Beginner with some (lots) of questions about equipment
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shakyray
New
Hi,
I too live and dive in Ontario most of the time and go often to the carribean for vacation. 4 years ago I was sort of where you are now; what to buy, is it versatile, reliable etc. Something I considered too was servicing; cost of and availablility both at my LDS and possible parts at my intended (initial) destinations. I don't know about anyone else but I prefer to deal locally and in person when it comes to servicing or repairing my gear; having good odds when away that a glitch can be fixed isn't a bad thing either.
Water temps in Ontario range from 35 degrees F (Tobermory) or even less ice diving to the mid 70's in summer in shallower lakes/rivers. Tropics are often 80+. This reality means that there is no single exposure solution for you. You have to make your best guess at what kind of diving are you going to be doing most and kit yourself for that to start.
When I started I bought a good, durable jacket-style BCD with plently of lift for the Sherman Tank weighting system (ha!) and both a 7mm 2-piece and a 3/2 full. As mentioned, cold water regs are a must. At the time I thought I would dive up here about a couple times a month in the spring to fall, after that the yearly trip south. As it turned out however, I now dive WAY more than that up here and have nearly re-mortgaged the house buying better and more advanced gear. Don't get me wrong, the original gear served me well as I grew into the sport and gave me over 200 dives without letting me down once. Still use it occaisionally now and makes great back-up.
If you can look into your crystal ball better than I did and determine what route you will end up going (and there are several) you can get your basics for that and work from there.
In my case, if I knew I would get this enthusiastic about diving up here I would have definately gone BP/W, drysuit and 3/2 full. Covers pretty much everything and the BP/W still travels fine with a 5 lb plate. And it's the most comfortable set-up for that Sherman Tank you need to strap to yourself to sink up here...
I too live and dive in Ontario most of the time and go often to the carribean for vacation. 4 years ago I was sort of where you are now; what to buy, is it versatile, reliable etc. Something I considered too was servicing; cost of and availablility both at my LDS and possible parts at my intended (initial) destinations. I don't know about anyone else but I prefer to deal locally and in person when it comes to servicing or repairing my gear; having good odds when away that a glitch can be fixed isn't a bad thing either.
Water temps in Ontario range from 35 degrees F (Tobermory) or even less ice diving to the mid 70's in summer in shallower lakes/rivers. Tropics are often 80+. This reality means that there is no single exposure solution for you. You have to make your best guess at what kind of diving are you going to be doing most and kit yourself for that to start.
When I started I bought a good, durable jacket-style BCD with plently of lift for the Sherman Tank weighting system (ha!) and both a 7mm 2-piece and a 3/2 full. As mentioned, cold water regs are a must. At the time I thought I would dive up here about a couple times a month in the spring to fall, after that the yearly trip south. As it turned out however, I now dive WAY more than that up here and have nearly re-mortgaged the house buying better and more advanced gear. Don't get me wrong, the original gear served me well as I grew into the sport and gave me over 200 dives without letting me down once. Still use it occaisionally now and makes great back-up.
If you can look into your crystal ball better than I did and determine what route you will end up going (and there are several) you can get your basics for that and work from there.
In my case, if I knew I would get this enthusiastic about diving up here I would have definately gone BP/W, drysuit and 3/2 full. Covers pretty much everything and the BP/W still travels fine with a 5 lb plate. And it's the most comfortable set-up for that Sherman Tank you need to strap to yourself to sink up here...
tacky
Contributor
I need about 2 lbs (1kg) less weight when using a shell dry suit and a 400 g undersuit and the shell suit I'm using for diving in Norway (temperatures comparable to Canada) than with my 5mm wetsuit. Using a 7mm wetsuit with a 7 mm shorty on top of that I'd need a lot more weight.
And I would still not feel warm enough for diving in temperatures below 50 (10C).
I'm surprised by the seemingly high number of Canadians who use wetsuits for temperatures that are comparably as low as over here. (especially applies to lake divers).
In Norway, we have som freaks diving in 7mm wetsuits, but my impression is that these are people who don't spend a lot of time under water. Everyone who dives frequently that I know dives with a dry suit and almost all of those eventually end up buying a trilaminate suit.
If you can't shell out the cash for a top of the line dry suit, try getting your hand on something used that gives a relatively good fit although in the end buying a quality brand like Ursuit, Bare, Dui or something similar new will pay off. I didn't and now I'm sufffering the economical consequences
And I would still not feel warm enough for diving in temperatures below 50 (10C).
