Please help!

[firewater]

Please help, I have been spending endless hours on the internet researching the gear that I need, and the longer I do it the more options I have and the more complicated it gets. Tried asking various dealers who seem to each push one particular brand bringing me no closer to my desision. None of them actually asked me anything about how much diving I plan to do and where etc. and being a relatively new diver even I know it is kinda important.

Anyway, at a tender age of 30, I am currently studying for my IDC and about to throw the rest of my life in the water, so to speak. With pleasure may I add.

Needless to say I am looking for a set of equipment that will get me through at least a couple of years of solid diving / teaching. Being a girl, I am not planning to go too deep or too cold (in fact just cold) for some time, until I have at least those few years behind my belt.

So far I am leaning towards the following, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions:

Scubapro Everflex Steamer 3mm
Tusa M14 Visualator Mask
Zeagle Envoy Reg
Tusa Selene BCD

I will be honest here and say that partly I am going for the above from reviews I have read, and partly because I like the way it looks. (Thats bad right?)

 

[alcina]

It's not bad if the gear also fits and works for you!

Can you try some gear out? Each person is different and needs different gear - even in the same diving circumstances.

I have several female instructors on staff and they use a variety of equipment...maybe ask at your LDS or your fellow candidates if you can have a try of their gear in the pool?

You've really got to try the bcs on to tell if it will be suitable.

You might also want to do the best you can, and accept that if it isn't just right, you can on-sell it and buy something else!

Good luck...

 

[Parrothead_Diver]

I agree with alcina. The most important thing to consider, especially with things like a wetsuit, bcd and mask, is proper fit. It won't matter what it looks like if it doesn't fit or work for you and how you are going to dive.

When I bought my mask, I had to try on about 30-40 different ones until I found one that fit my face and had the visibility that I wanted. After that I chose a color that matched the rest of my gear.

As for a BCD, again get one that fits your body. There are alot of manufacturer's that make BCD's specifically for women. If I were you I would start there. My wife dives with a Zeagle Zena and absolutely loves it. :07: I also dive a Zeagle BCD (Brigade). The reason we went with them, is that they are modular and can be custom fitted at no extra charge.

The Envoy is an excellent regulator, but at the minimum I would step up to the Envoy Deluxe. That way you would have the extra feature of a flow control. And if you are ever planning on diving in salt water and/or cold water (less than 50*F) then I would suggest you go with an environmently sealed reg such as the Zeagle ZX-50D.

Hope this helps, Doug

 

[ZenDiver]

I go through a set of gear a year....=). It seems anymore that I am putting up with equipment more and more. If you could SCUBA with out scuba equipment....gill implants...i would sign up for that...heh heh. The other day I let my DM use my reg and he came up spitting and cursing about how my reg was wet breathing.....I had been diving it like that for so long that I forgot it did that. It is amazing how a reg is supposed to breath....dry...who knew. I bought a 700 dollar BC, DiveRite Transpac2 with a fancy wing and I hate it. It rides up on me so I installed the crotch strap, now it just rides up and is even more uncomfortable then before if you know what I mean. I moved the weights around....not better.....I adjusted the straps on the shoulder....nope.....I changed wings....still no luck.....mean while i have about 100 dives on this thing and it starting to turn brown and look weathered and doesnt look new....=(....so now its almost time to buy a new shiny one again.....what will I try this time...LOL

Anyways, if you are teaching for a shop, you will probably get called to teach more often if you dive the equipment they sell, being that you are now a billboard for the shop and all. So if you have chosen a shop to teach for then try to buy the equipment they sell if it fits and all. The owner will probably work you a good deal if you tell him or her that you want to be a good representative of the shop and keep students purchases in house. Students tend to buy what their instructor uses. I will probably get flamed for that comment but hey that is the way it is sometimes....besides you can save a ton of money that way...thats how i did it initially... I run a shop that has to compete with internet purchasers and a huge Jugernaut in the industry called Divers Outlet/ Divers Direct which can be quite challenging and if my independent instructors are buying their equipment from these sources their students will too....so I make it "very affordable" to buy their equipment from me so in the long run their students buy from me.

If you intend to teach independent then the sky is the limit on equipment but in todays competitve world its tough to get students independently although it is possible. I am sure there are several instructors on here that can give you all kinds of advise in that arena.

If you are thinking of escaping off to some tropical local and living the life of a island bum then again the manufacturer means little. Find what works for you and take me with you.

As a professional working in the water all of the time...I cant remember the last time my equipment was dry....I like to keep it simple...no frills...just practical and non-bulky, streamlined and, did I say simple.

Hope this helps,

Brian

 

[firewater]

Wow, Thanks everyone for your replies. You are all a really friendly bunch. I shall be chattting around here a lot from now on. :05:

Looks like whatever I get will get the job done for a while, and by the time I will need to change it, I should have a good idea of what I need. As long as I am down there I dont really care if the strap is a bit thin or whatever. When I first started diving (only a year ago), I had this terrible oversided set of rental gear, the tank kept banging on my head and sliding all over the place, the wetsuit filling up with water etc etc. But all I remember really is the sense of this great big discovery I made and being thankful to God I am still young enough to enjoy it for good few years to come. :dazzler1:

 

[firewater]

Oh and ZenDiver, yes am actually planning to go to Thailand for few years and work away on Koh Tao or Koh Samui, worst case scenario in Pattaya. So grab your gear and get ready for sunshine!

