Sami
Registered
I am a new diver who is about to purchase my first set of gear. I have spent the last month researching various setups and pieces of gear to try to come up with something that I am likely to remain happy with. The choices are a bit overwhelming, and from what I have read here, many people seem to regret some of the early purchases. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate some feedback on my preliminary list of things to get (see below). I would also like to feedback on weight and lift.
As a bit of background, I am 167 cm (5’6”
and weigh 64 kg (141 lbs). I live in Singapore and I plan to mostly dive the neighboring countries, which means warm tropical waters (80 degrees and warmer), but I will probably do some occasional diving in temperate waters when traveling. So far I have only used a few rented BCDs of the jacket type. I don’t remember the specific brands of these BCDs, but one thing that they had in common—at least for me—was that they tended to shift around a bit on me (ride up a bit around the armpits when I was in a vertical position in the water, etc). I also found that the tank would “flop around” a bit, and the entire setup didn’t seem very streamlined. For these reasons, I think that I may be better off with a backplate + wing system. I also like the idea of upgradeability that would come with a BP/W setup. For the moment I am only planning to do “regular” recreational diving, but I don’t want to rule out some technical diving at some point in the future. So the BP/W route seems like the way to go. Basically, I want something durable, upgradeable, and sensible. And of course I would prefer to not spend an arm and a leg…
With that said, here is my tentative list of things to get:
In total this comes to about $1,200 ($455 for the BP/W, STA and straps; $300 for the 1st and 2nd stages, octopus and SPG—these are lightly used but I will have them serviced and if necessary rebuilt; and $445 for the Suunto Vytec DS without the air integration transmitter—I may spring for the transmitter at a later stage but I would probably keep the OMS SPG as a backup).
One thing that I am wondering about is backplate type (aluminum versus stainless steel) and weighting. Currently I am wearing about 3 kg (around 6 lbs) of weights while wearing a 3 mm shorty and diving with an aluminum tank and a jacket-style BCD in tropical ocean water. Is the Hammerhead aluminum backplate a good choice, or would the steel backplate be better? The aluminum BP plus lightweight STA weighs 3 lbs 14 oz according to their website, while the steel BP plus the same STA weighs 7 lbs 7 oz. From what I understand, a wing BCD will have less inherent buoyancy than a jacket BCD, so I would probably have to decrease the amount of weight that I am wearing based on that alone. But, I don’t want to reach the point where I am neutral or negative even without wearing any ditchable weight. Having some ditchable weight on a weightbelt seems like a good idea, if only for the reason that I would like to be able to remove the BP/W while in the middle of the water column while remaining approximately as buoyant as the BP/W (having all the weight on the BP/W would mean that the BP/W and me would want to go in different directions… Yet I would like to wear as little weight on my weight belt as possible, while still wearing some. So does the aluminum BP seem like the best choice?
By the way, I grew up swimming in the lakes of Sweden, where 70 degrees was considered very warm and a reason to play around for hours in the water… So I cannot imagine wearing anything more than a shorty while diving in the tropical waters where I will do most of my diving. I may add a diveskin for protection against stings and the like, but I will probably wear a full neoprene suit only when I occasionally go diving in other parts of the world. So please consider my question about backplate type in light of this.
Another thing I am wondering about is wing lift. From what I understand, 30 lbs lift would seem to be enough when diving with single aluminum tanks, and I assume that the 30 lbs Oxycheq wing would be somewhat more streamlined than the 45 lbs wing. However, the recent thread on downcurrents has made me wonder if it would not be good to have the extra 15 lbs of available lift, if I was to be caught in a violent downcurrent. On the other hand, I am a racing cyclist and strong swimmer with good endurance and well controlled breathing, so perhaps I would be able to hold up against most currents? I am just guessing, since downcurrents is outside my realm of experience. Perhaps the 45 lbs of lift would simply make me more likely to get into accidents due to too rapid ascents?
