Hello all, I been certified for awhile now but haven't been able to dive that much. I am getting back into diving now that I have the time. I'm am taking a refresher course in a couple of weeks and really want my own gear. My question is this what would be a good set of starter gear. BC, reg, octo, and instrument gauge. Any comments on what brands I should be looking at and staying away from would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
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- Thread starter Staggs903
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Welcome to Scubaboard.
You've asked a pretty big question. IMO there is no such thing as "starter" gear. Buy once buy right. There is no really bad gear out there and expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. What does your LDS stock? What are your local conditions? What thickness wetsuit will you be using? Will you be doing any travel diving? You can't really go wrong with any of the big players, ScubaPro and Aqualung for example. Both have very wide service networks and in the main make good reliable gear. I'm not a big fan of consoles myself and prefer a wrist mounted computer and compass, with a hip mounted simple brass and glass SPG, to me it's far more ergonomic. It's probably easier if you look around and/or read through the many threads here on SB on equipment as this question comes up fairly regularly so there is lots of good information to be found.
Most people will recommend what they dive. Much of diving equipment is more about personal preferences. I dive a BP/W and prefer it to a BC, some people prefer BCs, each to their own. Aqualung Titan is a very nice reg at a reasonable price. I'm not up with the latest and greatest in BCs but Zeagle seem popular. Buying gear that can be serviced locally is often a worthy consideration. If you travel dive bigger brands such as SP or Aqualung may be a good choice. I recently did a trip had a problem with my reg and couldn't get it sorted at location.
If you look around and find some gear that catches your eye post back and you'll get lots of opinions and/or reviews. Most mainstream gear out there has been reviewed so do a search here or the internet and you're likely to find info. Beware magazine reviews as they are not always unbiased, advertising revenue and all that. User reviews are often more honest. Also beware of rushing into buying what your LDS recommends as they will obviously recommend what they stock which may or may not suit your needs/requirements. As with most things there are good LDS and not so good ones. If you are able to try different gear this this will give you a better idea of what like or don't like.
Good luck with your refresher and your shopping.
You've asked a pretty big question. IMO there is no such thing as "starter" gear. Buy once buy right. There is no really bad gear out there and expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. What does your LDS stock? What are your local conditions? What thickness wetsuit will you be using? Will you be doing any travel diving? You can't really go wrong with any of the big players, ScubaPro and Aqualung for example. Both have very wide service networks and in the main make good reliable gear. I'm not a big fan of consoles myself and prefer a wrist mounted computer and compass, with a hip mounted simple brass and glass SPG, to me it's far more ergonomic. It's probably easier if you look around and/or read through the many threads here on SB on equipment as this question comes up fairly regularly so there is lots of good information to be found.
Most people will recommend what they dive. Much of diving equipment is more about personal preferences. I dive a BP/W and prefer it to a BC, some people prefer BCs, each to their own. Aqualung Titan is a very nice reg at a reasonable price. I'm not up with the latest and greatest in BCs but Zeagle seem popular. Buying gear that can be serviced locally is often a worthy consideration. If you travel dive bigger brands such as SP or Aqualung may be a good choice. I recently did a trip had a problem with my reg and couldn't get it sorted at location.
If you look around and find some gear that catches your eye post back and you'll get lots of opinions and/or reviews. Most mainstream gear out there has been reviewed so do a search here or the internet and you're likely to find info. Beware magazine reviews as they are not always unbiased, advertising revenue and all that. User reviews are often more honest. Also beware of rushing into buying what your LDS recommends as they will obviously recommend what they stock which may or may not suit your needs/requirements. As with most things there are good LDS and not so good ones. If you are able to try different gear this this will give you a better idea of what like or don't like.
Good luck with your refresher and your shopping.
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How close are you to Dallas? ScubaToys - Scuba Equipment, Scuba Gear Scuba Diving Equipment Discount dive gear would have everything you need, good prices and won't oversell you. I buy from them regularly.
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Good idea. Over the years I too have used them many times and agree, great prices, great customer service. They have a huge inventory. My purchases have always been online as I don't live in the US. In maybe 8 years I've only had one issue which wasn't their fault but manufacturers and they bent over backwards to fix the problem.
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I like the Scubapro quality but am frustrated by the limited number of local shops who service the products. Another problem with Scubapro is the quick disconnect hose couplings aren't (or weren't) the industry standard. Hopefully they have switched over to standard couplings so a Scubapro reg can be used with another manufacturer's BC. Or vice-versa.
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