knew I could trust and that is very confortable in every conditions. It is more expensive, but you know you are going to keep it a very long time.

So little by little, I bought everything taking into consideration where I go diving, discussions with other divers, forums like this one... That is what I would advise any new divers to do.

Bonnes plongées dans l'eau froide (tu es plus courageux que moi... je ne plonge qu'en vacances, quand je pars vers des destinations où l'eau est à plus de 25°C°

 

[Bronson]

Francois,

Ce sont d'excellentes nouvelles sur vitre nouvelle certification en eau liibre. Felicitations.
(This is wonderful bews on your new open water certification. Congratulations).

Great advice from your new friends on scuba board. As for my views:
- Do try (rent) before you buy.
- Go diving in the waters you will probably dive with a club or local dive shop. See what others are using. They try that and make an informed decision.
- Do not do as i did....i biught what the local dive shop suggested and within a year i was buying new stuff. This is a bad use of money.
- Check out several types of BCDs (jacket, back inflate, Back plate.Wings). see what others are using.
- If you dive cold (St. Laurence Seaway) you will be in a dry suite and i am afraid the Mares Rover bcd may not meet your needs. When you buy a regulator set up look for balanced regulators and maybe for cold water if that is what you are doing.

As for additional training, i used to take courses to learn to be a better diver under the instructor's supervision and it gave me added confidence.

Bonne Chance!

 

[Xaryo]

François, trouve-toi un club de plongée et parle-leur. C'est la meilleure façon de commencer. Aussi, En commençant, le premier équipement que tu devrais te procurer est un bon wetsuit. C'est l'item le plus personnel. On sait jamais qui a pissé dans ton wetsuit de location.

Après, tu y vas pour la "quincaillerie". Avec les coûts d'entretiens annuels, si tu plonges pas souvent, ca revient cher la plongée. En louant le détendeur, la veste et les bouteilles, ca te permet d'essayer plusieurs modèles avant de te décider.

En été, le fleuve en Ontario peut monter jusqu'à 75F facilement, 5 ou 7 mm fait la job. Si c'est pour les Escoumins ou du dessous de thermocline dans un lac, ça va te prendre un bon 14 mm.

Et aussi, acheter sur Internet pour avoir du stock moins cher peut être une bonne idée pour des petits gugus, mais pour de l'équipement qui doit recevoir un service, tu es mieux de faire affaire avec une boutique pour pouvoir parler à des gens. Oui, c'est souvent un peu plus cher, mais tu as du service et des gens qui peuvent t'aider à régler tes petits problèmes d'équipement. En plus ça te permet de "flâner" dans la boutique et de connaître plus de monde, de poser des questions et d,être en contact avec d,autres types d'équipement.

L'important c'est de continuer à plonger et d'apprendre.

 

[boulderjohn]

Aussi, En commençant, le premier équipement que tu devrais te procurer est un bon wetsuit. C'est l'item le plus personnel. On sait jamais qui a pissé dans ton wetsuit de location.
...

En été, le fleuve en Ontario peut monter jusqu'à 75F facilement, 5 ou 7 mm fait la job. Si c'est pour les Escoumins ou du dessous de thermocline dans un lac, ça va te prendre un bon 14 mm.

He may prefer a dry suit, although it will cost a lot more.

 

[Xaryo]

He may prefer a dry suit, although it will cost a lot more.

If he's not diving a lot, the investment of a dry suit may be to much. Especially since beginner don't often do "maniac" diving like in november-april, hence the unnecessary drysuit.
A good wet will be enough to begin with.

 

[Crush]

He may prefer a dry suit, although it will cost a lot more.

I am not being sarcastic - I am surprised that you understand French, boulderjohn. I am also impressed.

For what it is worth, I agree with boulderjohn that a good drysuit is one of the best investments a Canadian diver can ever make. However, I also agree with Xaryo in that you may as well tough it out in a wetsuit until you are sure that you are going to stick with diving, then get yourself an awesome suit (DUI TLS 350 and Whites Fusion 2 come to mind).

Xaryo, your observation of "pissé dans ton wetsuit" is accurate - you want it to be your own wetsuit. Someone once told me "there are two kinds of divers - those that pee in their wetsuits, and those who lie."

 

[Papa_Bear]

A good exposure suit my be the difference between a diver and some one who used to dive! It is the most important purchase you can make! If your uncomfortable you will not dive! Period, sadly the end of the story! If you spend the money for a good dry suit then you will use it all year round because your comfortable and your justifying the expense

 

[Crush]

A good exposure suit my be the difference between a diver and some one who used to dive!

I dove a wetsuit in 1C-7C water for a year and a bit. Finally, one night I was struggling to climb into a cold, wet 7mm wetsuit (we had done two dives earlier in the day) when the ambient air was cold and it was pitch black. We were going to do a night dive. I swore and swore... The dive was good, but soon thereafter I got sized up for a custom drysuit. We did a similar dive the next year, and I (in a drysuit) was laughing at the other poor souls who were diving wet...

 

[boulderjohn]

I am not being sarcastic - I am surprised that you understand French, boulderjohn. I am also impressed.

Back in the day I could read French fairly well, but it has been many years. I was always terrible at creating it, though, which is why I replied in English.

 

[Crush]

Back in the day I could read French fairly well, but it has been many years. I was always terrible at creating it, though, which is why I replied in English.

That is to be commended. My spoken French is very poor. Funny - at work I am taught how to greet people and to be able to address the Assistant Deputy Minister of Defence, but not how to conjugate verbs - I call it being "functionally illiterate."