Agreed. I've bought from them online and by phone before and been quite pleased. They used to offer a discount to ScubaBoard members; wonder if that's still true?
On the BCD issue, one issue you may face is traditional 'jacket' BCD vs. Backplate/Wing (BP/W). The former is pretty much 'off the shelf, put it on,' the latter modular, customizable, and popular with some of the membership on the forum (in fact, if you're interested in progressing to technical diving later, this might be well worth your time to explore).
I've only dove traditional jacket BCD's (and even there, you could get rear inflate). I strongly prefer a BCD with 2 cam bands (regardless of what some may say, I've had both, and 2 is more secure!) and rear trim pockets to move some weight up the body and make achieving horizontal trim in the water easier.
Unless you intend to dive really cold or polluted water, I doubt which regulator brand will be as critical. It's nice to get something the shop does routine service on. Be wary of the super expensive ones; for example, in Atomic Aquatic's line, you've got a range of regulators breathing about the same, where a small drop in weight can cost you hundreds more. Not worth it to me. Some reg.s have a longer than annual recommended service interval; the Atomics are like this, but at the cost of it's recommended you not submerge the 1st & 2nd stages together in the rinse tank unless it's pressurized on a tank. A minor annoyance, but there it is.
For a dive computer, I like air integration because I like seeing my pressures on the computer and having the computer automatically log them for download to a dive log on my desktop computer later. Some people consider air integration worthless. That's its own big debate on the forum. If you don't buy an AI capable computer (e.g.: in a wrist unit's case, with or without the wireless transmitter) up front, you can't add the capability later. The Shearwater Perdix AI version would give you a highly reputable computer, tech.-capable, with option to add a transmitter later. Not cheap, but might be of interest. Then again, some people like to start out cheaper and upgrade in a few years if they need to.
If the computer's digital compass is good enough (assuming it has one), you may not need an analog compass.
If you foresee shore diving, consider getting scuba boots with fairly thick soles. I wore SeaSoft Sunrays to walk on iron shore on Bonaire's shores; for colder water, SeaSoft has the Stealth boots. In hindsight, I suspect maybe I should've just bought the Stealths since they can do warm OR cold (thicker than Sunrays).
A mask that fits is a big deal. It may be one of the cheaper ones; this is an area where buying high end may be a waste of money.
Richard.
