New diver, first regulator

[tphelps]

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

Wow, I'm surprised at how many are saying "exposure suit" to buy first. If I were you I would invest in a DIVE COMPUTER first, so much easier and so much safer to dive when you have a computer. You can go wrist or console (guess that depends on if you get a regulator too with or without air integration). A nice computer will set you back a several hundred bucks, Suuntos (D4/D6) are reputable but I've also heard bad things about their customer service. I have an Oceanic (OCS) because I love the dual algorithms and Oceanic in general is a good quality for a fair price.

Like all these guys are saying, I recommend trying out some different regulators so you know what you want. As far as brands go I would rate the best (in order) Apeks, Atomic, Scubapro. Of course this will vary on opinions but these are my "top 3." Another option is to join the local dive club (because you want to go diving a lot right!? ) and ask some of the guys in the club if you could try their reg. But when demoing, be consistent. Don't try a regulator at 60 feet and then compare it to one at 6 feet because they will be different.

Personally I rented the full unit (Reg, BC, cylinder and weights) for my first 3 years of diving. You can always rent a wetsuit but not always a dive computer. Thats my advice, hope it helps you!

 

[Tortuga68]

1. Mask
2. Computer

Biggest impact on enjoyment vs cost plus light & small = easy travel

Exposure suit, if you are a common size & rentals fit well, no rush

BC, regs come later IMO

Most places I dive rental is all or nothing, price-wise. YMMV

 

[buddhasummer]

Agree with most others, I'd go mask and wetsuit, two things ruin a dive equipment wise, one is a leaky mask and the other is being cold.

 

[triggerman365]

I'd still suggest looking at something basic if you're a warm water diver.

I agree with Ron's statement.

I'd suggest a balanced 1st stage (2nd stage won't matter as much).

But I respectfully disagree with this part.

IMHO, I would rather dive an unbalanced 1st at recreational depths paired with a balanced 2nd.

Scubapro MK2 or something like a Sherwood Oasis/Blizzard come to mind. Both are bulletproof.

Agree with Ron on the MK2, but it is an unbalanced 1st.

Anyway all this makes the point mentioned in this thread that a reg purchase can wait for now.

 

[alewar]

You can dive just fine with a rented regulator. On the other hand, rented BCDs and suits will mostly suck.

I'm still buying my gear. My list is sorted like this:

ABC
Suit
BP/W
Weight belt
Knife
Computer
Compass
Regulator

 

[Tortuga68]

No mask?

Most shops I know rent tanks & weights as a package because they're the bits people don't travel with

 

[ams511]

First off a computer is NOT a mandatory piece of dive gear, although the agencies, manufacturers, and dive stores would like you to believe it is. Where is the evidence to prove that it is safer than using tables?

Second, If you are certified you should already have mask, fins, snorkel, and a weight belt. These are normally required to complete open water training, so they should have been purchased first.

Third, the order of purchase depends on what is constraining your diving. A computer will not constrain your diving. But not being able to rent a decent wetsuit, regulator, or BC will. While there are exceptions, most rental gear is low-end feature wise. This is because it is easier to service and stands up to abuse better. Do you want to show up at an exotic location only to be told they don't have a wetsuit or BC in your size? Do you want to do a deep dive using a Sherwood Brut?

If you only do a few dives a year, it is probably not worth while to purchase gear as long as you can get adequate rentals.

 

[Tortuga68]

i have never heard of on OW diver having to purchase weight belt

QUOTE=ams511;6726518]First off a computer is NOT a mandatory piece of dive gear, although the agencies, manufacturers, and dive stores would like you to believe it is. Where is the evidence to prove that it is safer than using tables? [/QUOTE]

I don't think anyone said they were mandatory but they will impact your diving fun, because most people don't dive square profiles recreationally

 

[boarderX47]

This is my list in order of what I purchased first for what it's worth

Mask
Fins
Wetsuit
BCD
1lb weights (x4) if they didn't have enough to rent but now I own all the weights I need
Regulator and air integrated comp (new for this summer because I didn't want to keep trusting my life to a rented regulator even though they worked fine for every dive)

Since I am PADI, all of my dives last summer were done with tables. Having an air integrated comp is icing on the cake for me thanks to a big tax return

I will say that being cold during a dive is miserable so buying an exposure suit to fit your needs is a must as well as looking at a hood and gloves.

As others have said new regs are sold with hype. Ill be diving a scubapro mk5/109 this summer after reading so many good things about them. I am into mine for $160 for a first and second stage with a new hose, mouth piece, exhaust tee and service by my lds.


Sent from my Galaxy S III

 

[ams511]

i have never heard of on OW diver having to purchase weight belt

QUOTE=ams511;6726518]First off a computer is NOT a mandatory piece of dive gear, although the agencies, manufacturers, and dive stores would like you to believe it is. Where is the evidence to prove that it is safer than using tables?

I don't think anyone said they were mandatory but they will impact your diving fun, because most people don't dive square profiles recreationally[/QUOTE]

Yep I did. One belt and 6 lbs of weights. It does not impact diving fun at all. All it impacts is the amount of time of your surface interval.