Sherwood , Zeagle or Aqualung

[needmynitrogenfix]

Luis H, another way to save time while cleaning corrosion is not to sit and stare at the jar of vinegar soultion while the parts are soaking.

 

[halocline]

One downside is the shop does not sell any BCD's that I am interested in.

This is an upside, not a downside. I would suggest that you avoid packages , and get some dive experience before purchasing any sort of BC. Make sure you try a rigid backplate/wing setup as well as soft BCs of various designs before you buy. Most dive shops have a very poor selection of BCs unless they're also a tech-oriented shop, in which case they frequently carry Halcyon stuff, which is excellent but very expensive.

The small BP/W companies tend to sell their products either directly or through smaller distribution channels than the big recreational gear companies, that's one of the reasons you rarely see them in local dive shops.

 

[Mike126]

This is an upside, not a downside. I would suggest that you avoid packages , and get some dive experience before purchasing any sort of BC. Make sure you try a rigid backplate/wing setup as well as soft BCs of various designs before you buy. Most dive shops have a very poor selection of BCs unless they're also a tech-oriented shop, in which case they frequently carry Halcyon stuff, which is excellent but very expensive.

The small BP/W companies tend to sell their products either directly or through smaller distribution channels than the big recreational gear companies, that's one of the reasons you rarely see them in local dive shops.

+1 on trying the BPW setup. Having had a traditional jacket BCD, rear inflate Zeagle and now a BPW, the BPW set up for me was the best. I am not a technical diver but never liked the extra padding/mass that the jackets and even the rear inflate BCDs had. Don't let you LDS pressure you into the concept that BPW is a technical piece of equipment. They are clean and simple which is good for diving.

Some technically oriented shops will have rentals that you can try or talk to people in your area to see if they will let you try theirs. I have noticed that more instructors are using them than before.

Also for the regulator, it is true that the Titan LX (not the regular Titan) breaths pretty much the same as a Legend. While the Legend does offer better environmental seals it may be more than you need. If the have a Titan LX check to see if the prices are better than the 3 yr old Legend LX. I currently have the Titan LX and have had the Legend LX and I really can't tell the difference.