Please Help looking for advice on Gear

[Morphenox]

Warning Complete Newbie Here. Just finished my OW 2 weeks ago. I am looking on advice and suggestions on gear on what to buy and etc. here is some geographic info most of the local diving near my area is around caves 30-60 miles to some good locations (Merritts Mill Pond, Morrison springs,and Vortex are all within a hour drive or less.)and 90 miles to to Panama City Beach. I'm looking to expand my skill set and knowledge of diving up to a technical level. now here's the question.
What gear should I get that I can build on as my knowledge of Diving grows?
looking for info on everything from bc, fins, exposure suits, regs,computer, etc.

additional info (newbie thinking here)
I have also been lurking over the forums and reading a ton of the DIR and I'm considering a Back Plate and donut Wing as my first BC setup. any pros and cons to this setup? also what do I look for or better yet what do I look out for?

Im thinking about buying SP jets as my fins... pro's and cons + suggestions welcome.

As for regs i have been eyeballing a hog D2 Cold first stage and 2 Hog Zeniths as my secondary's... pros & cons + suggestions. also looking for recommendations on LP hose lengths for reg and bc, Spg's(what kind?) and hose length.

 

[GCullen94]

Well if you see yourself going in to technical and cave country first and best thing to do is get OW experience first. What is your budget on gear? How much local diving do you expect to do a year? Go out and dive as much as you can, join a dive club.

For gear recommendations that would get you started:

go straight to a backplate and wing system, this will allow you to go from singles to doubles with only changing the wing out. keep the harness a simple harness, there's no need to have breakaway systems and chest straps. The harness should not be tight. That is the one thing that makes people think a harness is uncomfortable is because they have it way too tight. Wings and backplates can be interchanged with other brands. EX I can use my Halcyon wing on my Hollis plate.

For fins, use a stiff paddle fin such as the Scubapro Jet Fin or Hollis F1

Exposure suits, eventually you will move to a drysuit. If you are working on a budget just stick to a wetsuit for now to learn in to get some dives under your belt first.

Regs, Regulators should not cost over 650. Don't fall for the titanium and "Limited" tags that are put on regulators, they should be balanced downstream designs. Your primary is on a 7ft hose and backup on a 24inch hose bungied around your neck

Computer. Get something simple that has a gauge mode and is nitrox compatible for normal rec dives. this should not cost more than 300. (my favorite computer and backup cost 230) If you want you could go big and get something like a shearwater petrel or liquivision xeo. They should all be wrist mounted.

ECT misc gear- SMB, 100ft spool, utility pocket,

Lights- Technical divers typically use a can light that is worn on the harness and then the lighthead goes to the left or right hand depending on the agency. Backup lights are short LED torch style lights that are attached by boltsnaps to the chest d rings and the head of the light held in close to the harness by a retaining band or a bungie loop.

So now time for a gear list.

BP/W
BP
HOG, Diverite, Hollis, Halcyon, Scubapro backplates. Most go with stainless steel.

Wings
HOG 32
Diverite Voyager
Halcyon Eclipse 30
Scubapro XTEK 30

Any stainless steel cambands will work.

Fins
Scubapro Jets
Hollis F1's

Exposure- You decide.

Regs.
HOG D1's
HOG D3's
Apeks XTX50's
Scubapro MK25/G260
Scubapro MK25/S600

Computer
Diverite Nitek Trio
Zeagle N2ition (Same as trio)
Apeks Quantum (Same as trio)
Hollis DG02
if you want to go all out
Shearwater Petrel
Liquivision XEO
Liquivision XEN (Bottom timer only)

Lights
You decide if you want to spend the money now on a can light. I used a DRIS 1000 lumen for a long time, it is a solid light and has never let me down and is now my backup
Light monkey 21W LED
Hollis 25W LED
Diverite RX10
HOG Morph system

Backups
DRIS 1000 lumen
DRIS 1k shorty

a 100ft spool, a 3-4.5 foot SMB, a small knife or line cutter and a utility pocket.