 

[ZenDiver]

Oh and ZenDiver, yes am actually planning to go to Thailand for few years and work away on Koh Tao or Koh Samui, worst case scenario in Pattaya. So grab your gear and get ready for sunshine!

Count me in....=)

 

[Brown Mermaid]

Can you rent your equipment from a shop (maybe the one you might work at) before you make your decision. I admit rental isn't always the best, but it at least it will show you what you dont want. You will or should at least try some different brands in a pool to see what works or fits you. You must be comfortable. I didn't buy my equipment for 4 years. I had to make sure that diving was the sport I was going to do before I committed to the expense. I went with Oceanic Chute II, which I, myself, was able to customize for me, Alpha II Reg (if memory serves me right), and a DataTrans Plus computer. I make sure my equipment is inspected yearly. I haven't had a problem until my last vacation (Nov.7-14), when my computer went out. So I just put my low pressure hose onto a rental reg which had pressure gage, etc. Otherwise I am very happy with my equipment and will probably buy a back-up reg just in case that happens again. Unless it is necessary, I never abort a dive. In the abovemention scenario it was not necessary to abort my dives and ruin my vacation.

My wet suits vary. Divers Direct use to sell Comp so I have 3 3mm Comp wet suits (I hate putting on a damp wet suit in the morning so I travel to the Caribbean with 2 3-mms. I have 1 3mm made by Tilos, it has the superstretch material. I love it. In fact, I love all 4 of my wetsuits (all are one piece). In the midwest I have a 7mm 1 piece by Tilos. It is great and I don't get cold in it.

Brown Mermaid

Please help, I have been spending endless hours on the internet researching the gear that I need, and the longer I do it the more options I have and the more complicated it gets. Tried asking various dealers who seem to each push one particular brand bringing me no closer to my desision. None of them actually asked me anything about how much diving I plan to do and where etc. and being a relatively new diver even I know it is kinda important.

Anyway, at a tender age of 30, I am currently studying for my IDC and about to throw the rest of my life in the water, so to speak. With pleasure may I add.

Needless to say I am looking for a set of equipment that will get me through at least a couple of years of solid diving / teaching. Being a girl, I am not planning to go too deep or too cold (in fact just cold) for some time, until I have at least those few years behind my belt.

So far I am leaning towards the following, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions:

Scubapro Everflex Steamer 3mm
Tusa M14 Visualator Mask
Zeagle Envoy Reg
Tusa Selene BCD

I will be honest here and say that partly I am going for the above from reviews I have read, and partly because I like the way it looks. (Thats bad right?)

 

[ChrisA]

Please help, I have been spending endless hours on the internet researching the gear that I need, and the longer I do it the more options I have and the more complicated it gets. Tried asking various dealers who seem to each push one particular brand bringing me no closer to my desision. None of them actually asked me anything about how much diving I plan to do and where etc. and being a relatively new diver even I know it is kinda important.

Anyway, at a tender age of 30, I am currently studying for my IDC and about to throw the rest of my life in the water, so to speak. With pleasure may I add.

Needless to say I am looking for a set of equipment that will get me through at least a couple of years of solid diving / teaching. Being a girl, I am not planning to go too deep or too cold (in fact just cold) for some time, until I have at least those few years behind my belt.

So far I am leaning towards the following, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions:

Scubapro Everflex Steamer 3mm
Tusa M14 Visualator Mask
Zeagle Envoy Reg
Tusa Selene BCD

I will be honest here and say that partly I am going for the above from reviews I have read, and partly because I like the way it looks. (Thats bad right?)

If yu get cold why only a 3mm suit then.? Get a 5mm. You can always flood a suit
and cool down or dive with it unzipped. We use 7mm here year round and lately
people are starting to use drysuits now that it's getting colder. There is no reason to
be cold. You can be warm in 40F water if you want.

I have the "Tusa Visualator" It works great for me because I have a wide face. Fits better then the other masks I used to use that I now keep as spares. This is the second "Visualator" I've bought. I like the black skirt, think it provides better view. If you don't look like m,e the mask may not fit. I suspect that if you go all the way through to instructor you will own a half dozen masks It is _very_ wide with a large lens. I think it might be oversized for some people

About the reg. Get one that can be serviced locally and world wide. Zeagle make good stuff but I don't know about getting zeagle service in some central american dive shop.
All of the mid to top regs breath well. If you dive a lot you will be buying a second reg within a year. So you can plan now. Either buy the "good" expensive one now and a backup later or buy what will be the backup now and upgrade next year.


Many instructors from what I see teach using the shop's rental euipment for two reasons
1) So thier stuff matches the students from teaching purposes and 2) to keep the
chorine off there grear. Chorine is worse then salt water.

 

[mossym]

i'm not trying to cause an arguement here, but surely if you are studying to be an instructor you should know what gear you need? I mean if you don't have the experience to tell what gear you will need, then how can you instruct students? I'm not putting you down, but i would have figured that anybody trying to be an instructor should have enough dives to be able to tell what gear they needed..