As a bit of background, I am 167 cm (5’6”
and weigh 64 kg (141 lbs). I live in Singapore and I plan to mostly dive the neighboring countries, which means warm tropical waters (80 degrees and warmer), but I will probably do some occasional diving in temperate waters when traveling. So far I have only used a few rented BCDs of the jacket type. I don’t remember the specific brands of these BCDs, but one thing that they had in common—at least for me—was that they tended to shift around a bit on me (ride up a bit around the armpits when I was in a vertical position in the water, etc). I also found that the tank would “flop around” a bit, and the entire setup didn’t seem very streamlined. For these reasons, I think that I may be better off with a backplate + wing system. I also like the idea of upgradeability that would come with a BP/W setup. For the moment I am only planning to do “regular” recreational diving, but I don’t want to rule out some technical diving at some point in the future. So the BP/W route seems like the way to go. Basically, I want something durable, upgradeable, and sensible. And of course I would prefer to not spend an arm and a leg…With that said, here is my tentative list of things to get:
- Hammerhead aluminum backplate
- Oxycheq Signature Series wing, 30 lbs lift
- Hammerhead 2 piece light STA
- Hammerhead hog harness kit
- DiveRite tank straps (S/S hinge buckles)
- Apeks ATX-50 first and second stage w/DIN valve
- DIN-to-yoke adapter
- ScubaPro R190 secondary regulator
- OMS SPG
- Suunto Vytec DS wrist unit
In total this comes to about $1,200 ($455 for the BP/W, STA and straps; $300 for the 1st and 2nd stages, octopus and SPG—these are lightly used but I will have them serviced and if necessary rebuilt; and $445 for the Suunto Vytec DS without the air integration transmitter—I may spring for the transmitter at a later stage but I would probably keep the OMS SPG as a backup).
One thing that I am wondering about is backplate type (aluminum versus stainless steel) and weighting. Currently I am wearing about 3 kg (around 6 lbs) of weights while wearing a 3 mm shorty and diving with an aluminum tank and a jacket-style BCD in tropical ocean water. Is the Hammerhead aluminum backplate a good choice, or would the steel backplate be better? The aluminum BP plus lightweight STA weighs 3 lbs 14 oz according to their website, while the steel BP plus the same STA weighs 7 lbs 7 oz. From what I understand, a wing BCD will have less inherent buoyancy than a jacket BCD, so I would probably have to decrease the amount of weight that I am wearing based on that alone. But, I don’t want to reach the point where I am neutral or negative even without wearing any ditchable weight. Having some ditchable weight on a weightbelt seems like a good idea, if only for the reason that I would like to be able to remove the BP/W while in the middle of the water column while remaining approximately as buoyant as the BP/W (having all the weight on the BP/W would mean that the BP/W and me would want to go in different directions…
Yet I would like to wear as little weight on my weight belt as possible, while still wearing some. So does the aluminum BP seem like the best choice?By the way, I grew up swimming in the lakes of Sweden, where 70 degrees was considered very warm and a reason to play around for hours in the water… So I cannot imagine wearing anything more than a shorty while diving in the tropical waters where I will do most of my diving. I may add a diveskin for protection against stings and the like, but I will probably wear a full neoprene suit only when I occasionally go diving in other parts of the world. So please consider my question about backplate type in light of this.
Another thing I am wondering about is wing lift. From what I understand, 30 lbs lift would seem to be enough when diving with single aluminum tanks, and I assume that the 30 lbs Oxycheq wing would be somewhat more streamlined than the 45 lbs wing. However, the recent thread on downcurrents has made me wonder if it would not be good to have the extra 15 lbs of available lift, if I was to be caught in a violent downcurrent. On the other hand, I am a racing cyclist and strong swimmer with good endurance and well controlled breathing, so perhaps I would be able to hold up against most currents? I am just guessing, since downcurrents is outside my realm of experience. Perhaps the 45 lbs of lift would simply make me more likely to get into accidents due to too rapid ascents?
