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I'm sorry if this topic has already been discussed and beaten to death in this forum. I skimmed through the first two hundred or so threads and didn't see anything that looked like it would answer my question.
I'm just starting down the scuba road, having passed OW at the end of June. My wife and I have a trip planned to Cozumel this fall, but in the mean time we'll be doing a little skill refresher training on our own in the local quarry, which is about 30 feet deep, murky, and as uninteresting as taking a walk around the back yard, but it gets us underwater to practice skills. At the moment, the only scuba gear I own is a Suunto Vyper Air and transmitter and I rent the rest. I have a feeling that scuba is going to suck me in and I'm going to want to get pretty involved in it, and I'm very interested in wreck diving (I live not too far from the Great Lakes, so long weekend trips with the LDS or club are possible). I'm not sure about cave diving, but I hear most wreck divers end up there.
Since I'm interested in eventually getting to a level of diving that I will be best off with a DIR/Hogarthian style setup, I want to buy my gear specifically for that, and not waste my money on a jacket BCD, etc., that I will just end up replacing. But, to lessen the financial pain, I kind of want to get my gear in stages, such as a BP/W now, then continue renting my regs for a while, then buy the regs, then later consider adding pony tanks or whatever else I need. So anyway, here's my question: If you wanted to buy your gear piecemeal like that, what order would you go in? Should I go for the reg now and the BP/W later, or should I get the BP/W first? Is there anything special about the regs other than that I'll want cold water compatibility and a long primary hose? If I get the regs now, is the long hose set up compatible with a rented jacket style BC, or will that be uncomfortable and just make me go insane (additionally, can I easily switch to long hoses from short hoses later - hoses are relatively cheap so I wouldn't mind upgrading them)? Reversed, if I get the BP/W now, will I be able to set up a rented reg system, with a donated octo, on the BP/W the same way you clip the octo on to a jacket style BC? Or is the necklace and long hose pretty much required from the beginning?
Ok, so that's a lot more than a question. Thanks for your input.
I'm just starting down the scuba road, having passed OW at the end of June. My wife and I have a trip planned to Cozumel this fall, but in the mean time we'll be doing a little skill refresher training on our own in the local quarry, which is about 30 feet deep, murky, and as uninteresting as taking a walk around the back yard, but it gets us underwater to practice skills. At the moment, the only scuba gear I own is a Suunto Vyper Air and transmitter and I rent the rest. I have a feeling that scuba is going to suck me in and I'm going to want to get pretty involved in it, and I'm very interested in wreck diving (I live not too far from the Great Lakes, so long weekend trips with the LDS or club are possible). I'm not sure about cave diving, but I hear most wreck divers end up there.
Since I'm interested in eventually getting to a level of diving that I will be best off with a DIR/Hogarthian style setup, I want to buy my gear specifically for that, and not waste my money on a jacket BCD, etc., that I will just end up replacing. But, to lessen the financial pain, I kind of want to get my gear in stages, such as a BP/W now, then continue renting my regs for a while, then buy the regs, then later consider adding pony tanks or whatever else I need. So anyway, here's my question: If you wanted to buy your gear piecemeal like that, what order would you go in? Should I go for the reg now and the BP/W later, or should I get the BP/W first? Is there anything special about the regs other than that I'll want cold water compatibility and a long primary hose? If I get the regs now, is the long hose set up compatible with a rented jacket style BC, or will that be uncomfortable and just make me go insane (additionally, can I easily switch to long hoses from short hoses later - hoses are relatively cheap so I wouldn't mind upgrading them)? Reversed, if I get the BP/W now, will I be able to set up a rented reg system, with a donated octo, on the BP/W the same way you clip the octo on to a jacket style BC? Or is the necklace and long hose pretty much required from the beginning?
Ok, so that's a lot more than a question. Thanks for your input.