The best way to choose your dive gear.

[redseadiving]

When you go to the dive shop you will fined many brands and shapes for the diving equipment what will make you very confused what to choose. Specially if you with
A friends who use different marks, you will fined every one try to convince you that’s better, I got the same problem and the best way to come over it is to think about:-
1- How comfortable this gear, the best way to know if this gear comfortable or not is to try under water by try to fined the same gear at the diving center and try it, this will be very helpful specially with the size.

2- It should be easy to use, there it some equipment for the professional divers you should to avoid to use it because it will be abite hard for you then it will be uncomfortable especially with the BCD'S but you can have it when you get more qualified.

3- The quality of the materials, this very important point to take care for, for example for a diving masks you will fined many brands of them in the market but the good one you need for scuba diving have to be made of silicon and tempered glass, the cheap masks is not comfortable for scuba diving, the same thing with the rest of the equipment.

4- The price, it’s the last thing you have to care for but still that doesn’t mean you have to buy very expensive gear but not also very cheap, remember all the money you will pay you will save whenever you go in diving vacation.

And for more help you should to get your diving gear from a dive resort or a proper dive shop, and its better to ask a dive experience to go with you.

 

[David Wilson]

You have made some good points. Any beginner is bound to make equipment choices which they will later regret, but that's the nature of things. Purchasing gear should be about problem-solving, not chasing particular brands. Fit and comfort are indeed very important criteria and that can mean choosing gear that's different from other people's.

3- The quality of the materials, this very important point to take care for, for example for a diving masks you will fined many brands of them in the market but the good one you need for scuba diving have to be made of silicon and tempered glass, the cheap masks is not comfortable for scuba diving, the same thing with the rest of the equipment.

I don't agree that to be good, a mask necessarily has to be made from silicone. In any case, fit is the paramount consideration when choosing a mask, whatever the skirts are made from. I snorkel with a traditional rubber-skirted oval mask that matches my facial dimensions perfectly with no leaks. I've snorkelled for over fifty years with such oval masks without any problem and when I tried a low-volume silicone-skirted mask I wasn't impressed. Divers used classic oval masks for at least thirty years and IMHO the change to silicone was as much motivated by the special needs of allergy sufferers and photographic models as it was by the perceived "superiority" of the material.

 

[tstormdiver]

#1 should be that the equipment fits properly & #2 is that it should be comfortable!!!!!!! Ill fitting, uncomfortable equipment will greatly lessen your enjoyment of the sport. You're in it to enjoy it. After those 2 important details, then look for functionality for the type of diving you plan to do. Have the amenities you want, but don't go overboard with them. The latest & greatest gadget may not always be the most practical for the type of diving you plan to do now & in the future. After that, it is pretty much preference. I would suggest to go for the highest quality you can afford, but it does not necessarily have to be the most expensive or the most advanced.

 

[RJP]

I just walk in to my LDS and say "what can I get for this" as I open my wallet.

Is that wrong?

 

[scubafanatic]

I just walk in to my LDS and say "what can I get for this" as I open my wallet.

Is that wrong?

....um, probably not according to the LDS.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The guidelines I now use. And it doesn't have to come from an LDS. Ebay works as well.

1. Safe and Reliable
2. Comfortable and Well Fitting
3. Provide for adequate redundancy without being excessive.
4. Configured for self sufficiency and self rescue
5. Simple and Streamlined
6. All accessories and valves easily reachable
7. Allows for Buddy Assist and Rescue
8. Has a Low Drag Profile- Streamlined
9. Adaptable to the Divers Needs
10. Adaptable to the Diver’s Objective
11. All Equipment Identifiable by Touch and Location
12. Standardized with Fellow Divers Yet Versatile to Meet the Needs of the User
13. Equipment Placement is balanced and Instinctive