basic and necessary gear for new divers

[pontosmina]

hi, i have been reading posts on scubaboard for the past few days and seeing that it is a great resource, i decided to sign up
my husband and i just registered for scuba diver certification with SDI. we have some issues with new equipment purchases, especially a "package" required for the course, which our scuba instruction place wants us to purchase from them. it includes diving gloves, boots, mesh gear bag, log book cover, underwater slate, knife and underwater watch.
it seems to us that some of these things are not necessary for our diving training and first diving experience (we are going to grand turk, TCI for 2 weeks in october).
1) do we need gloves and boots for the confined-water portion of the class and/or diving in the carribean in october?
2) do we really need a mesh gear bag, granted we already have bags that accommodate our masks, snorkels and flippers (all came as a set) and we won't have any other gear to carry around (we'll rent for now)?
3) do we need a "zippered water-resistant 30-dollar log book cover" or a 3-ring binder will do?
4) do we need an underwater watch, granted our training and dives will be conducted with a PDC?
does anyone have any suggestions for us? we'd like to be prepared, but we also don't want to be spending money on things that might not be essential right now.
any advice is greatly appreciated!
mina

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Welcome to SB Pontosmina! Seems like a lot too me. You can probably skip the log book cover and watch for starters

 

[H2Andy]

1) do we need gloves and boots for the confined-water portion of the class and/or diving in the carribean in october?

gloves, not unless water temperature drops below ... say.... 60 F? that's just
a swag. i dive in 68-70 water temps very comfortably without gloves,
and am a cold water wus. Caribbean water will drop to the low 80's,
top 70's at most.

boots are very handy (ah... er... whatever ) you can wear them around
the dive site or boat and protect your feet. then you slip on your open-heeled
fins, and you're ready to dive! i would reccomend them.

2) do we really need a mesh gear bag, granted we already have bags that accommodate our masks, snorkels and flippers (all came as a set) and we won't have any other gear to carry around (we'll rent for now)?

even rental gear has to be schlapped around to the car, to the boat or site,
back to the car, back to the shop

yes, a mesh bag is a good idea. it breathes, so things don't stink up too much,
and are inexpensive.


3) do we need a "zippered water-resistant 30-dollar log book cover" or a 3-ring binder will do?

i love keeping a logbook. some poeople don't. if you want to keep a logbook,
get something sturdy that will last for a few years. mine is 6 years old now
and still in great shape. there's no reason to spend too much on it.
make sure that whatever binder you get has slots for your C-cards and
whatever cards you get in the future (Nitrox, etc.)

4) do we need an underwater watch, granted our training and dives will be conducted with a PDC?

it's always a good idea to have a back-up timer. you don't need anything fancy.
a Seiko or Cassio waterproof to 300 feet should serve you well.

hope that helps

 

[Ber Rabbit]

First, if the shop requires these things they might get huffy about your training if you don't buy them so be prepared for a bit of attitude.

If your fins are the open heel type they will rub the skin off of your toes without some form of foot protection. Boots are the preferred way to avoid this but heavy socks will suffice in the pool. Some people with smaller feet can even get a pair of Keds tennis shoes to fit in their fin pocket. Full foot fins are not really designed to be used with booties just be aware that barefoot in fins will limit you to warm water diving. You don't say where you are located or where you will do the rest of your "diving adventures" but in Grand Turk the full foot fins with no boots will suffice.

Gloves, scuba skills are a bit different in gloves than when you are doing them bare handed. Gloves are a good idea when diving in areas where you will be descending/ascending on anchor lines or mooring lines. Things that sting often grow on these if they are permanent fixtures and a moving anchor line can give you one heck of a rope burn. When we dive warm water we usually just wear a pair of gardening gloves. Colder water will require thick gloves for warmth, you MIGHT be able to get away with no gloves in water as cold as 60 degrees depending on how fast your hands tend to get cold. I've been fine in 64 degree water but prefer wearing gloves to ensure my hands stay warm.

You already have a bag for your mask fins and snorkel and since you don't intend to buy anything else at the moment a mesh bag can wait if you have something else you can carry your rental gear in.

The zippered logbook covers are nice when you take your logbook on a boat or somewhere else that it could easily get wet but if you put a 3-ring binder in a ziploc bag it can serve the same purpose.

You need some sort of timing device and a watch makes a good back-up. You can get a good Casio rated to 200m for a relatively cheap price if you hunt around.

Good luck!
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[pontosmina]

thanks guys,
it sounds like we need most of this stuff anyway and we might be better off buying the package than angering our instructors
mina

 

[ZzzKing]

Keep in mind that YOU are the customer. You should purchase what is in your best interest to purchase, which may or may not be what they are trying to sell you. You are paying them for professional instruction. That is what they should provide. If they can't do that and maintain a professional attitude toward you at the same time, then I would look for another instructor.

Although I have a really nice Citizen dive watch that I wear every day (that's the only way I could justify it to my wife ), you would be hard pressed to beat a cheap G-Shock or Casio from Walmart for $10-20.

