Equipment Guidance

[Ironhorse88]

Hello everyone:

I am new to this board and would like to start by introducting myself. I am a 35 year old male from South Korea who grew up in the US. I have some time off and am planning to do a 2 month divemaster internship somewhere in SE asia(most likely Thailand where I have done all of my training although I have also dived in the Philipines).
I am a rescue diver with about 25 dives. I do not have any SCUBA gear of my own and am looking to purchase. Just wanted to see your opinions on new gear purchase. Let's make it a game and say what would you buy in terms of BC, Reg, Oct, Divecomputer and wetsuit with a budget of $1000US.

I am 5'6" - 145 lbs
Do most of my diving in very warm waters but still prefer a full wetsuit(3-4mm)
I do almost no local diving, all my diving will be on travel.
Emphasis on simplicity and ease of use over complicated customization.
Have only tried jacket BC's and is concerned about black inflation BCs for their surface performance. I like to spend alot of time when I am on the surface on my back.

Any suggestions would be welcomed. Even if you know of any place where you would recommend to do a DM in SE asia.

Thanks!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If you are doing a DM internship first off I'd suggest doubling your budget.Or maybe more. I'm doing DM now and use the following:
Oceanic Probe BC- Around 500 bucks
Oceanic Delta 3 w/Swivel octo- 525
Oceanic Veo 200 computer - 350
Bare 5/4 Velocity- 175
Polartech jumpsuit(equiv to 3 mil) -100
You also should have if you are serious about this extra mask,set of fins, maybe snorkel and boots. Reel, liftbag or smb, first aid kit, maybe a spare reg also. I have a total of three and could put together a fourth. These last may not be necessary but they sure make things alot easier.

 

[scubatoys]

I use a back inflation BC, and it does not bother me at all to float on my back at the surface... not that big of a deal.

That being said, I'd say get yourself into a Zeagle Escape, a Zeagle Envoy reg and octo, then you could do up a Oceanic Versa computer console, and get into a Bare 3 mm suit, and you'd still be at or below your $1000 price tag.

 

[spectrum]

I'd go do more diving before the DM cert. That will give you time to save up. Seriously JIMLAP has some reasonable numders. Add to that instrumentation, some safety items, and a good travel bag.Your budget just doubled.

As to the back inflate BC, the one thing they excel at is floating on your back.

 

[Snowbear]

Emphasis on simplicity and ease of use over complicated customization.
Have only tried jacket BC's and is concerned about black inflation BCs for their surface performance. I like to spend alot of time when I am on the surface on my back.

Here's me waiting my turn to get back on the boat.... I have actually dozed off floating on the world's biggest waterbed

I'm using a DiveRite SS backplate and Halcyon wing. It's got a one-piece harness. As for simplicity, once it's adjusted correctly, it stays that way, no more fussing with it necessary.

Being a wing, it's obviously back-inflate. As you can see from the picture, there's no problem with floating on my back. Though this picture shows me in a drysuit, I used the same setup in Palau using a wetsuit. I had to adjust the harness a little smaller since a wetsuit is much less bulkier than a drysiot with undergarment (which was no big deal at all to do, BTW), but still had no issues with being able to float either upright or supine while awaiting pickup by the boat.

Once I got back home, it was also no big deal (less than 5 minutes) to readjust the harness to it's old position, as it had slight creases where it went through the various slots on the plate. Same deal with the D-rings... the webbing indicated where the D-rings had been before I changed them

As for which plate or wing to buy, brand really doesn't matter. Being an exclusively warm water diver however, you may want to consider an aluminum plate if you decide to go this route.

 

[Ironhorse88]

It looks like zeagle products have a very strong following but I am worried about servicing them in SE Asia, mainly Thailand.

What is your opinion on a Mares reg. Either one of the axis or proton lines?
I think Mares would be easier to find servicing for in SE Asia.

I have pretty much narrowed my BC to three. Either the Zeagle Escape/Stilleto or Oceanic Probe since servicing BC's is not as common as Regs. Is the Stilleto worth the extra money?

I am still completey undecided on the wet suit. Any advice?