I don't *have to* but should I?

[GreatLakes]

My Uncle was a Master Diver when I was young, he had PADI posters all over his office and I always thought it was SO cool. I never really thought to give diving a shot myself though until I saw a pretty picture online when I was nearly 24 years old (about a month ago now) the next day I went up to a local dive shop and tried out diving (with very little instruction) for a few hours in their pool (most of the time I spent determined to get the hang of my bcd before I left that day). That night I sat on the coumputer for hours, and after some resedarch, talks with friends, reviews, price checking, etc I booked a flight to Honduras and reserved a spot at a dive centre on Utila to take my Open Water and Advance Open Water courses.

Underwater Vision (the dive Centre) states on their website that it is not necessary to buy anything on your own because they will provide all equiptment needed for the classes(rental fees included in the cost of the classes), BUT I have a pretty good feeling I'm going to end up hooked to diving (it's in my blood) and either way I think that I would feel more comfortable with my own mask, fins, and snorkel over the used/rental alternative.

I need some opinions though.
First things first, the nearest dive shop and they one my uncle has friends at has its own in-house pool and there I would be able to test out any gear in the pool before purchasing, which is pretty cool. However, I really wasn't too fond of the people there, I'm in customer service and they were just plain terrible at customer service. Plus the instructor there for my Try Diving experience, while I trust he knew what he was doing and had extensive experience, could not explain to a newbie to save his (or their) life. Also, as much as I know I should support my local dive shop, this trip to Honduras has me pinching pennies a bit more than normal and those great deals I find online are very tempting. Last but not least, I could give you an extensive list on brand names, types of masks/fins, online retailers, etc. but I have no clue of the reputation of each company/brand or which styles are preferred (I tried to figure this out of my own and found great debate after great debate).

Long story short:
They told me I don't *have to* buy my own mask, fins, and snorkel but should I...?
If I do what would be a decent srarter set for a newbie..?
any other advice/opinions you have would also be appreciated.

thanks a bunch!

 

[TomZ]

The single most important factor for a mask is fit. Regardless of cost, fit is king. If the rental gear mask doesn't fit, you will be unhappy. Fins are a personal choice, if you continue to dive you'll probably collect a few pair, lol. Fit is again important, but not nearly as critical as for a mask. I prefer open heel fins over full foot. Open heel fins allow you to wear booties, which help with chafing and traction. Some fins are more buoyant than others, which will affect your trim (horizontal position in the water). Your physiology will determine what works best for you. Some fins are stiffer (generally more powerful), but will be more difficult for a beginner's leg muscles. Renting fins may be a good choice. Snorkels are snorkels IMO. Cheap is fine. I prefer owning my own gear, especially anything worn, as in exposure protection; booties, wetsuits, gloves, hoods, etc. In case you don't already know, divers pee in their wetsuits. If you have access to your Uncle's gear and/or his friends gear, borrow some items to experiment with.

 

[chrpai]

My OW and AOW was at an AI resort in Jamaica and every single piece of gear was provided at no charge. The gear was good enough and safe enough to do my training in. What I really liked about this is they had no vested interest in selling me anything.

I would go take your class and use their gear. And then, before you spend a penny on gear, come back here and pick our collective brains for ideas on equipment that is likely to never be presented to you by your LDS. The ocean is much bigger then what they sell and teach.

 

[dfx]

I would absolutely recommend purchasing your own set of snorkel gear. Mask, fins, and also booties unless you prefer full-foot fins. You'll need a snorkel for the course and it's great to have for, well, snorkelling... for diving not so much. I would even recommend to get a wetsuit, especially if you have reason to think that you're hard to fit a rental suit (e.g. overly tall, short, wide, etc). Having to try to find a suit that fits you every time you hit a different dive shop can be quite painful.

On the other hand, if you're not 100% sure that you're gonna stick with diving in the future, it may be worth using just rentals for starters.

On the other other hand, that gear is good to have even if you're not diving, i.e. for snorkelling.

 

[TSandM]

I would strongly advise you to buy your mask at a local dive shop, and that's because a mask HAS to fit or it's an absolute nuisance at best, and a stressor at worst. You have to be able to try a mask on -- and put the mask on your face, press gently in with your fingers, hold your breath, and see if the mask will stay on your face. If it does, it fits; if it falls off immediately, it doesn't. You have to pay what you have to pay for a mask that fits, and mask prices are all over the place.

Using the fins and snorkel from the dive shop probably isn't an issue, but if you want your own, I would recommend starting with a simple paddle fin. You can get, for example, the Deep See Pulse fins from LeisurePro for about $45. They aren't the top of the line fins (too soft for my personal preference) but they work just fine and they are inexpensive. If you want to upgrade them, put a set of spring straps on them. Or buy something like the Mares Quattros that come with a bungie strap, although they're quite a bit more expensive.

