Newbie diver looking for some advise on my first Gear purchase...

[Reefstalker]

Hey kazbanz.. yea, its gonna feel totally mad to be coverd from head to toe lol...and the cold water...ouch...haha.. Actualy gonna go camping at Tawharanui tonight..swellmap is saying a 9/10 for surf tomorrow! cant wait..
I'll make sure I go talk to Mike as you sugessted, cheers for that.
Pls tell me more about the goat island trip! sounds great.
Just bought the SpotX book today and looks like heaps of spots for beginner divers in the Gulf..
Right, have a good weekend all, back on saturday
cheers

 

[Frosty]

Gimme a yell dude. Theres also a 2 tank dive coming up heading out to the mokes. REALLY nice diving and the boat is pretty nice.The good news is the dive club is associated with a dive shop (LDS) so if you were keen you could rent the stuff you don't have.

 

[Mndiv]

Hey, just a short while ago I looked at a very similar Mares Prestige set on Leisure Pro. I am so glad that I didn't go with it!! Keep in mind that you are sure you want jacket not back inflate, environmentally sealed or warmwater reg, etc.
Another thing to remember if you are a beginner like me that the costs of maintaining a tank are often equal to those of renting one, unless you dive very often.

I ended up buying a Mares Icon Back inflate MRS BCD, Genesis Resource Pro 3 gauge computer console, Cold Water Environmentally sealed primary and octo adjustable reg, and several accessories for under $1,200.00
Keep up the research, it really pays of, and I am so glad I put the time I did into the research!

 

[George89d]

Thanks Martin, looks like a nice camera. it's a real pity the cases are so expensive. Atm ive got a small Panasonic DMC-FT1 ..and seen this case for it..but prob not worth it...? Panasonic Marine Housing DMW-MCFT1 for Lumix DMC-FT1 - Digital Camera Warehouse Australia
Cheers

 

[George89d]

Thanks Martin, looks like a nice camera. it's a real pity the cases are so expensive. Atm ive got a small Panasonic DMC-FT1 ..and seen this case for it..but prob not worth it...? Panasonic Marine Housing DMW-MCFT1 for Lumix DMC-FT1 - Digital Camera Warehouse Australia
Cheers

Here you can check out as well for some new underwater housings Panasonic Underwater Housings | Camera-Warehouse maybe it could be of use