bcd or wet/drysuit first?

[Dubious]

If the budget is tight, why not buy used and get both?

 

[Valyngar]

You could buy good drysuit now and use it for all your 5-7mm dives by just changing undergarments. That way always have reliable lift even if you wing is bad. Just buy good and fitting drysuit, nothing worse than diving with over or undersized suit. In pitch you can use it for 3mm wetsuit dives with only underwear.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

If you already own everything minus the bcd and exposure protection, i'd personally go with exposure protection.

If you are renting a full kit everytime -- consider this purchase order:

Computer (by a long shot at the top)
Exposure Protection
Regulator
BC (by a long shot at the bottom)

I'd personally not want to have to choose between exposure protection and my own reg. But deciding to not get a BC is pretty easy.

 

[Centrals]

There is no such thing as one suit(wet/dry) for all seasons.
I dive with multi-layers and that depend on water temp.
For me wet suit never last for more than 3yrs as it got compressed and general wear and tear. But a BP/W will last a lot longer as long as the plate and the wing are compatible with your style of diving.

BTW, I bought wet suit first in the beginning and it was the first to disappear from my scuba kit.


Good luck.

 

[Neilwood]

There is no such thing as one suit(wet/dry) for all seasons.
I dive with multi-layers and that depend on water temp.
For me wet suit never last for more than 3yrs as it got compressed and general wear and tear. But a BP/W will last a lot longer as long as the plate and the wing are compatible with your style of diving.

BTW, I bought wet suit first in the beginning and it was the first to disappear from my scuba kit.


Good luck.

I would say that, particularly here, a drysuit is good for all seasons. The insulation needed from the undersuit might change but the suit itself shouldn't. That said, I probably wouldn't use a drysuit in warm water (over 20 deg C).

I have also seen a 7mm used here from 8 deg C to use in the Red Sea at 25+ deg C - it might have been a bit hot but that can be sorted by flushing it.

 

[CT-Rich]

Exposure suit first. If you are in San Francisco, a 7 mm will be good to start. On a budget, a Drysuit will cost about as much as a wetsuit and the BCD combined. A Drysuit is also more complex to use and maintain. The down side of renting a wetsuit (aside from the “who peed in it already issue) is buoyancy. Different suits will have different characteristics and that makes correct weighting problematic. Being comfortable and warm is going to be the biggest determinant of whether or not you get in the water for a second dive. Your happiness with you rental BCD is going to be a distant eighth.