clinthutson
Registered
My wife, 12 year old son, and I are new to diving. We are looking to begin our equipment collection and our instructor recommended beginning with the regulator. Any advice on nice starter regs for us
New diver, first regulator
- Thread starter clinthutson
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
SubGear SG-100 - excellent value for a great price.
With all due respect to your instructor. She/he most likely works for your Local Dive Shop (LDS) as either an owner or commissioned sales person. That being said, they are a valuable source of information, but you need to consider his/her motivations.
I would not suggest purchasing your regulator until you're certain what you want. (you're clearly not there yet).
In addition to the normal mask purchase (you need to get one that fits), I would suggest renting fins for a while, lest you get sucked into purchasing 3 x ScubaPro Jet fins (just to pick on Casey, which can be excellent fins, but only if you've tried them). Unfortunately PADI insists a snorkel is essential to diving. Buy as cheap of one as you can. You'll not find much use for one one you finish your OW, and the normal rental price is disproportionate to the purchase price.
If it were me, I'd look into buying your exposure protection next. There are two types of people in the world, those that pee in their wetsuits, and those that lie about it. I'm not a terribly fussy person, but I do have some boundaries
The balance of the gear, I suggest you wait and rent. I troll Craigslist looking for scuba deals, it is depressing to me to see the number of Titanium regulators being sold with only one pool session. Rented gear is inexpensive. Take advantage of it. When you've tried multiple variants, you'll be in a better position to ask questions about what to purchase. Your profile says Ohio. I can only guess you head someplace warmer for your recreational dives. Rent as may different manufacturer's gear you can. Keep notes about what you like and don't like. . .
halocline
Contributor
I would not begin with regulators. I'd begin with excellent exposure protection for the water temps you would like to dive in. Then, depending on where that is, think about a BC option, but make sure you try both backplate/wing systems and soft BCs in actual diving situations before your decide. Then I'd think about a wrist computer if your diving is on charters or liveaboards, and finally a regulator.
The wetsuit (or drysuit) will make the most immediate impact on your diving enjoyment, and it's important that you get something that fits really well. Of course I'm assuming you already have mask and fins, if not, get those too. Get simple fins, don't get sucked into the hype. There is ZERO reason to spend more than $100 on fins IMO, especially for gimmicks. They just have to fit well.
The BC type and fit also has a really big impact on diving comfort, but it's a bit more complicated. Check out the gazillion threads on backplate/wing systems vs jacket-style BCs and you'll get an idea. It's impossible to get an accurate assessment of these systems unless you actually dive with them; trying on in the dive shop tells you almost nothing about their performance in the water.
If you're diving on charters or liveaboards, with multiple dives per day and multi-level profiles, like in the caribbean, a simple wrist computer will make your life easier and improve your bottom time substantially. You can rent them, but they're relatively cheap to buy, easy to transport, and you want to be familiar with their use. There's another advantage for computers with new divers; they all have audible alarms for ascent rate violations. While this can certainly be an annoyance to other divers, it can really help with those first few dives in blue water open ocean. Many new divers don't realize they're heading for the surface until it's too late to stop.
Regulators are sold with all sorts of hype; don't listen to it. I could use any regulator I want and choose 25 year old+ regs that cost considerably less than $100/stage. All regulators more-or-less do the same thing. I have a hobby of working on them, and as such am very interested in great performing regs, but I don't fool myself into thinking that it makes much difference on the dive. As long as you have something that is in good working order and is made by one of the big, long standing companies, it will work great. You can rent for a while until you get a better idea of what will work best for you. It's important to get something that you can get serviced easily, and if you're diving in extremely cold water, (drysuit temps!) then you should get a sealed regulator that is more freeze-resistant.
Best of luck, welcome to the forum and diving!
ron_dodge
Contributor
Hi Clint,
The others that have replied on this post make a lot of sense. Look at exposure suits first, etc.. etc.. However, if what you really do want to do is buy a regulator first I find it hard to fault you there as well. I waited until I was 10-15 dives into diving before buying mine, which for me is a long time. My thinking was that I wanted to know the last time the set was serviced, if it had quirks, etc. That's just me though, as if you're headed to a major dive destination (think Grand Cayman, Cozumel, etc) those places thrive on tourist dollars and if they start losing divers due to faulty equipment that's very bad for business to say the least.
Anyway if you're looking at regs the nice thing is that it's one of those pieces of equipment that if taken care of won't need to be replaced in the next 15 years unless you want to replace it. I'd still suggest looking at something basic if you're a warm water diver. I'd suggest a balanced 1st stage (2nd stage won't matter as much). Make sure that you have a local shop that can service the brand you plan on buying. I'd also look for a design that's been around for a while. Scubapro MK2 or something like a Sherwood Oasis/Blizzard come to mind. Both are bulletproof.
Enjoy
Paladin
Contributor
North of you, in Dayton, there is an Aqua-Lung dealer. The AL Titan is an excellent regulator. It is dependable and bulletproof.
Aquatic Realm Scuba Center - A PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center (IDC)! Dayton Ohio Scuba Diving Training in Dayton Ohio Scuba Training Dayton OH Scuba Diving Training
Aquatic Realm Scuba Center - A PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center (IDC)! Dayton Ohio Scuba Diving Training in Dayton Ohio Scuba Training Dayton OH Scuba Diving Training
elan
Contributor
You have to factor in the prices of rental. Here the rent can be so high that even if I buy a brand new reg ans sell it after 15 -20 dives if I do not like like it I will save money vs renting. My first reg broke even after about 30 dives so if was no brainer for me to buy it new.
whatever brand you go for check out the features rather than just getting a good regulator. Many of those "bulletproof" regs come in different forms. For first stages, if you plan on diving in saltwater or water colder than 50 degrees or so you want to get something with an "environmental seal" this will help prevent freeze up in the cold or corrosion in salt. Also if you plan on diving alot in Europe or are on a track to go TECH you want a DIN fitting. DO NOT get a din reg with intentions to use a yoke adapter regularly, you will not be happy with it. As far as second stages go, Unballanced second stages are inexpensive but realy have no frills. Look into ballanced second stages with user adjustments. They breath great and don't sway in performance when the tank gets low. Some suggestions are; Oceanic Eos/FDX-10, Edge Epic, Zeagle Flathead 7, or any Atomic set.
eelnoraa
Contributor
I am totally with Halocline on this one.
But before that, I would say hold on until you get at least 25 dives before you making your first purchase. After all, there is no reason to spend money on equipments until you know what diving is, or whether it is for your or not. And even if you realize you love diving and decide to purchase your own gear, regulator wouldnt on the top of my list. Read Halocline's suggestion.
But before that, I would say hold on until you get at least 25 dives before you making your first purchase. After all, there is no reason to spend money on equipments until you know what diving is, or whether it is for your or not. And even if you realize you love diving and decide to purchase your own gear, regulator wouldnt on the top of my list. Read Halocline's suggestion.
I would go with a BCD for you and the wife and a Regulator for your son since he is still growing. BCD will be different place to place, also a BCD that fits a 20ft will fit at 100ft.
Similar threads
