New Fish

[StaceyMD]

Hi all,

My name is Stacey and I'm a newly certified nitrox and open water diver in Louisiana. Needless to say, I'm extremely excited to finally be diving. I'm looking to get together the last of my gear (for now) and would love opinions on BCs, regulators, and computers. Opinions on purchasing gear used? Yes, I'm debating starting small with used gear to not completely break the bank. Also feel free to just say hi! Very few of my friends dive and I'd be glad to meet new dive buddies!

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy and welcome to Scubaboard! :admingreet: Sorry your post rotated so fast; this forum zooms at times.

It took me a long time to decide I had enough gear, and now that room looks like a dive store. Hard to say on the new vs used, depending on what, condition, and price.

 

[koozemani]

All of the gear I purchased new/used right after getting certified was replaced within a couple of years. As I figured out what I wanted/needed I replaced what I had. Take your time on deciding rather than giving in to that unpredictable urge to buy buy buy, your bank account will thank you.

figure out what kind of diving you'll be doing most often and buy accordingly.

 

[drbill]

Welcome to SB. Other than my wetsuits, much of my gear is used because the stuff I really like to dive with is mostly no longer made! On top of that, within a few dives even my wetsuits look well used. I use an ancient Scubapro X-Tek soft harness and wing. They stopped making the older versions years ago, but I bought three of them on E-Bay for very reasonable prices and they should last me the rest of my life. I also buy used Scubapro Mk10/G250 regs as they are the best I've ever dived with and affordable. As for fins, I think that is a lot more dependent on the individual. I use the older US Divers (Aqualung) Blades when I travel because they are powerful and light weight (for travel), but use the Apollo Bio-Fins for local diving. Those are my personal preferences.

I think it is a good idea to start with used gear, but try other items if you find that what you initially buy does not work comfortably for you. Of course you could also rent items like BCDs or regs and try several different types to find one you like.

 

[Fundive123]

Hi StaceyMD, If you're leaning towards used, You might want to checkout your lds to see if they have any demo/used items etc for sale. When I was looking for some gear to buy, I went to several dive shops and asked if they had any used/demo items for sale. I ended up getting a bc, reg/octo with a console computer that were used, but the lds inspected and overhauled/serviced the gear for me before I purchased them. I bought used, knowing that I would/will end up upgrading anyways after I gained more experience, and the cost of buying the gear used vs renting was worth it to buy. Plus I'll have spares once I upgrade. One of the things I bought new was a wetsuit. Welcome to scubaboard!