looking for entry level pro gear...help me understand it all.

[Deva]

First all thanks for taking the time to read my thread. I thought it best to start my own instead of high jacking someone else...

about me I have 17-20 dives under my belt in Hawaii and Belize will be doing a DM internship in Thailand for about 6 months this winter
so now I need some good gear at a reasonable price. my budget is about 1000 USD this all happened last min. I did not have time to save up for it.

will get my wetsuit mask, fins once i am there from the dive shop. but was thinking about getting a pkg deal for the rest before I go. so there is alot to learn in a month before I leave. I don't foresee my self diving cold water much if at all. mostly reef and a few wreck dives. but will long about 150-200 dives this winter.

so all that said would love feed back thought and insight in to diving gear.
also can some school me on wrist Dive computers. it is better on the wrist?? only used a DC once and love it but it was in the counsel. so sorry for the noob question but how does a wrist DC gauge your PSI or does it??

also not the biggest fan of integrated wights in the BCD nice in theory but saw my GF shoot to the surface b/c one wight fell out. good thing we were shore diving and kicking out so we were not to deep. does all BCD now days have it?

I can get aqualung and scubapro gear form the dive shop but would love to learn more about gear before I buy something.
what about the pkg:
Aeris EX200 Complete Package
cheers
Deva

---------- Post Merged at 03:02 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:24 PM ----------

so I chatted with leisurepro and they suggested this:
http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/PCKM2.html
and I was wondering about this one too :
http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/PCKT3.html?&&
cheers Deva

---------- Post Merged at 03:08 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:24 PM ----------

they said that the mars was a more heavy duty BCD...

 

[Kronek]

DM Intern with 17 dives? Eeep. I would wait if it was me, my gear, not exposure or lead. Set me back almost 1700, this isn't something to skimp on. You ask alot of questions that I feel you should know before going into being a dive master, slow down, enjoy the dives and work into it.

I prefer a wrist mount computer, with an analog spg for pressure. Standard wrist computers cannot measure your tank pressure. However you can buy wireless computers that will monitor your tank pressure. But an spg is a good bet regardless for when the transmitter fails.

If her weight pocket fell out of her BC, it was one or more of, over weighted (They have a max weight of 10-15lb), the clips were loose, or the clips were damaged. When inserted properly with the right amount of weight in them, they wont fall out. I have 12lb each in my pockets, working down to 10lb each.

So, with all the basic questions answered. Why do you want to be a DM so fast? Why do you want to pay into insurance, or dues? Or did you not realize that you needed to pay monthly/yearly to be a DM? In the end I want to DM as well, so I'm not saying don't do it. But why even attempt it now?

[h=3]Prerequisites
To take this course, you must be:[/h]

• 18 years old
• A PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)
• A PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)
• An Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (or qualifying first aid and CPR training from another organization) course completion within the past 24 months.
• Have at least 40 dives to begin the course and 60 for certification

about me I have 17-20 dives under my belt

You cant even sign up for the course.

 

[Tigerman]

Entry level pro gear - now theres a contradiction..

However, why would a DM need "pro gear"? Unless you start tech diving what any other diver use is perfectly fine, you dont need any "specialty gear" as a DM


As far as the prerequisites goes you can flush them down the drain - Theres plenty of "zero to hero" shops around that will take you from no cert to instructor as long as you pay them..

 

[tracydr]

Go to your local LDS'S. Rent gear from each shop and see what you like and don't like about each.
read the PADI encyclopedia of diving section on dive equipment ( well, read the whole book), and spend time browsing through the online websites. Don't be in a hurry to spend your money. Consider buying some used equipment on Craig's list if you really need some now. Sounds like you don't know enough to know what you like and don't like, yet.
I'm confused as to how you can start the DM course with so few dives? Are you going to be doing remedial dives prior to starting?

 

[Tigerman]

Its called zero to hero and theill just do whatever diving you need to meet the minimum and move off to the next cert. Rinse and repeat and be a dm/instructor with a minimum of actual experience..

 

[boulderjohn]

I'm going to guess that the operation you are using for your training in Thailand will provide you with the best prices on the gear they would prefer that you use. You could save a lot of money by renting until then. You can even get a temporary set of used equipment for a pretty good price on Craig's List or something else similar. Even the classified on ScubaBoard could be a good place for used gear.

 

[diversteve]

All three of the BC's in the listed packages are weight-integrated so may not be what you want. Of course you can use them with a belt but it seems silly to pay for something you don't think you'll use. Or have you changed your mind on that?

