This is my personal advice to those who are brand new to diving. I'm targeting those who are considering getting into the sport, currently in OW or just out of OW.
I am not a professional and I not pretend to know everything about this sport. This is based on my experience and the experience of those I know.
I am only talking about new or recently made gear.
First I often see the question is this piece of equipment good. The short answer is always yes that is good equipment provided it is from a common manufacturer. What do I mean by this, a regulator if attached to a tank will provide air where it needs to go, a BC will hold air and vent air etc therefore it is "good" equipment, the manufactures will not make unsafe equipment. The question should be is this good for me. That is much more complex as you need to look at your diving plans and goals etc.
Second I'm only talking recreational if you want to go tec or cave find your local tec and cave divers and follow there advice.So lets start.
Mask:
The first and most important consideration with a mask is does it fit your face right. Fit is very personal, I went through several before I found one that fit right. After fit then look at color, black vs clear skirt etc. In other words go to shops and try as many as you can and go for the one that fits the best.
Fins:
I'm not going to rehash the split vs force fin vs paddle. Each has people that love them each has people that hate them. The recommendation I have is try them, borrow or rent if possible, try the different finning techniques and see which is the most comfortable for you.
Wetsuit:
In order to work properly a wetsuit must fit right.
*The way the work is limiting the water flow so your body heats the thin layer of water there combined with the thermal insulation based on thickness. Water still flows just slow enough that it doesn't rapidly cool you off. This is why you might be fine doing 1 or 2 dives a day with a 3 mil but if you try 4 dives you get cold. If the suit does not fit right to much water will flow and it won't function, not because it's a bad wetsuit it just doesn't fit.
*There some differences in material the stretcher suits tend to be not quite as warm but again the most important thing is fit. When I first started there was a huge debate between buying online vs local I am not trying to rehash that either, but wetsuits is one thing I would not buy online. Put on your swimsuit and pair of jeans over find out what shops carry what brands and go try them all on, the one that fits the best is the best one for you. If you are a odd size you might need to go custom, trust me they are worth it if you have to go that route.
Regulators:
These come in 2 basic types environmentally sealed and non environmentally sealed. The difference is just as it says the sealed ones have sealed first stages to prevent freezing. If you plan on diving cold water you need a sealed reg, though there are reports of people using non sealed in the borderline temperatures without issues it is strongly recommended to get a sealed reg. If you know for a fact that you will only dive warm water than you can get a non sealed reg. With that being said I always recommend a sealed reg for 2 reasons;
*the first is that way if you change your mind and decide to dive cold water you have the reg, the second is the seal also helps keep sand or sentiment from getting in to the first stage and causing issues as a part of that they stay cleaner and are easier to keep clean a clean reg is a happy reg. Cold water regs will also have heat exchangers on the second stage to prevent the second stage from freezing.
The next thing to look at is service do you have the skills and the intent to service your regs yourself. If you do then I would recommend one of the brands that make it easier to service yourself. Some brands are more friendly in this regard then others, I'm not saying you can't do the non friendly ones yourself just the manufacture makes it harder. If your not going to service them yourself then make sure you have a local service center or are willing to ship them out for service. If you are young remember you might move to a new area so you want one that has a larger service network, this the only time I will recommend a brand, in the United States (I do not know about other countries) I recommend aqualung/apeks or scubapro.
As you look at regs beyond the cold or not cold water rated within a brand as price goes up two things tend to happen.
*The work of breathing gets easier and they look better so the difference a low end reg from manufacture X with a seal and high end reg will be the high end will breath better and likely look better.
*Sometimes you will find high and low each offered with or with out the cold water rating.
*I have personally tried 3 different high end regs and I could not tell the difference in the breathing but I could tell the difference between them and ones I rented before I bought my own gear. Others might have tried more regs than I have you will find that a lot of people find one that breaths really well and have no need to get others.
BC's:
There are three main types of BC's;
Jackets, these are what it seems most shops do there OW students in.
*They are just like jackets the air when inflated is around you and almost gives a hug feeling. Some people really like this others don't.
*They also tend to put you higher above the water when on the surface just due to where the air is when inflated.
*They tend to have large pockets on the sides and most modern ones have attached weight pockets. Fit and cut will vary by size and manufacture.
Back plate and wing, these are favored by a lot here on scubaboard.
*They consist of a backplate and a wing some require single tank adapters for diving single tanks and a crotch strap.
*The most basic have a single piece of webbing run through them so you can wear them.
*They do not usually come standard with weight pockets or webbing pockets just rings to attach gear to. Some models will have separate weight pockets you can purchase to match. I have also seen pockets you can put on the webbing but have no personal experience with them.
*The plate is made of stainless steel, aluminum more recently carbon fiber and soft plates.
*The advantages of these is;
if properly adjusted they do not shift or move, the stainless plates take some or all the weight off your belt and move it over your lungs when in trim making trim easier, the same with air when using to control buoyancy in the water
they are very modular and pieces can be added or removed (weight pockets different size wings etc) easily
there is a very detailed beginners guide in the BC section here on scubaboard about these.
*I have heard reports of them pushing people face down on the surface but I have never experienced this myself.
*Stainless plates are heavier and people who travel a lot might want to go with a lighter plate for this reason.
Back inflate, these are a kinda hybrid of the above two. Air is in attached wings over your back, they have pockets though not as large as on jackets and intergraded weight pockets. I have heard complaints of them pushing people face down at the surface as well. My first BC was this style and I never experienced this.
Computers:
First decision console mounted or wrist mounted. For rec diving this is 100% personal preference try both and see which you like better.
*The most important thing with a computer is can you read it in your diving conditions. Do you wear glasses but will not wear them when diving? Do you dive low VIS conditions. Try this first put your mask on and look at them on the surface, try and rent different ones dive with them and see which ones are easiest to read.
*Next play with menus and navigate through them if you can't try them put on your diving gloves can you easily push the buttons? Are the menu options easy for you to navigate?
*Air integration means on a console mount the computer also shows your tank pressure therefore removing the need for a separate pressure gauge on your console and sometimes estimated air time remaining based on it's calculated sac and depth. With a wrist mount the computer does the same with the use of a wireless transmitter attached to your first stage, some people who use these will keep a pressure gauge on the other high pressure port as a backup in case the transmitter loses signal, battery dies etc. Having AI raises the cost by a fairly large amount especially for wrist mount because you also have to buy a transmitter.
*Next decision is algorithm, different computers use different means of determining air loading on repetative dives you will notice one computer saying your at NDL with others saying you still have time remaining. This is referred to as how conservative or aggressive the computer is. Some prefer one over the other, as a new diver it is likely at first you won't notice as your air consumption will limit you more than NDL however as you get more experienced and comfortable your SAC will improve and NDL will become limiting.
This is a long enough rant. Hopefully I have helped new divers in starting to narrow down choices. My biggest recommendation is to rent different brands and styles and see what fits you best. This is a expensive hobby to get started but it is cheaper to buy the right thing the first time, buy once, cry once. I made mistakes in my first gear purchases and lost a lot of money selling used gear.
