Shopping for equipment

[beardown]

Will be certified soon - dived many years ago and decided to take it up legally again. Shopping for equipment - really hard to get helpful info and narrow things down. Most stores just push the stock on hand or steer you to the most expensive equipment.

Live in Houston - will probably dive in Caribbean mostly (warmer climates). Are there any practical rules, proven equipment or $ budgets that I should be considering? I'm athletic, in shape, great swimmer and believe in spending enough to properly outfit myself with equipment that I'll use for quite some time (as opposed to initially buying cheap and being disappointed).

I know it's a broad question, but any advice, websites with real info, etc. would be appreciated.

 

[Scott Riemer]

Welcome to Scubaboard! Everyone has their own opinions about equipment, so your question is too broad for me to help you. What it will come down to is your personal preferences. Remember fit is really important, not always the brand. For what it's worth, I own Scubapro BC and Reg. Aqualung Blade II fins. Aeris Atmos 2 Computer. I'm happy with my choices, but you need to find what's best for you. Search through some of the equipment forums on the board.

 

[headhunter]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

You're in the right place! We have a whole group or forums under The Equipment of Scuba Diving.

You may want to start with Bouyancy Compensators (BC's) and weight systems and decide whether or not you want to use a Backplate and wing (BP/W). The decision you make there and why you make it, may help narrow your choices as you move forward from there.

Good luck with your classes!

Don't forget to fill out your profile, so that we can add context to your future posts. Also, once we know where you are geographically, you may find that you'll have a whole bunch of new dive buddies to choose from locally once you are certified.

Dive safe!

Christian

P.S. Due to the high volume of new posts in the Introductions and Greets forum, it's not always possible to keep up with all the new posts here. So, please help me out and send me a PM if you post anything you want me to read or repsond to in this forum.
almtree: :sunny

 

[divedeepnj]

Scubadiving.com has a lot of gear reviews, good place to get started. Also, try to talk to some local divers to get their opinions on gear and setup.

Roger

 

[baitedstorm]

Heya and welcome to the Board. It’s the perfect place to spend your SI and meet new divers. When buying equipment, I always tell people buy it right the first time even if it means spending more money upfront, if you don't, you'll regret it later. I looked through tons of dive magazines for my reg, my husband researched it before we bought it. (Atomic M1 <--awesome but not as nice as my husbands new reg, the Atomic B2) they've never let us down.

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy!

Welcome to SB!! :happywave Put us in your computer's favorites and check in often. This is a great place to learn, compare, argue Look around our various forums - everything from New-To-Scuba to Instructors-Only to Dive Medicine.

You can find hours of equipment reading in our various equipment forums. There's a lot of good gear out there, so a lot of it depends on what you can get service locally, yet - in Houston, I doubt that's much of a worry.

don

BTW - Did you set up your Profile? Some ideas for your Profle might be taken from looking at mine. Click on my Username to the upper left, then click on my Profile, and see what I've done. For your's, click the [CP] in the upper left of the screen, then click [Edit Profile]. If you need any help, PM me direct.

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Will be certified soon - dived many years ago and decided to take it up legally again. Shopping for equipment - really hard to get helpful info and narrow things down. Most stores just push the stock on hand or steer you to the most expensive equipment.

Live in Houston - will probably dive in Caribbean mostly (warmer climates). Are there any practical rules, proven equipment or $ budgets that I should be considering? I'm athletic, in shape, great swimmer and believe in spending enough to properly outfit myself with equipment that I'll use for quite some time (as opposed to initially buying cheap and being disappointed).

I know it's a broad question, but any advice, websites with real info, etc. would be appreciated.

Hello from Matt,

Welcome to SB! :1poke: I came here to look for help with my scuba diving dream and the response has been fantastic. So, I know you will enjoy being a member here.
There are a lot of nice and informative scuba divers. It's a good place to meet other divers and share experiences and dreams. Take care from Matt.

 

[scuba_chick55]

Welcome to the board and if you have any questions about the Carribean I'm sure somebody here would know, you just need to ask.

 

[scubablue67]

When shopping for gear ask the salesperson for a comparison of features and benefits for each piece of gear. Don't just ask whats the best choice they'll always go for the highest priced item. Make a list of the types of diving you might like to do and compare it to the best gear to do the job. Good Luck and feel free to ask any questions.
Rich

 

[Doc Intrepid]

What sort of diving do you aspire to do? reef tours? photography? spearfishing? shell collecting? wrecks? do you intend to pursue recreational diving, such as liveaboard trips? or do you see yourself preferably aiming to conduct extremely deep dives using various gasses involving blending helium and oxygen? To a large extent each of these various pursuits will dictate that different equipment may be optimal. You can perform most recreational diving using technical diving rigs. The reverse generally does not hold true. Which way you want to go with your equipment decisions may be guided to a large extent by what sort of diving you want to do.

(Fill out your profile in greater detail. It will provide context to people trying to respond to you, and will allow them to provide input that may be more useful to you.)

Hope this helps.