Buy a simple snorkel. In my experience, the more crud they put on the end of the snorkel in the name of "dry", the more the snorkel tends to fall over when you aren't using it, twisting the mask strap and encouraging the mask to leak. You won't use a snorkel all that much when you are diving, anyway. Using the snorkels in Utila would be absolutely fine, too.

 

[Lopez116]

Definitely buy a mask. Try a lot of them and find the one that fits best. You'll use it for years to come. Snorkels are pretty generic, but also cheap, so that one's up to you. Fins are the item I can see you going either way on. I'm sure the shop has fins that are fine for your OW class.

 

[AfterDark]

A mask that fits is a must have. You can't have a worthwhile experience if you need to clear your mask every 1.5 min because it doesn't fit right. You'll will become expert at mask clearing but there are more pleasant ways to accomplish that! I recommend a snorkel with a flex end and a large bore. Good luck, relax and enjoy!

 

[beaverdivers]

Long story short:
They told me I don't *have to* buy my own mask, fins, and snorkel but should I...?
If I do what would be a decent srarter set for a newbie..?

The short reply, Yes! You should get your own mask, fins & snorkel. You will be more comfortable and have more Fun.

As far as gear, if you are not happy w/ the local shop, go somewhere else.

 

[Gren]

Personally I hate renting gear but in this case, I think that it would be best to have a mask, snorkel, and 3mm boots.

I think at this stage, fins are fins and you might like what the resort has. As far a mask, fit is important and I much prefer a black skirt but I know it makes some people claustrophobic. Try them on and choose one. All you need is a cheap snorkel. I think boot are important because nobody likes wearing other peoples shoes and they are much easier to pack than a full set of fins.

 

[diversteve]

I'm guessing there's more than one dive shop in the Detroit area so possibly try another. This one looks reasonable: http://www.scubacenters.com/ Mention where you plan to dive as they would have different suggestions for Utila vs. the Great Lakes.

Silicon masks often have softer skins - some of them even have a designed in softer edge so there should be something you can find that fits well and seals well for well under $50. But I agree that's the one thing to try/buy locally. The only thing to check is that the mask face is either tempered glass or polycarbonate.

Scubacenter sells many of the better product lines. Equipment | Scuba Centers of Michigan

All of them sell from basic masks on up. Some to try that might be more reasonably priced: Tusa, Sherwood, Genesis, Aqualung, Aeris, Sherwood, Mares, Cressi - all are good brands that have been around for decades. My mask and fins are made by Tusa but the fins are pretty expensive.

You can buy fins online if you're a pretty standard shoe size. Besides the sizing charts at leisurepro.com check out the mfr's websites for more information/sizing charts.

You don't want anything named short fins, snorkel fins, long fins, or full-foot fins for diving. In addition to mask/fins/snorkel you'll need some warm water boots for Utila - the coral is sharp and although you shouldn't touch it - you might. A slightly treaded boot is better there for that. Also there are some dives where you enter off the shore - those are typically over rocks/fossilized coral (ironshore) also. That's really hard to do in a full-foot fin. You will notice that the same fin in a full-foot is often much cheaper - especially in split-fin designs. That's because mfr's. pay a royalty for one but not the other.

Basic paddle fins start around $40 so in addition to the Deep See fins suggested above any of these should work reliably also:

Tusa Imprex Tri-Ex Open Heel Fins - these are a good value at $44 currently.
Aqua Lung Caravelle Open Heel Fins
Akona Caicos Fins
Genesis Response Open Heel Fins
Mares Avanti X3 Open Heel Fins

Any of the $20-40 boots here are fine also: Boots | Dive Boots at LeisurePro.com Just don't buy surf shoes or socks. Socks are designed to go inside boots for added comfort but won't have a heel. 3MM/5MM for Utila, 7MM for Michigan.

Any $20-30 "Dive" snorkel here will work. Snorkels | Snorkeling and Scuba Snorkels at LeisurePro.com

Either of the $15 ScubaPro snorkels (Escape or Spectra) are a good deal, they're a premiere Scuba mfr. You need one for the class but most people won't use it much after that. I bring mine so I can snorkel after diving, sometimes the best dives are also snorkel sites. Off the SE coast of Utila the reef almost breaks the surface in some areas and it's really excellent - lots of corals and tropical fish.

Also if you go during Whale Shark season in the spring, that's only done by snorkeling - diving with them is prohibited. If you can go then - I would, it's an epic experience. People dive for decades without seeing one, we snorkeled with 6 there over two days.

Other reliable on-line sources are scubatoys.com, diverssupply.com, diverightinscuba.com, diversdirect.com, scuba.com. Scubatoys has a very liberal exchange policy also, if you try something and it doesn't fit, they'll exchange it quickly. I buy most of my softgoods (masks, boots, fins, accessories) from them. The others do also, just my personal preference. Call any of them and ask for recommentations also - Scubatoys is particularly helpful on the phone. Sometimes they can offer you a better deal over the phone than they're allowed to advertise.