PaulG
Registered
Hi everyone, new to the board and have just posted my welcome and brief history under the greetings thread.
My wife (Karen) and myself have just completed the confined water and are doing the O/W dives in Cyprus in Sep. We completed the C/W with only one incident, namely Karen decided to have a small freak during the no-mask swim. At this point, the instructor decided to be helpful by pinching her nose. When this added to her panic, he decided best course of action would be to hold her down by her BCD ???. Needless to say, she was last seen heading for the surface fighting off the instructor.
However, after 5 minutes of discussion with the instructor at the surface (wish I could have heard that one) she came back down and completed the exercise. She is still not a fan of this exercise but she stuck to it.
Despite my enthusiasm, I have backed off from buying equipment until after we have qualified (got as far as items in the trolley on both Simply Scuba and DiveInn before common sense prevailed)
I have been through most of the posts re regs etc and unless someone/something changes my mind in the next few weeks, I have come down in favour of a MK25/S600/R380 for one reg set and an ATX/50(or 100) plus ATX40 octo for the other set. That way, we can both try both regs and then argue about who ends up with each set (I know who will win that one). I have also heard good things about the Oceanic Delta 3/DX4 which I would appreciate comments on (although fairly set on other 2 options at present)
Although our initial diving requirements are somewhat limited, thought it better to go for best we can afford rather than have to swap out in a year or two.
I am a little more confused about BCD's and would appreciate feedback.
As a rookie, would you suggest a conventional BCD or a Back inflator. Is the integrated weight system something worth considering or is it more of a hinderance than help with new divers.
Currently we expect to most of our diving in warmer waters (Med/tropical) and are not expecting to get too technical but who knows what will happen when the bug really bites !!.
Does anyone have any recommendations of what to look for when choosing a BCD or particular manufacturers/models to look at/avoid (budget, whilst not infinate, is not primary concern as the purchase will hopefully last a few years, preferably much longer ??)
What about for my wife, is it better to go for a "ladies" BCD or do most BCD's fit either sex reasonably well.
My wife (Karen) and myself have just completed the confined water and are doing the O/W dives in Cyprus in Sep. We completed the C/W with only one incident, namely Karen decided to have a small freak during the no-mask swim. At this point, the instructor decided to be helpful by pinching her nose. When this added to her panic, he decided best course of action would be to hold her down by her BCD ???. Needless to say, she was last seen heading for the surface fighting off the instructor.
However, after 5 minutes of discussion with the instructor at the surface (wish I could have heard that one) she came back down and completed the exercise. She is still not a fan of this exercise but she stuck to it.
Despite my enthusiasm, I have backed off from buying equipment until after we have qualified (got as far as items in the trolley on both Simply Scuba and DiveInn before common sense prevailed)
I have been through most of the posts re regs etc and unless someone/something changes my mind in the next few weeks, I have come down in favour of a MK25/S600/R380 for one reg set and an ATX/50(or 100) plus ATX40 octo for the other set. That way, we can both try both regs and then argue about who ends up with each set (I know who will win that one). I have also heard good things about the Oceanic Delta 3/DX4 which I would appreciate comments on (although fairly set on other 2 options at present)
Although our initial diving requirements are somewhat limited, thought it better to go for best we can afford rather than have to swap out in a year or two.
I am a little more confused about BCD's and would appreciate feedback.
As a rookie, would you suggest a conventional BCD or a Back inflator. Is the integrated weight system something worth considering or is it more of a hinderance than help with new divers.
Currently we expect to most of our diving in warmer waters (Med/tropical) and are not expecting to get too technical but who knows what will happen when the bug really bites !!.
Does anyone have any recommendations of what to look for when choosing a BCD or particular manufacturers/models to look at/avoid (budget, whilst not infinate, is not primary concern as the purchase will hopefully last a few years, preferably much longer ??)
What about for my wife, is it better to go for a "ladies" BCD or do most BCD's fit either sex reasonably well.