Gear question for the returning diver.....

[Selrahc]

Hello all. First post here.

I was certified about 10 years ago. Naui o/w and Nitrox. I havent dove in about 8 years (never could afford it back then lol). Now that I live in Florida... theres just too much water.... too many springs.... too many clear blue beaches..... I cant resist the call anymore.

Time to get back into Diving!
I'll be buying my gear and taking a "refresher" course very soon.....

And now starts the questions.....

I want to start off fairly small. I decided against used gear. For some reason I dont like the sound of used life support gear. Is this incorrect?

Anyways, I am looking at picking up the Aeris Competition Package from joediveramerica. ( AERCOMPKG ) It comes with the Aeris Sport BC and Aeris A1 Regulator among other things. The price seems right, at $550. Anyone have any thoughts on this package? I don't want to go too expensive on my first returning set, but I don't want cheap gear either.

My question is about this regulator and the tank I should pair with it. I have been looking around and noticed that not many LP tanks are to be found out there anymore. They all seem to be HP or MP...... whats a returning diver to do? I'm not sure what tank to get. I want to dive Nitrox on the tank, thats for sure. But I don't know anything about HP or MP requirements... or Medium Pressure tanks (new?). I want a steel tank personally either way I go.

I was looking on this site HERE and they have a section "Where have LP tanks gone?". They say that LP is being replaced by Medium and HP tanks.

I am being told by some people that I should pick up something like the X7 Steel tanks shown on the link just above. I was thinking 100 myself. But I am concerned with the pressure any the gear I am choosing.

Is it compatable? What the heck is a DIN anyways? lol. Is it a fitting as compared to a Yoke? Will I need to buy additional gear to make this work with what I am looking at? OR am I looking in completely the wrong direction????

Can anyone provide some feedback on this? I don't want to buy a tank that will destroy my equipment the moment I open the valve......

If this is in the wrong section I'm sorry. It was about regs and tanks and I didnt want to double post it. And since Im a new returning diver I felt this would be a good place to start.

Sel

 

[Jimmer]

That reg well handle a 3500 PSI X7-100 no problem. The valve that will come with that tank is a DIN/Yoke convertible valve. There is an insert threaded into the valve that makes it Yoke, and if you remove the insert it becomes a DIN. This way you can use it with any regulator out there. I am obviously not an expert on diving in Florida, but I would think that a piston first stage reg like that one, would be no problem in warm Florida water.

 

[Davidstealey3]

din valves are for high pressure and are widely used in europe and by tech divers. when you buy your equipment make sure it is from an authorized dealer for the company so you wont have warrenty issues and you will be able to get it serviced. it is allways good to buy it from a local shop so you can talk face to face with someone and they can anwser any questions you may have. on the back of the dive training mag there is an article called the importance of buying gear from an authorized dealer. you should read it. when you finnaly get you reg make sure it is din compatable or is already din with a yoke addaptor. this will make it eaiser to use for multiple setups down the road. i have never seen a MP tank so dont know what to tell you for that, but i can tell you to find out if the air you are buying from the shop ie considered grade E air. this way you can have your tank ready for nitrox, but can still fill it with regular air and not spend the money on nitrx fills all the time. hope this is helpful or you. good luck with the search. welcome to the board. have fun and dive safe

 

[Selrahc]

it is allways good to buy it from a local shop /quote]

I will check out that article, for sure. However, If I can get the full warranty buying online (this place I can), AND save 50% of the total cost? I find it hard to justify buying from a shop. My local shop sells this exact same equipment I am looking at but at twice the price or more. Thats a hard sell.... for sure. Especially for someone with a limmited budget.

I will, however, take the printouts of this gear and roam around to the shops in the area and see if I can get a closer price to what I am seeing. In fact, im heading out that way right now....

Thanks for the advice tho. Should I be concerned about the reg? I don't know if I want to use a converter or just get a stright DIN reg and not worry about it. For DIN I read about 300's and 200's. Either one ok?

