Hey George ORH,
Just my 2 cents as I just built up my kit recently (end of summer-fall 03) Tons of good advise here on SB. I too looked at Sherwood but after some homework went with Apeks. A little higher up in price but well worth it. You'll be able to tell a good reg when you get down over a 100 feet. The Apeks really delivers, you can FEEL and HEAR the delivery, it's right there. You won't go wrong with Scubapro either from what I hear. If you don't feel the need for an environmentally sealed first stage you could save a few bucks. If you are only diving warm water you may want to consider that. I dive both cold and warm so I based my decision on that and went with the ATX200. I probably sound like a Scubaboard posterboy but I went with a Suunto Vyper as well. Great computer, easy to use, highly recommended. By going to a wrist mount I ditched my depth guage from my big dangly SPG and mounted my pressure guage in a single rubber mount. It's clipped next to my left D-ring on a belt loop. Only hangs down several inches improving my streamlining big time as well as getty rid of some annoying task loading and anxiety. For fins I went with the old Scubapro Jetfins. Still in use by many divers especially tec, wreck divers. A stiff fin provides many benefits pertaining to control that other fins (split?) don't provide. I've only dove these fins so I can't make a fair comparison. I have no problems keeping up on the average reef dive. Maybe a different story on a drift dive, haven't done drift diving yet. And for a BC, I'm another BP/W convert. No comparison in my mind. I can now go to doubles if desired, mount any style of tank, add different weights to the backplate etc. etc. without EVER having to buy another BC. If I buy a single tank BC and want to go to doubles I may have to buy another BC. If I puncture the wing I can just replace that, instead of the whole BC. It's VERY streamlined, just straps around the front, no bulky padding to reduce streamlining in the water or to add positive buoyancy. If you go with a regular BC just do your homework. Determine if you want a back inflate or if want the air all around you. Research weight integration. I paid not much more for the FredT custom backplate, Oxycheck wing, harness kit etc. than I did for an overpriced Scubapro Classic BCD that the local dive shop tried to sell me. With Fred I got a complete package including superior customer support from initial investigation, throughout purchase and as much followup support as required to complete my "rig" and help with "tuning" it for my first dives. All the dive shop wanted to do was sell me an expensive BC. Do your homework, ask questions then make decisions based on what you want. Don't forget to look ahead as to where you might think you want to be as a diver several years down the road. I don't know if it will help but I'm diving all this gear in my avatar.
Just my 2 cents as I just built up my kit recently (end of summer-fall 03) Tons of good advise here on SB. I too looked at Sherwood but after some homework went with Apeks. A little higher up in price but well worth it. You'll be able to tell a good reg when you get down over a 100 feet. The Apeks really delivers, you can FEEL and HEAR the delivery, it's right there. You won't go wrong with Scubapro either from what I hear. If you don't feel the need for an environmentally sealed first stage you could save a few bucks. If you are only diving warm water you may want to consider that. I dive both cold and warm so I based my decision on that and went with the ATX200. I probably sound like a Scubaboard posterboy but I went with a Suunto Vyper as well. Great computer, easy to use, highly recommended. By going to a wrist mount I ditched my depth guage from my big dangly SPG and mounted my pressure guage in a single rubber mount. It's clipped next to my left D-ring on a belt loop. Only hangs down several inches improving my streamlining big time as well as getty rid of some annoying task loading and anxiety. For fins I went with the old Scubapro Jetfins. Still in use by many divers especially tec, wreck divers. A stiff fin provides many benefits pertaining to control that other fins (split?) don't provide. I've only dove these fins so I can't make a fair comparison. I have no problems keeping up on the average reef dive. Maybe a different story on a drift dive, haven't done drift diving yet. And for a BC, I'm another BP/W convert. No comparison in my mind. I can now go to doubles if desired, mount any style of tank, add different weights to the backplate etc. etc. without EVER having to buy another BC. If I buy a single tank BC and want to go to doubles I may have to buy another BC. If I puncture the wing I can just replace that, instead of the whole BC. It's VERY streamlined, just straps around the front, no bulky padding to reduce streamlining in the water or to add positive buoyancy. If you go with a regular BC just do your homework. Determine if you want a back inflate or if want the air all around you. Research weight integration. I paid not much more for the FredT custom backplate, Oxycheck wing, harness kit etc. than I did for an overpriced Scubapro Classic BCD that the local dive shop tried to sell me. With Fred I got a complete package including superior customer support from initial investigation, throughout purchase and as much followup support as required to complete my "rig" and help with "tuning" it for my first dives. All the dive shop wanted to do was sell me an expensive BC. Do your homework, ask questions then make decisions based on what you want. Don't forget to look ahead as to where you might think you want to be as a diver several years down the road. I don't know if it will help but I'm diving all this gear in my avatar.
