Question about BC and Regulator

[Prostar]

Here is a simple point to bear in mind. Buy the best quality equipment you can possibly afford. This is your life support gear. This is not a time to go cheap. As a general rule, you will find that you get what you pay for.

When I bought my first set of gear, I bought it from the LDS. I knew I could save money on the web but I had a very specific reason. I was going to buy this gear from a FACE. I would know who sold it to me and that that person cares that it is right.

Additionally, the shop has a policy that if my gear is ever in for service and I have a dive coming up, they will reach into the back room and hand me what I need to do the dive at no charge.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I got certified this spring and with the support of those here on Scuba Board, I resisted the urge to buy my gear right away. I rented a lot of gear this past summer and talked to a lot of divers. More than one time, I have had a diver lean into me and say quietly, I am going to dive this thing a while longer because I paid a lot for it, but I don't like it for these reason's--I wish I had waited. So hearing that time and time again I decided to wait.

I decided that for me a back plate and wing was a good choice. I purchased a Golem #35 stainless steel combo. Here is the link to what I purchased. http://www.golemgear.com/pc-165-18-golem-35-lbs-ss-combo.aspx

There are many good back plates and wing combo's out there and many good jacket and back inflate bc’s. I decided on the Golem because they had a great sale last week that was too good to pass up. I could have been happy with any number of bp/w's

I choose the bp/w for the following reasons:
It is completely adjustable giving each user a custom fit. I am working out several days a week and plan to continue, so as my shape changes, I won’t need a new bc. I will just adjust the straps.

When the straps wear out or if I have to be cut out of my gear, they are cheap to replace $20-50

You can patch the wing if it gets a hole in it--although Jakub at Golem says I can't puncture it even if I try, but if it get a hole he will replace it for me.

I will never out grow this bp/w as a diver. I can add a different wing if I decide to go with doubles—that is a long way off

I like how free it feels. The jacked seemed to squeeze me and make it hard for me to more. I have added a couple extra d-rings to clip things off on and will be adding a pocket to my leg.

It makes it easier to trim out—swim level in the water.

These are my reason’s for choosing a bp/w and why this makes sense for me. Once you get in the water, you will get a feel for what you like and don’t like. I have a dive buddy who loves the jacket because the squeeze makes them feel secure. So the thing I don’t like about something might be the very reason you like it or the reverse might be true. You won’t know until you dive.

Dive, rent all the different types of gear you can.
Talk to as many divers as you can
Divers will often offer to let you take their rig for a short spin. I have found that in general they are very proud of their gear and willing to help newbies. They will in most cases also tell you what they don’t like about it in a quiet whisper.
And last but not least, keep posting on scuba board and asking questions. I have learned more about diving through the kind folks on this board than anywhere else. I would even go so far as to say that I think scuba board probably saved my life. It was all the lessons I learned from reading the accident forum that helped my pull a dive out that I was in serious trouble—but that is a story for another day.

Good luck on your new journey into the world below!

 

[wvjohn]

I didn't buy anything until I finished my cert. Then I checked the prices for the various equipment that I had used while training. I used an Atmos Sport BC which fit me pretty well during my cert - and I found one at Scubatoys on clearance for $99 - I ended up also buying basically the same gear they used for training for the rest of the package - Maresk12, Atmos2 - all of which I found at a good price.

I wanted gear that was durable and that I had used before - ended up getting bc, reg, octo, atmos2 console for about $700

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Leah gives good advice, especially since she gave very specific reasons of why she got what she did, so when the time comes, regardless of what set of gear you decide on look at leahs reasoning behind picking hers, and if the same applys to the set you find regardless of type then your good to go.

 

[scarefaceDM]

Knowing what I know now...

Your first purchace should be BC. Fit is the most important thing. THE BEST!!!! is a back plate and wing. It was mentioned by Leah, which is one of the best answers I have read so far.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Thanks for the kind words regarding my posts.

It has been so helpful to me to find out what I like and don’t like. At first I thought I knew, but as I have gone diving a few times what I thought was important has changed. Also what I thought wasn’t important, has become important.

Had I purchased right away, I would have ended up with a Deep Outdoors Matrix back plate and wing since it is what my LDS was pushing. They love those things. I would have spent at least 3 or 4 times more than what I spent and not been as happy. The Deep Outdoors Matrix has a giant cumber bun and lots of padding. I have decided that I don’t need enough padding to make a couch and don’t want a confining cumber bun! I wanted something clean and free. I dive with people who love and swear by the Matrix. For them is the best choice, for me it is not. It took me some time to figure that out. Padding sounds nice until you have dry it out and use a ton of lead to sink it. Some people don’t mind. They say it is more comfortable.

I also found that as I rented gear, all those quick releases on the jackets were broken or seemed like a weak connection. I was renting new jacket bc’s. I thought if these things are breaking and they are new, that is not what I want to own. I also found that the shoulder straps on the Scuba Pro Pilots get getting twisted and I kept having to ask someone to help me out.

The jacket also road up and down in the pool chaffing me. And in my open water classes it was hard to keep it adjusted correctly. Since it was so hard to keep adjusted, it killed my neck. I came home in tears and turned to Scuba Board for help. I got some advice on how to adjust it and over time I improved my muscle strength which helped me combat the sloppy feel of the jacket bc. Here is a link to my story about being in pain with that jacket. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=145794

Anyway, the things that make one person reject a piece of gear might be the very things that makes another love it. Each diver needs to find out for himself.