So, here's my story...
I'm a brand new, freshly-certified, OW diver. When I was getting my training the question that I'm assuming is pretty routine came up: beyond the basics that we had to have to take the class (mask, fins, snorkel, booties), what other pieces of equipment should a new diver plan on getting pretty quickly?
"While your excitement to get new gear is understandable, it's really not necessary to buy a lot of stuff. Focus on diving! Get out and use various pieces of rental equipment to see what you like - and be sure you're going to dive for the long term before you invest a bunch of money."
See, that makes sense. I promptly made a note and decided to follow that advice.
Then again, it *would* be nice to have my own dive computer so I had a device that would maintain an electronic log of my dives that I could then transfer to my logbook later. I should get one of those. Then again, no reason to buy a cheapo one that I'll just want to replace soon after getting certified. So... purchase #1, before I even hit the lake to do my cert dives:
1. Shearwater Peregrine dive computer
I really liked diving, but the idea of a previously used rental wetsuit just gives me the creeps. I know everybody else needed to warm up in it, too... I should probably buy a wetsuit if I'm going to dive some more...
2. 3mm wetsuit from the clearance table at the LDS. (Got it home and it didn't fit right, so I'll hang it in the closet until I lose a few more pounds. In the meantime, I still need a wetsuit, so order one from Amazon...)
Now that I think about it, particularly in the cold and when I was really fatigued, it became kind of a struggle at times to breathe well through that rental regulator. Probably not surprising... those rental units are undoubtedly built to be tough and durable more than to provide easy breathing. I bet I'd enjoy diving more with a higher end regulator. And if you think about it, the idea - particularly during a time of pandemic - of putting a piece of gear in my mouth that somebody else had in *their* mouth is kind of gross. I don't know how well these are sanitized. I should probably buy a regulator...
3. Off to deep6gear.com to buy me a regulator set (Signature Series single tank package...)
You know, those guys on ScubaBoard keep talking about how great diving with a backplate and wing is compared to a vest style BCD. I don't need to buy one right now, of course, but if I go try one out at the LDS pool, that will give me an excuse to get in the water with my fancy new regulator and see how I like it once I start breathing through it. (It's really nice... I quite like it, though I don't know that it will every pay for itself in avoided rental fees...)
Wow... trim and buoyancy really *are* more intuitive and simple with a BP/W. I wonder if the LDS has any good deals I could take advantage of if I *were* in the market for such a setup - which, of course, I'm not...
4. Zeagle Stainless Steel backplate
5. 30 lb Donut Bladder
6. Deluxe harness
7. Two Cam Straps
8. Zeagle Power Inflator
9. Zeagle Backplate pad and crotch strap
So, this is how it's gonna be, huh?
Well, like I said at the beginning, there's no reason to buy a tank early on in my diving career...
(And now I need to go out and *use* all this gear... But first I should probably go buy my understanding wife some flowers...
)
I'm a brand new, freshly-certified, OW diver. When I was getting my training the question that I'm assuming is pretty routine came up: beyond the basics that we had to have to take the class (mask, fins, snorkel, booties), what other pieces of equipment should a new diver plan on getting pretty quickly?
"While your excitement to get new gear is understandable, it's really not necessary to buy a lot of stuff. Focus on diving! Get out and use various pieces of rental equipment to see what you like - and be sure you're going to dive for the long term before you invest a bunch of money."
See, that makes sense. I promptly made a note and decided to follow that advice.
Then again, it *would* be nice to have my own dive computer so I had a device that would maintain an electronic log of my dives that I could then transfer to my logbook later. I should get one of those. Then again, no reason to buy a cheapo one that I'll just want to replace soon after getting certified. So... purchase #1, before I even hit the lake to do my cert dives:
1. Shearwater Peregrine dive computer
I really liked diving, but the idea of a previously used rental wetsuit just gives me the creeps. I know everybody else needed to warm up in it, too... I should probably buy a wetsuit if I'm going to dive some more...
2. 3mm wetsuit from the clearance table at the LDS. (Got it home and it didn't fit right, so I'll hang it in the closet until I lose a few more pounds. In the meantime, I still need a wetsuit, so order one from Amazon...)
Now that I think about it, particularly in the cold and when I was really fatigued, it became kind of a struggle at times to breathe well through that rental regulator. Probably not surprising... those rental units are undoubtedly built to be tough and durable more than to provide easy breathing. I bet I'd enjoy diving more with a higher end regulator. And if you think about it, the idea - particularly during a time of pandemic - of putting a piece of gear in my mouth that somebody else had in *their* mouth is kind of gross. I don't know how well these are sanitized. I should probably buy a regulator...
3. Off to deep6gear.com to buy me a regulator set (Signature Series single tank package...)
You know, those guys on ScubaBoard keep talking about how great diving with a backplate and wing is compared to a vest style BCD. I don't need to buy one right now, of course, but if I go try one out at the LDS pool, that will give me an excuse to get in the water with my fancy new regulator and see how I like it once I start breathing through it. (It's really nice... I quite like it, though I don't know that it will every pay for itself in avoided rental fees...)
Wow... trim and buoyancy really *are* more intuitive and simple with a BP/W. I wonder if the LDS has any good deals I could take advantage of if I *were* in the market for such a setup - which, of course, I'm not...
4. Zeagle Stainless Steel backplate
5. 30 lb Donut Bladder
6. Deluxe harness
7. Two Cam Straps
8. Zeagle Power Inflator
9. Zeagle Backplate pad and crotch strap
So, this is how it's gonna be, huh?
Well, like I said at the beginning, there's no reason to buy a tank early on in my diving career...
(And now I need to go out and *use* all this gear... But first I should probably go buy my understanding wife some flowers...
) 
