A Newbie Buying Gear!

[Devarona]

Hey guys! Im entirely new to scuba! Just like the 700 skydives under my belt, I jist know when Im gonna get hooked with something so I'm gonna take the plumge and buy gear.
Heres what one of my local shops is offering me:

$2500 with tax included
-Knighthawk BCD with secondary
-Suunto Cobra 3
-Atomic B2 sealed second stage with case
-Atomic fins, mask, snorkel
-kevlar gloves
-fourth element boots
-knife
-26 lbs of soft weights
-henderson hood

Thoughts!?!?

 

[doctormike]

Welcome! Glad that you found diving...

Generally, I don't think that it's a great idea for new divers to buy a package of equipment, especially if it's not particularly cheap. But to answer this question more fully, it would be helpful to know a few things. Remember, you asked for "thoughts", not just a yes/no answer for that particular package.

1) Are you certified yet? If so, have you done a few dives after certification?

2) Where do you do most of your diving? Is that at home, or do you only dive when you travel?

 

[icechip]

You might want to try and first rent gear until you're sure you're into this sport. Then you can slowly pick up individual pieces of equipment as you go along (maybe used or new), all the while getting more comfortable with what you want to do with your diving. That's a lot of money to shell out at once...YMMV

 

[tbone1004]

Hey guys! Im entirely new to scuba! Just like the 700 skydives under my belt, I jist know when Im gonna get hooked with something so I'm gonna take the plumge and buy gear.
Heres what one of my local shops is offering me:

$2500 with tax included
-Knighthawk BCD with secondary
-Suunto Cobra 3
-Atomic B2 sealed second stage with case
-Atomic fins, mask, snorkel
-kevlar gloves
-fourth element boots
-knife
-26 lbs of soft weights
-henderson hood

Thoughts!?!?

I'll somewhat disagree with what was said, but here is how I would spend that kind of money

Knighthawk becomes Deep Sea Supply backplate and wing for $500
Cobra becomes a Perdix for $800
Atomic B2 becomes Dive Rite XT doubles package for $700
Fins-Dive Rite XT's-$150
Mask, this is all personal preference, but expect $50-$100 for that
So that's the important stuff for just over $2k. All of the gear except the backplate can be purchased from Cave Adventurers and they may cut a bit of a deal for you.

That is all truly top of the line gear that will last you the rest of your diving career.
Snorkel, buy the cheapest one you can find, you don't need it. You are scuba diving, not snorkeling
Boots, this is all personal preference, I like the NRS paddle boots, can get them at REI. Check out their paddle gloves as well.
Knive you don't need, 26lbs of weight is excessive, you don't need that much.
Hood you don't need unless you're in a drysuit. If it is cold enough for a hood, it is cold enough for a hooded vest. Pinnacle makes my preferred one, which you can also get from Cave Adventurers.

You might spend a bit closer to $3k for all of that, but you will have gear that will actually last you forever. The Cobra is not a great computer, the B2 is a great regulator, but expensive for what it is. The Knighthawk I don't like, but it's not bad, just expensive for what it is. Look at the type of diving you want to do, and work backwards. If it is good enough for those of us doing cave dives and deep wreck penetration, shouldn't it be good enough for recreational diving?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

There are other options but all of your gear choices will come down to what you plan to do in the future. Where do you see your diving taking you in a year, two years? Before spending a bunch of money ask yourself those questions. I disagree with a hood not being necessary. I wear one on most dives. A hooded vest may be overkill depending on the site. You can get perfectly serviceable fins for under a hundred bucks. A mask can be had for as little as 25. If it fits. I sell a simple j tube snorkel for under 20 bucks. The knighthawk is a nice bc but it's big, bulky, and expensive. I'd rent a few different types before buying one. Single tank reg set? Under 600 bucks. For a new recreational diver there are any number of good computers under 300 bucks. Forget the knife unless you need one for your local conditions. Trauma shears or line cutter is all you need. I have an article on gear for new divers I'll send you if you provide an email address. My email is in my signature line. I'd also recommend you get a copy of my book. There is an entire chapter devoted to gear selection and some information your lds may not be happy you have regarding pricing in the scuba gear industry. 20 bucks (print ) or 10 for the Kindle version from amazon could save you a ton of money.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Unless you are buying tanks as well don't buy weights to start. Find out exactly how much you need, not what they say you need, by doing several proper checks over your first few dives. Then buy your own weights.

