Gear Before Completing Certification

[PeterNBiddle]

other posters that say you will be putting your gear on eBay and you'll want the backplate wing etc. Doesn't necessarily have to be that way.

I love my Black Diamond BCD. It's comfy, trims out absolutely perfectly, and has d-rings in all the right places. So I agree with the above.

 

[oreocookie]

I'm in the camp of waiting until after certification to buy gear. Had I bought a BC before I got certified, I'm almost certain I would have had buyer's remorse. I probably would have bough a jacket style, because as far as I'm aware that's all the shop I got my cert through sold/promoted, but after 25 dives or so I knew that a jacket style was absolutely what I didn't want. My back-inflate Zeagle Stiletto has served me well ever since, and while I'm pretty sure I'm going to be getting a bp/w in the near future, the Stiletto is NOT getting sold.

Use the course and the first few dives after to decide a)that diving is indeed for you and b)what you do and don't like about all of the different pieces of equipment you try. It's a lot of money to spent to just turn around and have to sell it again if you realize you really don't like the design of the weight pockets/pocket releases on the bc you bough, for example.

 

[Ekthor]

Again Thank You Guys as an update I have bought some stuff and am currently waiting to receive it. Taking into consideration my budget, my very little experience and about 50 hours of review reading and such I have bought a regulator set, a gauge, dive computer and a couple of accessories. All in all I think I'm happy with my purchase. My gear, including snorkeling stuff and my reasoning to getting this is as follows.

Mask: Cressi Big Eyes: Considerably Cheap mask with in my personal opinion good visibility and confort
Snorkel: Cressi Supernove Dry Snokel: It's a Dry Snorkel
Fins: Tusa X-Pert Z3 with Spring Straps: I've liked Split fins since I started snorkeling plus Leisurepro was giving free Spring Straps the other Day.
WetSuit: Henderson 5mm Thermoprene: 5mm is the midle ground in wetsuits plus this one had a free bag.
Regulator: Edge Epic Cold First Stage, HOG D1 with a 30 inch flex hose for the primary second stage, HOG D2 with a 36 inch flex hose for the secondary 2nd Stage. This according are God Sent
Gauges: Sherwood Mini Pressure Gauge (PSI) I just needed a cheap pressure gauge
Computer: Mares Puck: Cheap Nitrox Computer

I got all this for US $1036

Now as I gain experience I will build my BPW BCD based on the Hollis Elite II Harness System.

 

[Roatan]

I got certified last year and got my Advanced in March. You would know more about buying gear once you are certified because, you can ask your instructor(s) and others everything you can about what gear they use and why. You can also ask to use different types of gear for differernt dives to see how you like them. Once certified, get on the web and read all the reviews you can find from Amazon through every dive blog to online dive store. Knowledge is power and seeing how others like their gear helped me. I ended up going with Mares everything because there is a Mares Lab on Roatan (the only place I dive) and no other gear brand service center on the island. It was sort of a no-brainer although I used Scuba Pro equipment while getting certified. So far I have no regrets and would recommend getting the brand of gear where you can conveniently get it serviced by a brand(s)-specific shop.

I see you already got your stuff, congrats! I came close to doing what you did but one of the fun things about scuba is all the cool toys you can buy. Have fun and enjoy!

 

[chillyinCanada]

Roatan, Sueno del Mar used to have a dive shop that sold and serviced gear, is this no longer the case?

West End Divers also has a service centre. What I don't know is whether or not they take in work from outside of their own staff and client divers.

 

[Roatan]

Roatan, Sueno del Mar used to have a dive shop that sold and serviced gear, is this no longer the case?

West End Divers also has a service centre. What I don't know is whether or not they take in work from outside of their own staff and client divers.

As I understand it, a lot of Dive Shops "service" certain brands of gear. The only brand specific store on the island, however, is the Mares Lab at West End. The difference is that while getting my gear serviced at the Mares Lab, if a part needs to be replaced, they can do it there - no problem. And if the part in question needs replacing through no fault of my own, I do not have to pay for the part in question as long as I keep my warranty current by getting the annual servicing. Since I keep my (Mares) gear on Roatan and don't travel with it, it made sense for me to have Mares equipment/gear for the above reason. But again, that's just me.

 

[tamas970]

It is quite a specific case, most divers travel around...

As for service: I am not much fun of the "free parts for expensive servicing" business model, I service my regs myself and keep spare parts with me all the time. Especially that Murphy always works and gear usually capitulates at the worst possible times, when there is no quick+professional help nearby (e.g. at the begining of that 10days long PNG liveaboard you were saving money and holiday time)

As I understand it, a lot of Dive Shops "service" certain brands of gear. The only brand specific store on the island, however, is the Mares Lab at West End. The difference is that while getting my gear serviced at the Mares Lab, if a part needs to be replaced, they can do it there - no problem. And if the part in question needs replacing through no fault of my own, I do not have to pay for the part in question as long as I keep my warranty current by getting the annual servicing. Since I keep my (Mares) gear on Roatan and don't travel with it, it made sense for me to have Mares equipment/gear for the above reason. But again, that's just me.

 

[Ekthor]

As a continuation of the initial post, The reason I was buying is because in my current job position I make enough money to do that. Sadly enough I only have this position for 4 more months before I have to move. I have everything except a BCD. Would you guys recommend buying the BCD as to just have to pay for the actual diving on my next residence or save the money, rent and buy later. My logic is to buy the BCD that way I don't have to pay the 25-40 BCD rentals every time I dive. Any suggestions?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I would. Why not? The only downside is that if you buy it now without researching enough you may find yourself wanting something different in six months or a year. I wish I'd have gotten my plate and wing from the get go. Spent lots of time and effort trying to make a jacket bc do things it was not designed for. Ending up taking a 60% loss when I sold it. Just make sure the instructor/ shop will allow you to use the gear you own for your cert process. Some are not so cool with that and will outright lie to you about why they can't do it. But you find they soon change their tune if you buy from them. I don't care what gear a student uses as long as it works. But some shops/instructors do.

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[Ekthor]

Thanks Jim. That is my main thing. I don't want to buy something and then sell at a loss because I don't like it; however, I don't want to pay $40 rental per dive and 10 dives later be like "I've spent 400 dollars - A BCD can cost 400 dollars - I am retarded ) BP/W or a back inflate along the liens of the Hollis Ride really call my attention. And after now months of research including a whole month of reading random post here I've decided that's what I want that way I can add whatever i might need in the future vs buying something basic and having to buy again and again. As my local certification LDS I really don't know their policy, I've ask and gotten no answer whatsoever so I really can't factor that in. If I have to use their gear for certification, so be it (It's including in the class price regardless), I'll just use it for every other dive afterwards. Thinking a bit ahead I might not even get certified here because of communication issues with my LDS and my secondary dive Shop to get certified has no issues with letting me use my gear.