Brand new and excited!

[Bmackenzie]

Hello,

I'm finally doing it, I will be open water certified this month! I'm looking for advice on what gear I should purchase before/during certification. Also, what advice do you have for someone getting into scuba (what do you wish you knew going in)?

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[Doby45]

Literally, do NOT buy every knick knack you see. Start with your basic gear mask,fins, snorkel and booties. Take the class and have a blast. Good Lord within one week of being certified I went and bought a shaker rattle noise maker and on and on and on. Lemme tell ya, NO ONE likes a damn rattle underwater. People look at you all mean like.

 

[Bmackenzie]

Literally, do NOT buy every knick knack you see. Start with your basic gear mask,fins, snorkel and booties. Take the class and have a blast. Good Lord within one week of being certified I went and bought a shaker rattle noise maker and on and on and on. Lemme tell ya, NO ONE likes a damn rattle underwater. People look at you all mean like.

Tool funny, I will try to avoid my natural impulse Would you recommend a wetsuit purchase at this early stage? I really would like to be somewhat prepared to go out with my buddy after certification.

 

[pepperbelly]

Find a mask that fits. You don't need an expensive mask- many times the cheaper ones fit best. That one piece of gear can make the class much easier.
You may want to try some different fins until you find one to buy. The shop giving the class will probably have rental gear so you can try some.

Most gear choices are a very individual thing, and almost all of it will work, but get a mask that fits.

 

[Bmackenzie]

Find a mask that fits. You don't need an expensive mask- many times the cheaper ones fit best. That one piece of gear can make the class much easier.
You may want to try some different fins until you find one to buy. The shop giving the class will probably have rental gear so you can try some.

Most gear choices are a very individual thing, and almost all of it will work, but get a mask that fits.

I did go out and picked up the Hollis M3 and tried it out in the pool, not a good fit for me. The hunt continues.

 

[pepperbelly]

I did go out and picked up the Hollis M3 and tried it out in the pool, not a good fit for me. The hunt continues.

I have a Hollis M1 and it fits me very well.
You may need to do something with that cookie duster so the mask will seal.

 

[Doby45]

Tool funny, I will try to avoid my natural impulse Would you recommend a wetsuit purchase at this early stage? I really would like to be somewhat prepared to go out with my buddy after certification.

I would find out first what type of diving you are really going to want to do and where. If you are going to be diving local then I would find out what the locals are using. More than likely in your area it will be either thick wetsuits or a drysuit. You may also be one of those divers that only wants to dive in tropical destinations so a very thin wetsuit would be good or no wetsuit at all.

 

[Marie13]

If you don't want to use a rental wetsuit that has probably been peed in by someone else, go ahead and get a wetsuit. Thickness will be determined by your local conditions/where you will be diving.

If you want a mask soap opera, titled "As the Mask Floods," just ask. I've been though 12-15 masks. I've lost count! I am not easy to fit.

 

[Bmackenzie]

I have a Hollis M1 and it fits me very well.
You may need to do something with that cookie duster so the mask will seal.

OMG, that was too funny, but I did removed it before I tried

 

[Bmackenzie]

If you don't want to use a rental wetsuit that has probably been peed in by someone else, go ahead and get a wetsuit. Thickness will be determined by your local conditions/where you will be diving.

If you want a mask soap opera, titled "As the Mask Floods," just ask. I've been though 12-15 masks. I've lost count! I am not easy to fit.

That doesn't sounds fun on both accounts As for the wetsuit, it seems the consensus for local diving is 7mil, but I might brave the pretreatment you mentioned and take Doby's advice until I have a better understanding of what kind of diving I'll be doing and where.