Pre/Teens Diving Gear

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wngdwolf

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Location
Burbank, California, USA
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My soon-to-be 12 year old wants to get involved in diving with me. I need advice on gearing him up. He's a small kid, about 90 lbs, 4'6".

Should I buy him a wet suit and modular BC, like the Seasoft Sealion, which can be adjusted as he grows? The large ones fit very large adults - 200lbs +. Or hold off until he's a lot closer to his adult size?

Thanks!

WingedWolf
 
Sounds like your son is still 35 pounds short of the low end range on the Sealion. You could look into the Dive Rite TransPac II LTD. It is more expensive than the Sealion, but Dive Rite claims they can fit anyone plus for youth they offer free size upgrades until age 16. This might be a better way to go in the long run, esp if you expect him to grow quite a bit in the next couple of years.

As for wet suits I just keep buying my son new Henderson's whenever he outgrows one. Used wet suits in good condition are pretty easy to unload for 1/2 price on Craigs List.
 
with almitychild we went thru 3 wetsuits in 3 season and that was a total pita. we got her a zeagle bcd as its something we can get a few seasons use out of and when we resell it it still has good retail value

my 2cents, buy a bcd so they own something that they can be excited about and look after but rent the wetsuit unless you can get one cheap

cheers and enjoy!
 
My son uses the DR transpac. He is now 15 and about 85 lbs. He has been using it for the last couple of years. It has a nice secure fit. He has about 80 dives on it.

The jacket BC we started him with seemed to shift on him too much for his small frame.
 
WNGDWOLF....don't know if you're still looking for equipment but my 13 year old has been diving for 3 years. He uses the following gear which is great! Be careful about the intergrated air source, if you use one practice a lot. Also, I noticed that the ladies Nighthawk fits great. Many of the XS or XXS woman's BC's will work.

1) 3mm wet suit...full and shorty
2) Gloves
3) Junior mask
4) XS rear entry fins.....XS is important to keep them horizontal in the water
5) Latitude BC with intergrated air source
6) Aries computer
7) Sherwood reg...small mouth piece which also fits nice
 
Hi, this is Bruce from SEASOFT. Just to correct some misinformation in an earlier answer. We make 3 sizes of the SEALION Jacket-style BC: SMALL - Adjustable to fit 45 lbs. to 180 lbs.; REGULAR - Adjustable to fit 120 lbs. to 240 lbs.; BIG - Adjustable to fit 240 lbs. to 475 lbs.;

It has a patent pending design that lets three adjustments change the height, width and circumference. Hope this information helps. It also comes with a retractor built in so your gauges are not dragging the bottom.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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