Newly certified - Trying to Commit

[CKB]

Hi to all fellow divers!!! Ok, so trying to commit to scuba because i love this sport so much even though I'm land locked where I live!!! I've done those 'discovery dives' for the past four years, finally bit the bullet and got certified. SO happy i'm certified now. So looking to buy my own equipment. I've read so many reviews and ratings and talked to several store guys and I'm now starting to get confused. I do understand a lot of it is personal preference and the scuba shops only want to talk about their products and they all claim their products are best!!! Funny how they ALL have the best. If anyone can tell me of a website that rates equipment i would really appreciate it. I found two shops that will let me try the equipment in a pool before purchasing, Scubapro and Oceanic. Still looking though.
Thanks much for any input.
CKB

 

[a22shady]

Everything is trully personal prefrence most new equipement is safe and will allow you to dive worry free. What you need to look at is what type of diving you are going to do and what type of diving to you eventually want to do. Getting this straight first can save you a lot of money from having to buy twice.

Your profile say's you live in canada so if you plan on diving locally you would want a reg thats good for cold water.

Possibly look into getting a drysuit.
BC could be either a Jacket or Backplate/Wing. If you see yourself at some point wanting to dive doubles, or attach a can light, scooter, Pony bottles that in my opinon would be best route to go. I personally took the OW pool work with a Jacket and tried the Backplate/Wing and for me There was a difference.

But if your looking for specific Equipment:

For Regs: ScubaPro MK17/G250V / Atomic M1 Both are top of the line Awesome Regs that will work. If your not worried about Big Name I would look into HOG reg's less than Half the Price and from what I heard they too are awesome regs.

BC: I like the Halcyon Eclipse, Others to look at are the Diverite Transpac / DSS / Hollis / HOG

Drysuits: You have to find out what type you want: Neoprene / Crushed neoprene / Tri-lam You have quite a few options: Bare / DUI / Whites. All 3 Make top quality suits.

 

[CKB]

Thanks so much for your reply. On the first and second stage, we were looking at MK25/S600. Guy said it would last us years if we took care of it. Is this a quality option? We vacation a couple times a year in the caribbean so as of now we are doing warm water. Given where we live, yes we may look into cold water at some point as i understand there is good diving off Vancouver island and I go quite a bit for work. We want regs and BC that are really good quality are can use for warm or cold water. We will be retiring hopefully Florida but not for a few years yet. We are really new to scuba, certified a whole month now. Seriously, a coral reef wiht some small fish and i am absolutely beside myself with excitment, so very beginner!!!! We dont mind upgrading smaller options later as we get more experienced but regs and bc we'd like to buy once. I will look for the halcyon bd dealer here.
Thanks much ..... OMG I'd rather be diving!!!!!

 

[helimvee]

You will get a lot of opinions on this site, some based on personal preference and some based on personal preference backed by years of experience with a wide variety of gear.

One thing you should consider is where you will have your gear serviced. As a new diver you will likely not be doing it yourself and if you are going to be diving in salt water it is very important to maintain it properly.

You should also do a cost comparison between purchasing and renting. Don't forget to add in the annual service cost. You might find it less expensive to rent, at least until you figure out what kind of diving you want to do.

Personally, I own my own gear, but can dive year round.

Have fun.

 

[Zywo44]

Not sure what kind of BCD you're set on, but I just listed a SeaQuest Latitude XLT with only 18 dives on it. It's priced to sell fast so check it out before it goes!

 

[a22shady]

MK25S600 is a great reg set-up I own it and use it on my pony bottle. G/F has an S600 on her back up with an MK17. But feeling is that we like the G250V over the S600 there really is almost no difference in performance and you would have to be very sensitive and and breath on each to notive a difference. Other than that the S600 is a little smaller then the G250V. But again if you plan on diving in cold waters at any time. The MK17/G250V is the best option. The reg will last a long time. It's a diaphram 1st stage so it's sealed from outside water/Contaminents getting inside.

Either way you go your getting a great regulator. Me personally I go with sealed reg's. I wouldnt want to buy a reg that limits it. There are lots of others out there like this. Im sure every man has them. What you should do is get in a pool and try some out they will each have a different feel.

 

[CKB]

Yes, we found a shop that will let us try before buying so next weekend we are going to try the Mk25/s600. Now onto the BC. Have read lots of personal preferences and EVERYONE has more experience than I do!!! The search goes on. Thanks so much for the guidance. Really appreciate it.

 

[Freezerbrn]

CKB congrats on your c-card. I just got my card this summer. Good luck on gear selection. I bought the Apeks XTX50 Reg. It works pretty good for me in temps of low 50's and at 100 feet deep.

Take care

 

[a22shady]

Try every reg they have in the Shop. If your trying gear try it all, I only say this so you can a good Idea about what you want. Every reg will feel a little different. Some size/weight/fit/feel/air delievery. So if you have the oppertunity do it. I did when I went to my LDS I tried out6 or 7 reg combo. took about an hour or so. But I am happy i did as the reg I originally wanted i didn't like.

 

[ThinkDeep]

BC: Halcyon Infinity/Eclipse (DIR is the only way to go)
Reg: Scubapro A700 / MK25
Fins: Scubapro Jetfins