For the most part I would say that all "tech" diving equipment will work for recreational diving but not the other way around.
Check the boards for a ton of good information about a backplate and wing (BP/W), this has been discussed in length dozens of times.
Masks are something very personal for people, its best to try them on usually and pick something low volume. However I fell for the guarantee that dive rite has on their black mask, if it doesn't fit return it for your money back, its the best mask I have ever had and I try not to use a mask that isn't black anymore.
Snorkels are pretty much a waste of money IMO unless you dive in an area with varied weather conditions in which case having a snorkel folded up in a pocket is a good option. you wont ever need one in a cave I'm pretty sure... though people have been know to leave them in the caves as a joke.
Most technical diving instructors I have met encourage a simple blade style fin with spring straps, they may seem old school but a good thing never grows old.
I dont know where you plan to dive but if you ever intend to dive cold water save yourself some grief and buy an environmentally sealed regulator like the dive rite regs or the scubapro mk17 or others. the apeks DS4 and scubapro mk2 are also popular first stages for technical divers as they can serve well as a decompression regulator.
same goes for exposure protection, a drysuit will work anywhere and a wetsuit might not so either buy both or get the right thing first. in technical diving and cave diving both have their place but a drysuit will work for pretty much every dive so it makes sense and with the price of wetsuits getting higher and with suits like the fusion and typhoon only $2 or 3 hundred more than a wetsuit its hard to not buy a drysuit.
I would encourage you to read over the topics on the various boards including those which may not interest you just to expose yourself to the various things out there. dont buy anything to soon, you will likely regret it and somewhere around here there is a great thread with several hundred posts about "what you bought that you regret" that will likely give you much needed insite on what isn't worth owning.
google is your friend too, you will come across various brands and training agencies mentioned in the threads as well as dive shop names and they are all worth getting used too. remember that a websites quality is not related proportionately to a product or service quality as often times the best stuff comes from the oldest least updated websites simply because they spend more time researching gear and diving and testing then they do building a website.
some names to familiarize yourself with include:
Hogarthian (hog)
DIR and GUE
OMS- Ocean Management Systems
DSS- Deep Sea Supply
Salvo
Halcyon
Oxycheq
Omniswivel
Scubapro
Edge/HOG (different than hogarthian)
XS
Golem gear
DUI
Whites
Dive Rite
Dive Right In Scuba
Cave Adventurers
Tech Diving Limited
Dive Sports
Leisurepro
Scubatoys
etc...
just look around and research and dont be afraid to call these people and ask questions and take their advice.
T
