The kit should be fine for your needs. As others have said, what really differentiates basic recreational scuba kit is;
1) Personal fit and comfort.
2) Cost.
Take a look at the article I wrote about selecting/purchasing a BCD; it'll give you a better idea on what options exist:
Scuba Equipment : Selecting a Buoyancy Control Device (BCD)
It's difficult to 'future-proof' your scuba diving gear, when you don't have a reasonable idea how (or if) your diving activities may develop in the long-term. If in doubt, 'keep it simple'... get something economical and basic.
IMHO, the only real 'future-proofed' configuration is BP&W (
many threads here about that). This is because it is a modular BCD system that can be upgraded and amended as you go along.
Atm I have a 5mm and 7mm surfing wettie..will this be ok deeper down?
The wetsuit will compress as you go deeper. You may also encounter thermocline, where the water is distinctly separated into 'levels' of different temperature (
lower levels being colder).
It's hard to predict what your personal tolerance for cold water is. I'd suggest doing the dives, and if you
do get cold, then address this issue by getting a thicker wetsuit and/or adding layers to your exposure protection.
Under-layers to your wetsuit is a good way to increase warmth, without the expense of a whole new wetsuit. I use a
4th Element 'Thermocline' vest... it works very well and adds 3mm equivalent to my torso area.
Sharkskin is another product that can help improve wetsuit thermal performance.
A hood is critical if you are feeling cold.
Do I need a certain amount of dives before doing the AOW?..also seen mixed opinions about this.
There's two ways to look at the AOW course;
1) An extension of the OW course, that helps you reinforce the core scuba skills, under further safe supervision.
2) A developmental course, that extends your basic skill beyond entry-level.
I've run AOW courses for both newly qualified and intermediately experienced divers. The course is very flexible and it is possible to set beneficial goals in either circumstance.
Personally, I like to use the AOW course as an
extension of the OW course - because I feel that most divers get a tanglible benefit from having a further 5 dives to reinforce their skills and competence. The emphasis being on the name - Advanced
Open Water (i.e it is still an open-water level course).
You should
avoid the temptation to view the AOW course as an 'advanced
diving' course. It isn't...and that will only lead to disappointment.
About being Nitrox compatible...does one have to make special adjustments to the gear when diving with Notrox?
Only the cylinder needs special consideration for use with recreational nitrox (
<40% O2). The regulators, BCD etc are all ok. The cylinder will need to be
nitrox clean if it will be filled using partial pressure blending (
the most popular method). Using this method, dive shops put a certain amount of pure 02 in the tank, and then top it up with air to create the desired mix. This means that the tank is initially filled with pure O2... and thus fire/explosion hazards are applicable. It has to be free from potential (
combustible) contaminants to avoid that risk.