Thanks again

 

[mudhole]

Hello all.
I was certified about 10 years ago. Naui o/w and Nitrox. And now starts the questions.....
I want to start off fairly small. I decided against used gear. For some reason I dont like the sound of used life support gear. Is this incorrect?
Anyways, I am looking at picking up the Aeris Competition Package from joediveramerica. . . The price seems right, at $550. Anyone have any thoughts on this package? I don't want to go too expensive on my first returning set, but I don't want cheap gear either.
My question is about this regulator and the tank I should pair with it. I have been looking around and noticed that not many LP tanks are to be found out there anymore. They all seem to be HP or MP...... whats a returning diver to do? I'm not sure what tank to get. I want to dive Nitrox on the tank, thats for sure. But I don't know anything about HP or MP requirements... or Medium Pressure tanks (new?). I want a steel tank personally either way I go.
I was looking on this site HERE and they have a section "Where have LP tanks gone?". They say that LP is being replaced by Medium and HP tanks.
I am being told by some people that I should pick up something like the X7 Steel tanks shown on the link just above. I was thinking 100 myself. But I am concerned with the pressure any the gear I am choosing.
Is it compatable? What the heck is a DIN anyways? lol. Is it a fitting as compared to a Yoke? Will I need to buy additional gear to make this work with what I am looking at? OR am I looking in completely the wrong direction????
If this is in the wrong section I'm sorry. It was about regs and tanks and I didnt want to double post it. And since Im a new returning diver I felt this would be a good place to start. Sel

You've been out of diving long enough to be confused by the specialties in diving. Let me start by saying a refresher course would be a good thing. Next, you'll be an inexperienced diver, ready to start with simple diving skills, in moderate depth. . . For the first 100 dives, don't try to become too ambitious.
Any regulator sold today will be enough. . . Any tank with DOT approval will be enough. . . Any gas you can get at a dive shop will be enough.

First make yourself comfortable in the water. . . a good fitting wet suit (You'll have to try many brands on at local dive shops to find the company that makes a suit to your body shape. If you are taller or shorter or thinner or heavier than a suitmakers pattern it won't fit well enough. A custom fit suit is only a little more expensive and for many it is the only comfortable fit. The next piece of gear, also requires a good fit. . . BC's either fit well or they are a strain for a new diver. You can only tell if it fits by diving with it. When you're in the water and inflate it does it squeeze your chest, does it hold you high in the water, to look over waves, does the BC push you face down, roll you around on your side have a crotch strap that squeezes you where it shouldn't? Renting from several different shops, can help you choose a brand that fits you. Buy only a brand and model you have experience with.

Buy the two pieces of gear that makes diving comfortable, and rent the rest till you know what specialty you want to pursue. Most divers don't use or need special gear and when they get something special, they won't find DIN valves, high pressure fills or repair parts for many of the exotic toys you're considering. . . NONE of this is life support, ask at any hospital what life support is really like. These are the toys that let us enjoy our time in the water. Go make a hundred fun dives and then look into wreck diving, or cave diving. . . those are much more dangerous that swimming with the fish and watching the girls diving.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I personally have dove with some of the gear you asked about and I didn't care for the Aeris stuff. I have partially crossed over to the "dark side" and now prefer a back plate and wing setup. BP/W is gonna cost about the same or less than any good BCD and it will be far more modulare and customizable.
here are some links:
http://www.omsdive.com/backplate.html
https://www.golemgear.com/c-2-bcdswings.aspx
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/bcs/backplates.shtml
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?category=backplates

As far as regs are concered go with DIN connections, They handle higher pressures and are safer. If you were to get say a dive rite DIN reg they come with a yoke adapter so you can always use that reg on rental tanks for example.
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/regs/rg2500.shtml
http://www.omsdive.com/regs.html
http://www.scubapro.co.uk/products.asp?P=603
http://www.atomicaquatics.com/RegProducts.html

A HP100 steel tank is gonna be spendy but worth the cash if you can get good fills on it. However even if you cant get it pumped to the working pressure of 3442-3500 psi you could get it filled to 3000 and still have the same quantity of air as in a aluminum 80. Most tanks now are coming with the DIN/Yoke valves which is a great feature to pay for, that way you can use any kind of reg you want.
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/gas/steel.shtml
http://www.pstscuba.com/

Something to watch for is a good computer or consol. If you are looking at aeris chances are you would be getting one of the computers. I HATED my aeris computer, although many people love them. If you must have a computer I like the suunto's but really all a person needs is a good set of gauges.
http://www.diveriteexpress.com/regs/consoles.shtml
http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/SQTCBCWC.html?Search=op%3ddtSearch%26Term%3dsuunto%26SearchFlag%3dall%26AdvSrchSortField%3dRelevance%26DescSort%3d0%26Hit%3d1

Hope that helps answer your questions