I'm surprised by the seemingly high number of Canadians who use wetsuits for temperatures that are comparably as low as over here. (especially applies to lake divers).
In Norway, we have som freaks diving in 7mm wetsuits, but my impression is that these are people who don't spend a lot of time under water. Everyone who dives frequently that I know dives with a dry suit and almost all of those eventually end up buying a trilaminate suit.
If you can't shell out the cash for a top of the line dry suit, try getting your hand on something used that gives a relatively good fit although in the end buying a quality brand like Ursuit, Bare, Dui or something similar new will pay off. I didn't and now I'm sufffering the economical consequences
trustmetom
Guest
Ok, here's my advice: Continue to rent equipment until you know what you like. Ask if your local dive shop will apply part or all of your rental fees to eventual purchase. When you do finally purchase equipment, don't stint on quality just to save a few bucks. Your life depends on your gear, especially your regulator and BCD. You can buy skis or a backpack or a tent and if it fails, you are inconvenienced. If your underwater gear fails, you could die. New with a warranty is best. If you buy something used, be sure to have your dive shop check it out before you purchase. If you buy at discount online, be sure you know what you are getting; I almost bought a regulator setup once that looked good but was NOT nitrox enabled. The online discounter didn't tell me that; a fellow diver pointed it out to me.
Be sure whatever you buy can be serviced locally. Having to send equipment through the mail to be serviced because your local shop doesn't work on it adds cost and time to your new hobby.
Buy equipment that is appropriate for wherever you will be doing the majority of your diving. Don't buy a travel kit if you are diving close to home most of the time.
Hope this helps.
Be sure whatever you buy can be serviced locally. Having to send equipment through the mail to be serviced because your local shop doesn't work on it adds cost and time to your new hobby.
Buy equipment that is appropriate for wherever you will be doing the majority of your diving. Don't buy a travel kit if you are diving close to home most of the time.
Hope this helps.
Judy Swann
New
Personally I think that you should research products online, and then shop locally. Check out the dive shops in your area. If you live in Southern Ontario there are lots to choose from. Look at Ontario Underwater Council for a shop near you. Even if you "window shop" for a while it's got to be better than shopping online. Would you buy a pair of shoes online? Where in Ontario are you planning on diving? Buy your regulator and BCD and possibly rent a wet suit until you figure things out. As far as southern locations you see alot of women wearing "skins" which are shoulder to ankle lycra suits which add a little warmth and some protection from jellyfish.
Of course you can ...In my case, I require (when diving single AL 80 cft) 30 lbs to dive a 7 + 7 shorty, 20 lbs to dive a 7mm + chicken vest, 16.5 lbs to dive one layer of 7mm. You can substract about 5 lbs when I borrow my GF 100 CFT steel.
On another note, amazingly enough, most folks around here end up not saving much weight while diving dry due to the amount of underwear required to dive in cold water.
boilerpetpal
New
Just a side note based on my own personal experience. Ask yourself - how far am I willing to drive in order to have my regs and BCD serviced? Then find out, for the regs and BCD you are interested in, how much is service each year? I found out the hard way that there are regs and BCDs that are really expensive to service. I am not saying don't do it because we all know we have to every year but there is a variation in cost. If you buy a brand that your scuba shop doesn't work on how far is it to the shop that services your new equipment? Just another angle to the decision to purchase.
scubajo007
Contributor
If you are diving the year around in Italy then you need at least two different suits, one for summer where a 3/2mm farmerjohn with a thin rashvest would be fine the water temperature comes up around 30 deg C, in the winter the water temperature will be around 15 deg C so you should use a 5mm wetsuit with a 3mm hood. I dont know what your budget is but traveling around between cold, temperate and warm waters means you need different suits. I do like my own as opposed to rented suits, they can be bit nasty and may not fit very well, thus I suggest you get a suit suitable for the first dive location and add as you go along.
gcarter
Contributor
Without challanging what you said (I'm not), I will say that you don't provide a comparison so the amount of weight doesn't mean anything to me. What weight did you use with a wetsuit - and was all of your other kit the same so it is apples to apples?
**Edit**
To be clear too, taking weight off of your belt because you are wearing heavier kit does not help with the statement I was responding to - which was a desire to shift to dry so he wouldn't have to carry so much weight.
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