Tons of equipment and new divers

[wscdive]

sounds like you are on the right track. someone early on suggested dutch springs to try out your equipment. If you can get there i would highly suggest it. There are a ton of divers there from recreational to dir. I personaly take the best I find and incorporate it into what works for me. Several shops and instructors that dive there regularly would gladly look your set-up over and provide suggestions. (I personally enjoy meeting new dive buddies this way) If anyone insists you do things a certain way run!!! I simply suggest and explain why, the final decision is always up to the diver. Let me know if youll be there in the spring we usually camp and hang out so have plenty of time.

 

[UWSojourner]

Without being biased, whats the best advice to give a new diver to select gear and not waste time and money.

Read SB posts. Filter responses. You have a very large sounding board here and there are a lot of opinions. Try to find out why they have that opinion.

Try and get a decent idea of where you are heading, not just what you need right now. This would have saved me some money. I would not have bought my Balance (great BC, but I much prefer where I ended up with Oxycheq wing and FredT bp). I think I'll do doubles and maybe technical training down the road (maybe). If I'd been thinking, I would have skipped to the BP for that reason alone.

Don't stress too much. I really think that with all the research, etc. you do, your experience will in some way steer you in other directions on occasion. In other words, as much as you research, you'll still end up buying and replacing some gear. I've concluded its part of the learning curve.

Good luck.

 

[Sideband]

I had a chance today to try some new gear durring a pool session. A DM had a BP/wing and the instructor had a back inflate BC (I think it was a transpack harness). I also tried out a set of split fins. I wasn't crazy about the feel of the BP. It was too stiff and hard. The other one felt good though. I needed a smaller size but it really felt comfortable. I can go either way on the fins. Tomorrow they are going to bring in a set of doubles for me to try. I don't see myself needing doubles for a while but it will be cool trying it out.
Anyway, that's one way to find out what you like and don't like.

Joe

 

[oversea]

Read SB posts. Filter responses. You have a very large sounding board here and there are a lot of opinions. Try to find out why they have that opinion.

Try and get a decent idea of where you are heading, not just what you need right now. This would have saved me some money. I would not have bought my Balance (great BC, but I much prefer where I ended up with Oxycheq wing and FredT bp). I think I'll do doubles and maybe technical training down the road (maybe). If I'd been thinking, I would have skipped to the BP for that reason alone.

Don't stress too much. I really think that with all the research, etc. you do, your experience will in some way steer you in other directions on occasion. In other words, as much as you research, you'll still end up buying and replacing some gear. I've concluded its part of the learning curve.

Good luck.

Thats basically where I find myself now.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

I got on the BP/W bandwagon looking to free up my arms and chest area. I was not happy with the gear arrangement. My thought was to be able to set myself up exactly as I wanted it, not where an available pocket or d ring was. So far I am happy with the setup but have yet to hit the water. As someone has stated earlier, theres always ebay if I don't like it. Without being able dive (cold weather/nowing yet) I find myself changing back and fourth between the comfort harness and the singkle web. I don't know which I like best.

I adpoted the BP/W to remove all of the junk clipped on to my old BC. I first purchased a Zeagle Ranger and found it to be a quality BC and was generally quite pleased with it. I later took a Decompression Procedures class and was introduced to the plate and wing since we were using doubles. I found that the one piece harness and the long hose on my primary second stage regulator gave me what I had been wanting. This style of rig is often referred to as "Hogarthian" and Global Underwater Explorers uses it as the foundation (hardware configuration) for their "DIR" philosophy. I am now able to carry more useful equipment on a dive with less clutter, I got rid of all of the retractors and dangly bits hanging from my chest. The one piece harness does not have any buckles or sternum straps on my chest. What I do have is far easier to get to than it ever was before.

While I personally have not adpoted the "DIR" philosophy the book "Doing It Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving" by Jarrod Jablonski is an excellent primer on how to configure this type of gear.

I have found that the plate with the one piece harness is the most comfortable and streamlined rig I have ever been in the water with. It is not however the most comfortable out of the water. I encourage you to make your choices with this important consideration in mind.

Enjoy your diving,

Mark Vlahos