Two of the bc's are back-inflate, the other is a traditional jacket. Back inflate has the advantage of less clutter in front of you. You'll likely be carrying some extra safety gear when you DM so that's a consideration. So is pocket size, most DM's I know carry all sorts of things - like lights, reels, Surface Marker Buoys (SMB's) etc.

The other thing you may want to consider is that your training agency may have specific requirements for what they want you to use - both from a marketing standpoint - some shops like their staff outfitted in gear they sell - or what they can service either on site or locally.

Also you may need to have enough lift to carry extra weight for customers use when underwater - it often happens that divers descend and are underweighted - you as the DM trainee get to carry it. And have enough lift to bring both yourself and a customer safely back to the surface - assuming a catastrophic failure of their gear. Probably all three of the BC's do - it wasn't clear on the LP ad what the Tusa lift capacity was.

Dive shop employees also qualify for keyman discounts - IDK if a DM trainee does, but that might be worth inquiring about.

One other factor to consider is local service. If you're going to be diving for 6months continuously, something is likely to break/need service. So it would be good to buy gear from a brand your dive center can do warranty service on - they need to be able to have/get parts - often they need to be a licensed dealer for that brand.

Personally I think you'd have the best option for that with ScubaPro or Aqualung, they've both been around 5 decades and have a larger dealer network. Maybe Mares also. But it's really going to be somewhat geo-specific.

The Tusa package has an octo/inflator combo. Your training center may not want you to teach/assist using it since that method requires you to donate your primary instead of the normal bright yellow octo that most people train with. It's confusing to new divers when a standard octo inflator is still more prevalent.

An Air Integrated wrist computer has a transmitter on your 1st stage that links to the computer wirelessly so it displays tank pressure thru your dive. Some even calculate an average remaining gas available based on your depth and consumption. But they're just an average and shouldn't be used in place of solid gas management techniques - which you'll learn. They're also going to be most of your $1000 budget to get a decent one.

Of the three package deals, only the TUSA offers an Air Integrated computer - it senses tank pressure thru the hose.

The other two are just standalone computers mounted in a console. So you're getting depth from the computer and tank pressure from the adjacent pressure gauge. I'm fairly sure the Puck can be wrist mounted on a wristband later if desired - you'd still need a pressure gauge on a hose.

You can also get a non-AI wrist computer such as a Suunto Zoop or Oceanic Veo/Geo if you just want a computer on your wrist instead of a console. If you do that you'll need to get a set of depth/pressure gauges on a hose - might as well buy a 3 gauge set with a compass since you'll likely need one in your DM training. Get one that does Nitrox, with the amount of daily dives you'll be doing that's going to be a given.

 

[Deva]

thanks for the relays folks.
as far as why I want to be a DM is that I got accepted in to a program the is a work trade. I get my AOW etc. before I start the DM training. after I wok off the cost of all the training by being a DM assistant & DM. will I end up working in the industry I don"t know maybe I have a couple leads. but that is not why I am doing it I love to dive and all things Reef. so if I can expand my knowledge and dive for free (and work it off) all winter why not. can't see a better way to spend the winter as it already starting to get fall here in jackson hole.

ok now to the gear. after chatting w/ the dive shop in Thailand we discussed that brands like tusla and oceanic are had to service in south east asia and better go with aqualung or scubapro as they know all about them and service them very easy. I can use shop gear till my DM course starts so I can try a few different BCD and talk to other DM and instructors and get others feedback to. so that what I am gonna do. makes since I was just trying to get some info so I make well informed purchases.

thanks all
cheers

 

[TSandM]

You've gotten a good deal of information about the specific gear packages, so I'll address one of your questions, which is why have a wrist computer. I like having my depth and time on my wrist, where I can easily monitor that information almost constantly. On the other hand, checking my pressure every five minutes is often enough (and frequently overkill in shallow reef dives) and I don't find unclipping my gauge that often to be a major issue. So I'm good with a wrist gauge and a simple SPG. It is certainly possible to buy a wrist computer that has an option for a transmitter, and not buy the transmitter immediately, but do it later, if you decide that is something you can't live without. When I gave my husband my Vytec, he immediately bought the transmitter for it

Although I agree with the others about doing DM with no experience, I suspect that, by the time you are finished with your program and your working off dives, you will have quite a bit, and have seen a great deal. This is not the same as a student with your degree of inexperience here in Puget Sound, where they finish DM with the absolute minimum number of dives, and don't have the chance to rack up a lot of DMing dives and student/client supervision before they are done with the program (or even afterwards).

 

[Deva]

thanks TsandM for the replay about the wrist mount dive comp. I think that is what I will be getting.
and yes hopefully by the time I finish the internship 3 months min. + say on for another 2-3 months I will hope to have a great foundation in being a DM with about 200-250 dives.