Just signed up for my 1st dive class! Advice please.

[Bierstadt]

Welcome to Scubaboard and happy diving. If you've done other serious outdoor sports you'll find some decent overlap in the learning process. Gear is very personal for diving, and you are just beginning, so there is no way to get what's just right for you because no one knows what it is yet. But playing the odds of what gear is preferred by those who dive as I wanted to has worked pretty well for me - after I had some dives under my belt so I had at least some idea of what I liked. Step by step and piece by piece, each gear item has its own world to explore to find the best thing for you. And until you get through the class and get comfortable with your skills you'll be worrying about more important things than what your perfect fin is. Which I am sure you realize.

But starting out:
Do get the mask that fits you best. You'll probably keep it a long time - a good fitting mask is a great mask.
Don't spend extra money on a fancy snorkel unless you have some other use for it. Simplicity is a snorkel virtue, and most of the time it is just dangling on your head, unused.
Do buy a comfortable pair of boots suitable in warmth for the waters you will be diving. Comfortable, warm boots are good boots you'll keep using.
Don't worry too much about the fins. Spring or bungie heels are better than straps, paddle fins are more powerful than split fins, but unless you are trying out multiple fins you probably will not be dissatisfied with whatever you pick for quite some time. Do make sure they fit well on your dive boots, however.

Good luck.

 

[Fyffer]

The shop I’m taking my dive class at has these type of fins and they’re the two when I tried on I liked the best.

U don’t have to buy gear from the same shop you do your lessons at. Or even buy used. I bough every piece of gear used except snorkel and dive computer where new.

 

[Vitesse2l]

Is there a second hand market you’d recommend?

I'm a little way from you, but my choice here would be Ebay or Facebook marketplace. My local dive store carries a quite a bit of used gear too. Good hunting.

 

[Chidiver1]

Oh and read, read and read some more. I honestly feel that you can't know too much about diving. After all, we don't have gills. Make Sure to take notes as you go along if you have questions, I usually like to ask things that aren't in the books or are more in depth. What certification class did you sign up for?

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Welcome to Scubaboard and happy diving. If you've done other serious outdoor sports you'll find some decent overlap in the learning process. Gear is very personal for diving, and you are just beginning, so there is no way to get what's just right for you because no one knows what it is yet. But playing the odds of what gear is preferred by those who dive as I wanted to has worked pretty well for me - after I had some dives under my belt so I had at least some idea of what I liked. Step by step and piece by piece, each gear item has its own world to explore to find the best thing for you. And until you get through the class and get comfortable with your skills you'll be worrying about more important things than what your perfect fin is. Which I am sure you realize.

But starting out:
Do get the mask that fits you best. You'll probably keep it a long time - a good fitting mask is a great mask.
Don't spend extra money on a fancy snorkel unless you have some other use for it. Simplicity is a snorkel virtue, and most of the time it is just dangling on your head, unused.
Do buy a comfortable pair of boots suitable in warmth for the waters you will be diving. Comfortable, warm boots are good boots you'll keep using.
Don't worry too much about the fins. Spring or bungie heels are better than straps, paddle fins are more powerful than split fins, but unless you are trying out multiple fins you probably will not be dissatisfied with whatever you pick for quite some time. Do make sure they fit well on your dive boots, however.

Good luck.

^This^, is excellent advice.

 

[Shelmidine]

Oh and read, read and read some more. I honestly feel that you can't know too much about diving. After all, we don't have gills. Make Sure to take notes as you go along if you have questions, I usually like to ask things that aren't in the books or are more in depth. What certification class did you sign up for?

I’m signed up for NAUI Scuba diver and Nitrox diver classes.

 

[SandyRobinson]

Good move getting Nitrox at the same time.