 

[TSandM]

Keep it simple. If you are going to go on to tech or cave (and given where you are and what you wrote, I think that's likely) start with gear you can use for those purposes. That means simple paddle fins of reasonable stiffness (Edd in Marianna sells the Dive Rite EXPs). Set your regulator up with a 7' hose and a bungied backup and a simple brass and glass SPG. Get a wrist computer. And start with a backplate and wing type of BC. Even though, living where you do, you may very well eventually go sidemount, you should spend some time single tank diving before you do anything technical, and single tank sidemount is not an ideal thing, at least in my opinion.

Exposure protection? A lot of people in Florida dive wet, although wet in under-70-degree water is not a tenable option for me. Learning to use a dry suit will give you some more flexibility of temperature, and also give you some redundant buoyancy for diving big steel tanks.

 

[Morphenox]

thanks guys on your comments i will use them to balance my decisions on gear purchases. When i start doing more spring diving i'm thinking of investing in a 7 mil wetsuit and possibly a hooded vest . at least i can get more dives, exp, and training under my belt drysuit training seems a long way off... but baby steps..

Also Cullen is there anything wrong with the hog D2 (besides being a D1 cold without a turret and missing 1 LP port) vs the D1 or D3

 

[GCullen94]

Nothing is wrong with it, It is just harder hose routing on doubles when the time comes. All hog regs are offered in cold water versions.

 

[KB3UBW]

thanks guys on your comments i will use them to balance my decisions on gear purchases. When i start doing more spring diving i'm thinking of investing in a 7 mil wetsuit and possibly a hooded vest . at least i can get more dives, exp, and training under my belt drysuit training seems a long way off... but baby steps..

Also Cullen is there anything wrong with the hog D2 (besides being a D1 cold without a turret and missing 1 LP port) vs the D1 or D3

Not OP, but in a similar situation, but as a broke student I will have to buy all of my gear piece by piece, what order should I get my gear in? I already have a mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit, and a dive knife. What should I get first?


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[Colliam7]

What gear should I get that I can build on as my knowledge of Diving grows? . . .
I have also been lurking over the forums and reading a ton of the DIR and I'm considering a Back Plate and donut Wing as my first BC setup. any pros and cons to this setup? also what do I look for or better yet what do I look out for?

Nothing wrong with that (cons) at all. MANY, MANY pros. PLEASE, do a search on SB using 'back plates' as a key term. There are numerous threads on back plates and wings.

Im thinking about buying SP jets as my fins... pro's and cons + suggestions welcome.

Jets are a great fin! They are stiff, afford good propulsion in the water with a frog kick. They ARE negatively buoyant, which is good for some people (with 'floaty' feet') and not so good for others (with legs that are inherently negatively buoyant).

As for regs i have been eyeballing a hog D2 Cold first stage and 2 Hog Zeniths as my secondary's... pros & cons + suggestions. also looking for recommendations on LP hose lengths for reg and bc, Spg's(what kind?) and hose length.

The regs are fine. It is hard to respond, though, because i have no idea why you picked them. Price? Do you have a local HOG / Edge dealer?

 

[GCullen94]

I feel your pain, I am a student as well. Is most of your diving travel or local?

 

[KB3UBW]

I feel your pain, I am a student as well. Is most of your diving travel or local?

A mixture of both, I dive local when ever I get I chance, but I'm going to Hawaii over Christmas Break, and I'll be doing some diving in Alabama/the Gulf over the summer.


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[Morphenox]

Do you have a local HOG / Edge dealer?

Yes,Cave adventures is a 35ish mile drive and they are a hog/edge dealer one of the few dive shops that are close by Sea Divers is another semi close LDS which is 25ish miles away but i dont think SD deals edge products. thinking about going to CA tomorrow and browse the shop.

also another factor Is Price not a college student anymore but still budget minded.