Thinking to get BC or reg.....

[Calvinator]

....... I hope I can decide soon.......

 

[beachdivequeenbelam]

My dive instructor is awesome and I was at apoint I wanted to get my equipment but I couldn't afford until I won 2000 dollars in lottery but anyway I was going to buy my regs first per his suggestion because that is the most important thing to have that you like that fits and that you can control its care but I decided to use his rental equipment until I could get it all at the same time which I did with my winnings. I use a Sherwood Maximus and mainly because SHerwood's have a a few features no one else does and a dive shop can show you on the regs the difference. THey have these mositure rentention fins which keep your mouth from getting as dry during a dive and they have a rubber like disc that covers the drain hole and keeps the inside of the regs dry and makes them last longer look it up on there website. I hope this helps

 

[beachdivequeenbelam]

I spent 1200 and I got my computer BC wetsuit and regs. My credit sucks because of my ex husband but you can always see about financing it at a lot of these dive shops now too

 

[Calvinator]

Calvin, I think your problem lies with the dive operator, not the equipment...
If I were you I'd change operators and carry on renting properly maintained equipment. There must be at least one decent operator in Malaysia. Where abouts do you dive?

My usual dive sites are the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

I'd recommend buying personal equipment first. If you're going to have to rent gear, the biggest problem you're going to encounter is that they don't have your size available when you want it. This can be a problem for BCDs, and an even bigger problem for something like a drysuit. On the other hand, a reg is "one size fits all". The problem with rental regs is that they may not be particularly well-maintained, and they are usually pretty basic models. You can get around the maintenance issue by choosing a good dive shop with a good service technician - the reputable organizations always maintain their gear well. As for being stuck with a basic reg, well, if you're just starting out you're probably not going to notice the difference between a Sherwood Magnum and an Atomic M1 right away, particularly if you're not diving below 100 ft regularly or other such extreme conditions. And in the meantime, you'll probably have the opportunity to try out several different regs and see what you like while you're renting. Some shops carry a few high-end units in their rental inventory as a sales tool, and lots of instructors will let you try out their personal reg if they can see a sale in it!

 

[redacted]

Whatever you are ready to spend, set aside about $60.00 and go shopping for a regulator with the rest. Get something you are happy with but it really doesn't have to be the best. It just needs to meet your needs for now. Then go shopping for a BCD with what is left. If all you have left is the $60.00, look for an older reasonable quality BC on ebay or at your LDS. Remember, there are no vows involved here. You need something good enough for now and you can upgrade later when the urge and the $$ hit you. And if the budget is really tight, you may be forced to chose between new budget regs or used high performance kits. If you have the time to shop, I would expect to be able to get a good set of older regs (like a Mk10 with 2 G250's & gauges) and a well used but perfectly functional BCD for $300 to $350. Allow another $100 to $150 for service.

And with smart shopping, you can get all your money back for used gear when you upgrade. But you will probably want to keep the reg as a spare.

 

[aquaoren]

Well, my personal experience is:

i.) My buoyancy sucks!
ii.) I stumbled upon 2 faulty regulators in one single dive trip, which was my last trip, last month. The dive trip organizer changed the regulators for me F.O.C., but imagine, in 4 days, I used 3 different regulators! And luckily, the regulators went faulty when I was at surface and about to descend. I was thinking what if that happened during underwater. Hhhhmmmmm.....

So, I hope someone can advise me based on my previous experience.

Anyway, I have the Cressi-Sub's Flight Control System BCD, and, Atomic's T1x or Poseidon's Jetstream/Odin or Poseidon's Cyklon 5000 on my list. But due to capital costing problems, I can only get one at a time and eventually own my very own BCD and regs.

About equipments, I am also open to suggestions of more "value for money" equipments. Feel free to comment.

And I hope to also receive more suggestions on which one to purchase first.

Regards,
Calvin from Malaysia.

Your experience should answer your question:
Would you be able to survive a dive with buoyancy that sucks? Mostlikely yes
Would you be able to survive a dive with a regulator that dies on you underwater? Probably less chances than with a buoyancy that sucks. We don't do so well underwater without air
I consider the regs as very good regs but very pricy.
I am not familiar with the BC but it appears to have one of these pneumatic inflation systems. Do you really need it? It will not really make your buoyancy easier or better.
I don't know how much this gear costs in Malaysia but in the rest of the world you would be able to get a very decent and reliable reg and still have a bunch of $$ left toward a decent weight integrated BC only for the cost of the Atomic Possibly even enough to buy both at once.
I have a Poseidon Jetstream and a Mares MR/22 Abyss (Tested many regs, bought these). This said, I dive in really cold water and I use mainly the Mares Abyss.
As for a recreational warm water diver, I would personally suggest getting yourself a top of the line Mares/Aqualung/Scubapro reg, whichever is easier to service (Mares is my personal favorit)
Sea Quest makes very nice BC's. I have a Pro QD and am very pleased.
The most important suggestion would be: Listen to the others who recommended to try gear first before buying it. Don't buy gear only because of it's name or reputation. It may be the best gear in the world but if it doesn't fit your needs or make you comfortable, it's crapp.

 

[chocolate]

I'm a novice diver too, but I did get both my Reg & BC at the same time. Just seems to make more sense. Though I am no expert on these matters, but I've heard that the brand name's BC & Reg are very reliable, even the lowest model. Just without all the bells & whistles.

 

[seabat]

I also got both reg and BC at the same time but I know that my priority was reg first. The wife and I had a phobia about who used the rental reg before me and how well even a trusted LDS cleaned the mouth piece.

As far as choosing a reg, my first was a Scubapro g250 and a mk10. When doing the research all the test results listed the advertising company first but the scubapro was always second. (except for the scubapro ad ) That reg lasted for 14 years. Im now on my second scubapro set up. Not saying go with a scubapro, just one of the reasons Im using one.

 

[gj62]

I admit I didn't read all the comments here, and if this is a repeat, well, just treat it as another vote for that reason...

If you buy your BC and Reg set together, most LDS' will give you a deal - sometimes a pretty large deal. Why? Because technically they may not be able to discount a reg set (e.g. ScubaPro), but when you buy it with a BC, they've got wiggle room...

Price it out and see - it might be worth saving for an extra couple of months to get them as a package...