Recommended Gear

[LakeMountD]

First off I just want to say I am new to the board and so far it seems like an awesome one at that. I just came from air force special ops training and got hurt right before I was headed to combat diver school in key west. I want to get my certification here soon and was curious as to what gear is essential. I know a lot of gear can be rented pretty cheap. I already have a Genesis depth gauge and am planning on getting a regulator here soon, what else should I buy and what brands do you recommend? I am going to be doing mostly recreational diving, nothing too crazy, I just need stuff that is very dependable and will last me a while. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[lairdb]

First off I just want to say I am new to the board and so far it seems like an awesome one at that. I just came from air force special ops training and got hurt right before I was headed to combat diver school in key west. I want to get my certification here soon and was curious as to what gear is essential. I know a lot of gear can be rented pretty cheap. I already have a Genesis depth gauge and am planning on getting a regulator here soon, what else should I buy and what brands do you recommend? I am going to be doing mostly recreational diving, nothing too crazy, I just need stuff that is very dependable and will last me a while. Thanks in advance guys.

For folks to give good counsel, they're going to need a few estimates from you:
- wait, is this for diving with the service, or on your own? the service will provide your gear for service diving.
- your service training may influence or extend your thinking quite a bit; you might want to wait 'til after to make an investment.
- where do you intend to dive recreationally?
- how often do you think you'll be diving? (goes to rent vs. buy)
- is there significant possibility that you will be stationed abroad?

 

[LakeMountD]

For folks to give good counsel, they're going to need a few estimates from you:
- wait, is this for diving with the service, or on your own? the service will provide your gear for service diving.
- your service training may influence or extend your thinking quite a bit; you might want to wait 'til after to make an investment.
- where do you intend to dive recreationally?
- how often do you think you'll be diving? (goes to rent vs. buy)
- is there significant possibility that you will be stationed abroad?

This is for diving on my own.. I want to try to dive at least once every other week. It seems like a lot of fun and im a thril seeker so it seems right down my alley. I intend to dive the Florida Keys area as well as captiva and sanibel. What gear is needed? I know of regulator, BC, tanks, gauges, and snorkel stuff.. ive got the snorkel equipment and a tripod gauge system by genesis.

 

[jrdivagrl]

I really like aqua lung regs, I have the titan micra and i love it! Check out some of their stuff, they have great regs! Another great brand for regs is sherwood.

hope it helps!

 

[scubatoys]

I'd tell you step one is get a BC... that has to fit - and is more important to your comfort level than the reg system. You can get top BC's like Zeagle in the 400 range...

Since you already have gauges, you could get a decent reg and octo for about 250 - like an aeris or Tusa, or Mares - or spend more than twice that with Atomic or some other top of the line reg. It just really depends how nice of stuff you want.

 

[Firewalker]

The key when buying your life support equipment is to buy the best you can get.
When looking for a BC you need to try it out in the water before you buy it. That is the only way to tell if it's right for you. I would try a Scubapro knighthawk or a plate and wing (both have hard back packs and are far more stable in the water then soft packs, like the Zeagle BC's and there clones).
Buy a good regulator, there is a lot of junk on the market. All the regulators work, but most of the lower end units will start to crap out, when you put a load on them. If was me I would buy a regulator that has a balanced 1st stage and a balanced 2nd stage. Like most of the Scubapro's or the Atomic's (Atomic is the only regulator company that I know of that test all of there regulators under pressure, and runs a flow chart on each and everyone, Atomic is also made in the US, not in France, or Italy).
Save up and buy the best life support equipment. You life will depend on it.

Firewalker
Scuba Toys and Schools Inc.
(The first Scuba Toys)
Cypress, Ca.