Now i see many of you guys, i fact most of you guys that have backup gear... some have 4 regs, bunch of tanks, etc etc...
If you rushed at the beginning and bought everything and it was not 100% what you wanted, couldn't you still use it as a backup? or wouldnt that be the smart way of going at it?
Yeah you could use first purchase stuff as a backup unless you decide to change systems entirely.
For example:
Many new divers get sold an Air2 backup reg/LP inflator combo. While this may seem like a great idea at the time (you get rid of one hose), and you might see the DM's and other advanced divers from the shop using them. But when you start to examine the function, it really isn't. In the eyes of many experienced divers it's not the most ideal setup. Many people that originally were set up with Air2's have gone back to a good old octopuss. I know, I was one of them. Just remember, the shops staff is going to be using what the shop want's to sell you. You be renting gear that the shop want's to sell you, this is how it works. That's how I bought my first gear - it was all the stuff I was trained in. There was no internet dive sites or online stores for me to know any different.
My original gear:
Scubapro MK 20/G200B reg set with Air2 and a Suunto console with SPG, depth gauge, and compass (all in one big clunky thing). We used tables.
A Seaquest Black Diamond BC (because it was the biggest badest thing they had).
Mares quattro fins
A freediving mask
Scubapro shotgun II snorkel (actually a very nice snorkel)
Wetsuit with hooded vest
The wetsuits have been changed more times than I can remember.
The only thing I still use from that original purchase is the Scubapro G200B 2nd stage, that's it.
I don't use the MK20 anymore because parts are an absolute ripoff with SP and I have other regs I use that I like better.
The G200B though is a pretty darn nice breathing reg. I use it for some diving but not all.
The fins went, I use Scubapro Jet fins now, which ironically my original LDS had but steered me away from because the Mares Quattros were more money and they claimed "more advanced".
The BC went next because it was a huge POS I found out. Too big and bulky for regular recreational diving and not suitable for tech diving. That got replaced with a BP/W as soon as I learned about them.
I bought a bunch of aluminum tanks (4 or 5) and I don't own one now. I went to steel.
I've been given many older steel 72's dating from 1959 through the 80's.
People think they are obsolete but I love them, especially for beach diving.
I've never had one fail hydro.
I also bought a few larger new HP steel tanks for boat diving.
Over the years people have given me lot's of gear when they find out I'm a diver. Some of the gear is really cool old stuff. Much of it I restore, dive it a few times then flip it. I keep the stuff I really like. That's all mostly reg sets.
One of my favorites is an old Scubapro MK5/109 BA (all metal second stages) probably from the late 70's or early 80's that I traded a fellow SB member for a plate. That's still one of the best regs ever made and the best of old Scubapro.
I wouldn't buy a new Scubapro reg set now, too overpriced and I think SP has stagnated since the two lead designers left to start Atomic. If you want that style of reg I think Atomic is better. The regs are really expensive but extremely high quality, the recommended service intervals are longer, and parts are cheaper.
Some companies have a free parts for life program where you are required to take the reg in for service every year on or before the year mark and you get free parts but pay for the service. This to me is a joke and a money making scam. That's like taking your car in for a full tune up every 5K miles when all it needs is a simple oil change.
Any quality reg that has been treated well and rinsed correctly doesn't need to go in for an overhaul once a year, that's rediculous.
I met an old guy on a lobster boat down in Southern California once and we got to talking about gear.
He was using all of his original gear from way back. One reg set, one jacket BC, same fins, same mask, everything from the same original purchase, except for wetsuits but even with those he would absolutely THRASH them to ribbons before he'd replace them.
He proclaimed himself "The cheapest old dive geezer on earth!" and was proud of the fact that he decided to pursue diving on the cheap and just dove with what he had, never upgraded. He did all the dives that everybody else did just as good and got just as many bugs. His gear reflected the abuse too but it kept on ticking.
Diving is an ongoing journey of trial and error.
Everybody does things slightly different and will recommend different things. The thing is, everybody is right (to some degree). There's always more than one way to skin a cat.
As you grow you might decide to change directions. There is no way to know this right now, you have to start diving to find out.
All I can say is just watch your back with the LDS's. They are profit driven, every last one of them.
The biggest thing I don't want to see happen is to see you get fleeced.
