I’ve been working with my LDS, and I’m good to go for diving trips with them in terms of gear. I initially rented gear, but now I have my own. I plan to do one more pool session to get used to my equipment, especially the computer. I am OW certified but only have 5 total dives. After OW 1&2 (terrible viz about 20 feet) I did a 25 ft discovery dive with one of my kids. Then OW 3&4 were 60 feet but with great viz. The visibility where I live isn’t great, but I've learned that there are a few shore-diving spots within a couple of hours that are decent. Even though the LDS charter near my house isn’t the best for viz, it’s still cool and the people are great.
Current Gear purchased:
Mask, fins, boots, snorkel
Regulator with octo, BCD
Computer: MK2i with transmitter
Wetsuit: 5mm farmer john (I know these aren’t everyone’s favorite, but I wore it as a rental and liked getting into it more than full suits, plus purchasing the same brand of setup that I rented was relatively cheap).
Items I Don’t Have Yet (Do I need them?):
Knife
Weights: I think the LDS provides them for boat dives, but I’ll need my own for shore dives. Seeing some available on marketplace or will get at LDS
Whistle
Light
Surface marker buoy
Backup pressure gauge (the guys with a ton of dives I talk to tell me "no" but for some reason in the back of my mind it seems like I should have one)
Are these must-haves, or are they more like nice-to-haves? Any other gear you’d recommend?
Current Gear purchased:
Mask, fins, boots, snorkel
Regulator with octo, BCD
Computer: MK2i with transmitter
Wetsuit: 5mm farmer john (I know these aren’t everyone’s favorite, but I wore it as a rental and liked getting into it more than full suits, plus purchasing the same brand of setup that I rented was relatively cheap).
Items I Don’t Have Yet (Do I need them?):
Knife
Weights: I think the LDS provides them for boat dives, but I’ll need my own for shore dives. Seeing some available on marketplace or will get at LDS
Whistle
Light
Surface marker buoy
Backup pressure gauge (the guys with a ton of dives I talk to tell me "no" but for some reason in the back of my mind it seems like I should have one)
Are these must-haves, or are they more like nice-to-haves? Any other gear you’d recommend?