I am so new at this. I am shopping for my first set of gear. How do I know what to get or where to start? I don't want to spend a fortune, but don't want to wish I had gotten better equipment to start off with. I will not be diving in cold water (less than about 68 degrees) we will be traveling some with equipment. I want easy maintainance, but EASY breathing. What do I want to try first in a regulator? What brands seem the best? How is Scubapro or AquaLung in comparison? Thanks for any advice or tips you can offer. All the descriptions of 1st stage and 2nd stage sounds Greek to me. Pistons? Diaphragms? What is the difference or benefits? Ballanced or not? HELP please. Low pressure ports, high pressure ports? WHAT...?
Help... advice... equipment shopping
- Thread starter mompgburt
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DevonDiver
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IMHO, you would be safe to choose any regulator from Scubapro or Apeks. All of their models perform excellently...are easy to get serviced globally...and are reliable.
timegan
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Mompgburt...first off "welcome to the boards". You have asked for alot of info. Not so easy to answer questions. Your best bet is to go into the forums section of this site. Look-up ...regulators, exposure suits, BCs, you name it....it's been well discussed. You can spend many hours reading posts that will answer most all your questions......My .02....get the best reg you can afford. (why buy twice) You may not need to go dry suit right away (68 degree water). So if you get a good wet suit.....get a semi-dry 7mm..they rock!!...but hey....do some reading and you will learn what is what. Have fun....regards.....Tim
ivobj
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Hi, for regs I agree with DevonDiver, you get Scubapro or Apeks and you are ok, I would prefer the balanced ones, as you are not diving cold waters no big diference between Piston or diaphragm, for cold water sealed balanced diaphragm, like the SP MK17, is better, but no doubt about it, when it comes to regs, get the best you can afford.
Maybe you can save some in the exposure suit like timegan posted, as you dive warm waters, IMO a two pieces 5mm is ok (you got 10 mm in your chest). Personally I prefer not to use the semi-dry, I either use regular wetsuit or dive dry, but that is a matter of preference.
About BC, I suggest you rent for some time and maybe borrow diferent models to try, I dive BP/W setup with singles and doubles and wouldn't change it for the word, better trim, better weight distribution, less weight in the belt (I don't use belt at all), but again, try to use all alternatives before buying, this is other piece of equipment that you don't need to buy twice if you make a good initial choice (other thing is that if you plan to go tech later, BP/W shall be a must)
Maybe you can save some in the exposure suit like timegan posted, as you dive warm waters, IMO a two pieces 5mm is ok (you got 10 mm in your chest). Personally I prefer not to use the semi-dry, I either use regular wetsuit or dive dry, but that is a matter of preference.
About BC, I suggest you rent for some time and maybe borrow diferent models to try, I dive BP/W setup with singles and doubles and wouldn't change it for the word, better trim, better weight distribution, less weight in the belt (I don't use belt at all), but again, try to use all alternatives before buying, this is other piece of equipment that you don't need to buy twice if you make a good initial choice (other thing is that if you plan to go tech later, BP/W shall be a must)
Good advice!
Welcome aboard!
I just picked up a very lightly used MK25 Scubapro (1st stage) for around $170 (today). I thought that it would be fine for cold water, but, I am now learning that I may have gotten the wrong reg. It is an awesome 1st stage and I have used it in water above 50F. Unfortunately, I am looking for a COLD water reg as I dove below ice at times. So if you are interested you can PM me.
I will be looking for the ScubaPro MK17 (diaphragm) to replace my MK25 (piston) for cold water. I would really like to swap!
Welcome aboard!
I just picked up a very lightly used MK25 Scubapro (1st stage) for around $170 (today). I thought that it would be fine for cold water, but, I am now learning that I may have gotten the wrong reg. It is an awesome 1st stage and I have used it in water above 50F. Unfortunately, I am looking for a COLD water reg as I dove below ice at times. So if you are interested you can PM me.
I will be looking for the ScubaPro MK17 (diaphragm) to replace my MK25 (piston) for cold water. I would really like to swap!
Ragnar
Contributor
My advice is don't be too quick to buy anything, learn about it first. That said I think one of the best regs for the best price out there is still the Apeks DS4/XTX50. It can be had for about $350; it's rugged and will also handle any diving you may graduate into. When many of us started diving we had no plans to do the diving we do now, it just kind of happens, so why not get gear that can handle anything? And if you do stick with basic diving so what, you'll have safe quality gear that will last a long time.
Enjoy
Enjoy
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Welcome to the Board, I agree with the others. Take your time, do some reading, take some notes. Shop around when your ready to buy, look for an authorized dealer in the brand you choose. They will probably the cheapest and will carry different models of the same brand. I'm partial to Scubapro but that's me.
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Mares has some videos online that explain how their 1st/2nd stages work (diaphragm) and some of their other technology.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mares-just-add-water/260904-mares-technology-videos-must-see.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mares-just-add-water/260904-mares-technology-videos-must-see.html
djanni
Contributor
All the name brand regs are good. You probably couldn't go wrong with any of them. The best... that's Atomic. From their Z1 at about $450 to the T2 at about $1,500, nothing breathes quite as easy. Few, if any, are as unaffected by depth.
There's some good test info here: http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/regulators
There's some good test info here: http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/regulators
Maybe I'll be turning this conversation on it's head with this; but here goes.
Get the stuff that fits against your skin first. You don't want to keep renting wetsuits that other people have done who knows what in. A mask is another personal fit item that should be considered carefully along with fins. Boots, gloves and hoods are easy to choose.
A BCD is a personal fit item that you should take a lot of time to select. Rent several different ones and dive with them a few times; not just once. When I got my backplate, I thought I was going to regret it. But after a few dives on it I got used to it and I won't dive with anything else. The same goes for regulators. Try as many as you can. Learn about the features of each before you make a decision.
Bottom line, buy the stuff that goes against your skin first, then the BCD, then the reg. This is what I tell my students. Good luck.
Get the stuff that fits against your skin first. You don't want to keep renting wetsuits that other people have done who knows what in. A mask is another personal fit item that should be considered carefully along with fins. Boots, gloves and hoods are easy to choose.
A BCD is a personal fit item that you should take a lot of time to select. Rent several different ones and dive with them a few times; not just once. When I got my backplate, I thought I was going to regret it. But after a few dives on it I got used to it and I won't dive with anything else. The same goes for regulators. Try as many as you can. Learn about the features of each before you make a decision.
Bottom line, buy the stuff that goes against your skin first, then the BCD, then the reg. This is what I tell my students. Good luck.
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