Advice on Equipment Purchase

[dmaziuk]

I would avoid suunto computer..

+1. If it's an old yellow zoop and not a zoop novo: just say no. A zoop novo is OK in a package deal if it's significantly under its usual $330 price tag. Otherwise: meh. You can get an Aualung i300 for $300 and have everything Aqualung. (Or the Oceanic veo 2.0: same computer, different label, and an extra algorithm.)

 

[runsongas]

i would hold off and rent gear while keeping an eye out for a good deal on more premium gear. The gear you are buying is easily rented and unless if you are going to really hit clear springs or athens regularly before your trips, it really isn't worth buying outright.

if you still want to buy your own gear take a look at a dgx bpw or sopras sub bpw

DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package

Scuba Diving Gear, Classes and Dive , snorkel Charters. - BCDs - bcd, dive rite, diverite, transpac, xt, softpac, soft pac, harness, soft, bcd, back inflate, voyager, pack, pac, voyagerpac, voyagerpack, scuba, dive, diving, tech, tec, tek, diver, dixie

call divers supply and piranha to see if they can still cut you a deal on the hog bp2 package

Hog Single Tank Package w/Din First Stage

Hog BP2 Single Tank Package DIN

add a brass and glass spg from dgx and a wrist computer from 150 to 300 dollars (anything from a puck pro to the deepblu cosmiq)

that gets you to around the same price point as the aqualung package, but the items will grow with you better.

 

[Centrals]

DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package

Need look no further.
Forget the shoulder pad and weight pocket.
Aqualung Titan is reliable and solid. Please make sure your LDS can service whatever regs you might have bought on line.
Mares Puck Pro is good enough but do read about the RGBM(Reduced Gradient Bubble Model).

Happy shopping and diving.

 

[RyanT]

Total $1335, but will be the last gear you will ever need, and all sans tax. Bit more expensive than what you found, but a lot better, especially the bcd and computer

Agreed

 

[RayfromTX]

Ok, This is what I wish someone had told me before I bought the Aqualung package deal. First off I bought the Zuma instead of the ProHD and it is at least a back inflate with a travel weight advantage and I got the Core which is a nice reg buuuuuut,,,, That was in November and now I have moved up to the gear that TBone recommended above and it is way nicer and for the BC and the regs, similar in price. When it came to a computer, I went all in because I knew I would anyway. I'm keeping the i300 as a backup, installed in a wrist mount from DSS. So two months, 33 dives and lots of online learning later and I now have what I should have gotten in the first place and I have a bunch of pop culture dive shop gear that I'll never use and If you want to buy it I'll make you a deal. Don't buy it. Do the smart thing and get the gear Tbone and others have recommended and spend a bit more time deciding on which computer to get. I would tell you which one I got but it might seem wicked expensive and yet is the money that seems most well spent of all of it to me. Perdix AI, ok there I said it. I bought a cheaper one and my wife looked at me and said, "why are you effing around, you know you will never be happy and then you will have a sale computer in a drawer that you never use and you could use the money toward the real one instead." There you go. What I wished I had been told back when I was listening to the LDS sales person. Bless her heart.

 

[tbone1004]

I was trying to keep the cost at least somewhat close to that package deal and the Cosmiq is really not a bad computer to start with, especially for recreational diving. It's rather conservative, but for the price it's hard to argue unless you can find a used Oceanic Geo 2.0 or similar for cheap online

like these

Oceanic GEO 2.0 Dive Watch Computer - White | eBay
Oceanic Dive Computer Geo 2.0 in box with USB cable | eBay

 

[RyanT]

Perdix AI, ok there I said it. I bought a cheaper one and my wife looked at me and said, "why are you effing around, you know you will never be happy and then you will have a sale computer in a drawer that you never use and you could use the money toward the real one instead." There you go. What I wished I had been told back when I was listening to the LDS sales person.

Yes. Unfortunately, the Perdix is rather expensive, but in my mind, it is the "only" computer out there. What I mean is that this computer will take you all the way through technical trimix if you want. If you only ever want to do shallow recreational dives, it also has an incredibly intuitive menu system, awesome recreational mode, and a super easy to read screen. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a back lit screen that you can see day or night without shining a light on it!

Pretty much all mainstream manufacturers make reliable equipment. As others have said though, you are likely to find better gear at similar or even cheaper prices than the package you found.

Hint: Atomic Z series regulators or Deep 6 gear.

 

[noj3333]

I'll chime in here... don't be afraid to buy used... spend a month or two checking the classified forum on this site and you'll be able to stretch that $1,000 and make it go much further...

 

[KevinNM]

If you are in Dallas you should stop at scubatoys before buying gear. It's a crazy huge place with enormous inventory and reasonably aggressive pricing.

 

[runsongas]

unfortunately, op is buying after scubatoys ran their black friday and holiday sales though