For a dive log, I went to an art supply store and bought a blank sketchbook for $7. I can draw, make notes and do whatever else I want in there as well as noting all the standard logbook stuff. Some folks don't even keep a logbook. (OMG!)

Need for boots is dependent upon fin type. Open heel, yes. Full foot, no. All the other stuff you mentioned is optional. You can wait and see if you even like diving. What if you get all of this stuff and never dive again after Grand Turk? (probably not a likely outcome, however). Have fun and is there room in your suitcase for someone about 5'-10", 175#?

 

[pontosmina]

You can wait and see if you even like diving. What if you get all of this stuff and never dive again after Grand Turk? (probably not a likely outcome, however). Have fun and is there room in your suitcase for someone about 5'-10", 175#?

i am pretty sure that won't be the case since i haven't even started diving yet but i am already obsessed about it....

ZzzKing, as far as room in the suitcase, i don't travel lightly, especially going on a 2-week honeymoon so i don't know about packing a full-grown man. however, we might be able to accommodate your baby

you are right that we are the customers and we shouldn't feel pressed to buy whatever they want us to. it turned out we signed up for a discounted course and the condition for the discount was to purchase these things from them. however, all of that was "fine print" and i was actually a little upset yesterday when they started listing all these packages that are "required." i told them that we'd think about it and that we might purchase other things from them instead--such as wetsuits or lights--if we decide that some of the package stuff is not neceassary right now. that way they get the business and we get what we want/need.

 

[Damselfish]

They "want" you to buy, or "require?" It's typical for mask/fins/snorkel to be required, and people often buy them where they are getting certified, but buying there should never be required. They may simply not have the stuff that works best for you, like a mask that fits you right. For diving in cold water you would need boots and gloves, and most places want people to have at least their own boots. Practicing in the pool with gloves is good even if though you don't need them for the pool temp. For diving in warm water you will need something on your feet if you use open heel fins, but you might not want the heavy boots used in cold water, as long as your fins still fit. In warm water you wouldn't want heavy cold water gloves, and in fact many tropical places don't even allow you to use gloves.

But I've never heard of anyplace requiring you to buy that other stuff. What you just said was my assumption, they are offering the class cheap and planning to make it up elsewhere. It would be so much better if they didn't play games like this, gives me negative feelings about a place. Some form of all that stuff will be useful to you sooner or later. But if this is a fixed set of choices from one shop, probably none of them would be what you would pick out on your own once you get a chance to look at these toys other places. I would do as you said, if you want to go along with this scheme insist on buying things there that are actually useful to you, that you would buy anyway.

Just as an example, a mesh bag. Mesh bags are great in the Carribean if you will be hauling gear around. But some operators take care of your gear for you and if you are renting most of your gear from them you may never have to haul that gear anyplace. And some ops will loan you a mesh bag if you don't have one. I think it's good to have your own, but look at the one they want to sell you and see what else is out there. There are some simple lightweight ones that aren't very durable, and there some that are much nicer with extra features. If they are selling you a junky one (I'm betting), pass and get something better if you're going to get one.

 

[DiveMaven]

1) do we need gloves and boots for the confined-water portion of the class and/or diving in the carribean in october?
2) do we really need a mesh gear bag, granted we already have bags that accommodate our masks, snorkels and flippers (all came as a set) and we won't have any other gear to carry around (we'll rent for now)?
3) do we need a "zippered water-resistant 30-dollar log book cover" or a 3-ring binder will do?
4) do we need an underwater watch, granted our training and dives will be conducted with a PDC?

1) No, you don't need gloves and boots. I know a lot of folks feel that if you have open heel fins that you must wear boots, but neither my husband nor I have any problem with our open heel fins and we go barefoot. (99% of our diving is boat diving).

2) Mesh bags are nice for when you have gear to schlep. If you don't have a lot of stuff to drag around yet, you don't really need a boat bag yet.

3) My husband and I decided to share a 3-ring binder log book. We divided the book into 2 sections and we each have our own log pages to write in. It works really well for us and it's a great place to keep our C-cards and DAN cards.

4) You should have some kind of an underwater timing device, but a cheapo watch from K-mart will do.

IF you can buy a wetsuit or something like that instead of all this other stuff, that's frankly what I would do.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

If buying gear is part of the requirement for the discounted course you may be able to get them to let you put your own package together. You should have a "save-a-dive" kit with things like o-rings and extra straps for mask and fins (if you have open heel fins, make sure the straps you get will work with your fins!) a "scuba tool' is something that will come in handy in the future as will a spare regulator mouthpiece. Dive lights are nice for peeking into cracks and crevices in reefs and some of the smaller ones produce a really bright light. Some sort of signalling device (whistle/safety sausage/etc) is always a good idea especially when diving larger bodies of water. Meet their purchasing requirement but do it with stuff you want
Ber :lilbunny: