Hi all, first post so try not to crucify and preach. Myself and the missus are British and recently OW qualified whilst away on holiday. Now we're back at home and we want to continue diving. We have a dive site fairly close to us (Blue Lagoon) which is relatively shallow, has plenty to see and hires out equipment. This should be a good introduction to diving in the UK and in fresh water and of course diving autonomously without a guide (we are also planning trips further afield with some of the guides from BL).
Of course we eventually want to buy our own equipment. Obviously I understand that this may be a false economy if we are not diving every weekend however it will be a lot more comfortable, convenient and safe. I want to build our diving kit up piece by piece rather than buying a package deal. At the very least before we dive up at blue lagoon I plan to get the following:
Mares Smart. I like how easy it looks to use, its easy to read screen and the option to wear it as a watch while travelling.
Tank Banger. Mainly for communication if we lose each other in poor visibility. We both know the lost buddy procedure, and have used it before but being able to hear each other will be reassuring for her as she is a little more nervous.
Lanyard. To keep hold of our camera. We had an incident with a positively buoyant camera mount and me letting go of it without the wrist strap being on. Luckily one of the skippers spotted and recovered it.
We are also thinking about a mask, snorkel, fins and boots package offered by my local LDS as it is a good deal but that might be after a few more dives. My question is; is there any small accessories that will make life 1000 times easier that I have missed? What would you recommend for first equipment? Do these prices look reasonable?
Thanks in advance.
Of course we eventually want to buy our own equipment. Obviously I understand that this may be a false economy if we are not diving every weekend however it will be a lot more comfortable, convenient and safe. I want to build our diving kit up piece by piece rather than buying a package deal. At the very least before we dive up at blue lagoon I plan to get the following:
Mares Smart. I like how easy it looks to use, its easy to read screen and the option to wear it as a watch while travelling.
Tank Banger. Mainly for communication if we lose each other in poor visibility. We both know the lost buddy procedure, and have used it before but being able to hear each other will be reassuring for her as she is a little more nervous.
Lanyard. To keep hold of our camera. We had an incident with a positively buoyant camera mount and me letting go of it without the wrist strap being on. Luckily one of the skippers spotted and recovered it.
We are also thinking about a mask, snorkel, fins and boots package offered by my local LDS as it is a good deal but that might be after a few more dives. My question is; is there any small accessories that will make life 1000 times easier that I have missed? What would you recommend for first equipment? Do these prices look reasonable?
Thanks in advance.