 

[Devarona]

Welcome! Glad that you found diving...

Generally, I don't think that it's a great idea for new divers to buy a package of equipment, especially if it's not particularly cheap. But to answer this question more fully, it would be helpful to know a few things. Remember, you asked for "thoughts", not just a yes/no answer for that particular package.

1) Are you certified yet? If so, have you done a few dives after certification?

2) Where do you do most of your diving? Is that at home, or do you only dive when you travel?

I did discovery scuba in Puerto Rico and instantly loved it. I live in SoCal so the water oujt here is cold but so are the skies! before I made my first skydive, I knew it was going to be my long life passion (now 700 skydives later!) and Scuba is definitely giving me that same feeling!

I did the written test last weekend and am getting my pool and beach dive this week!

 

[Devarona]

I'll somewhat disagree with what was said, but here is how I would spend that kind of money

Knighthawk becomes Deep Sea Supply backplate and wing for $500
Cobra becomes a Perdix for $800
Atomic B2 becomes Dive Rite XT doubles package for $700
Fins-Dive Rite XT's-$150
Mask, this is all personal preference, but expect $50-$100 for that
So that's the important stuff for just over $2k. All of the gear except the backplate can be purchased from Cave Adventurers and they may cut a bit of a deal for you.

That is all truly top of the line gear that will last you the rest of your diving career.
Snorkel, buy the cheapest one you can find, you don't need it. You are scuba diving, not snorkeling
Boots, this is all personal preference, I like the NRS paddle boots, can get them at REI. Check out their paddle gloves as well.
Knive you don't need, 26lbs of weight is excessive, you don't need that much.
Hood you don't need unless you're in a drysuit. If it is cold enough for a hood, it is cold enough for a hooded vest. Pinnacle makes my preferred one, which you can also get from Cave Adventurers.

You might spend a bit closer to $3k for all of that, but you will have gear that will actually last you forever. The Cobra is not a great computer, the B2 is a great regulator, but expensive for what it is. The Knighthawk I don't like, but it's not bad, just expensive for what it is. Look at the type of diving you want to do, and work backwards. If it is good enough for those of us doing cave dives and deep wreck penetration, shouldn't it be good enough for recreational diving?

Darn! thank you so much for the tips!
So besides the Cobra, what dive computed would you get that leaves me in the same budget?

 

[tbone1004]

Deep Sea Supply is in socal and makes their equipment in Pasadena.... Definitely worth contacting them for the BC, will save you a lot of money and it has some tremendous advantages that no other manufacturer has for your diving. The bolt on weight plates allow you to take around 16lbs off of your weight belt when compared to a standard jacket BC. It will also feel a lot more like your skydiving harnesses than a jacket BC will.

For the computer I'd just buy a used one off of ebay. My normal "go to" is the Nitek Duo and it's Seiko made siblings. It's a simple computer, but it will last forever. The Perdix is infinitely better, but you can usually get the Niteks for $150 or so on ebay. What I was listing is true top of the line gear, not necessarily the most expensive, but truly top of the line. If you buy used you can save in other areas, but I would call Cave Adventurers and see if they'll help build some stuff up for you for gear to see if they can save you some money. You get it shipped free with no sales tax which helps as well.

 

[Devarona]

There are other options but all of your gear choices will come down to what you plan to do in the future. Where do you see your diving taking you in a year, two years? Before spending a bunch of money ask yourself those questions. I disagree with a hood not being necessary. I wear one on most dives. A hooded vest may be overkill depending on the site. You can get perfectly serviceable fins for under a hundred bucks. A mask can be had for as little as 25. If it fits. I sell a simple j tube snorkel for under 20 bucks. The knighthawk is a nice bc but it's big, bulky, and expensive. I'd rent a few different types before buying one. Single tank reg set? Under 600 bucks. For a new recreational diver there are any number of good computers under 300 bucks. Forget the knife unless you need one for your local conditions. Trauma shears or line cutter is all you need. I have an article on gear for new divers I'll send you if you provide an email address. My email is in my signature line. I'd also recommend you get a copy of my book. There is an entire chapter devoted to gear selection and some information your lds may not be happy you have regarding pricing in the scuba gear industry. 20 bucks (print ) or 10 for the Kindle version from amazon could save you a ton of money.

Send me the article!
efra1223@yahoo.com
My LDS does not sell gear, hes a skydiving buddy of mine who got his cert for the kicks of having more friends Scuba.