USED Gear - Help me build a used gear shopping list/budget! And I'll get to scouring...

[RainPilot]

Force Fin Shoe Size Conversion Chart

If you are diving a drysuit yes, otherwise the XL may work. I would get the XXL and get a pair of comfort inserts, they allow you to dial down the size as required.

And I see there are no Sasquatch sizes on the 'Bay at the moment
I just bought the only pair of adjustable ones Ive ever seen for sale yesterday

 

[tbone1004]

don't by that beauchat stuff, not worth it. Also remember MOST dive gear is OEM'd by other companies. In the list below, most all of it is manufactured by a handful of people in Taiwan.

Regs: I would avoid used, and get the Dive Rite XT set I linked on the other thread. $700, write it down

BCD: Deep Sea Supply singles rig, likely the SS plate in whatever size you need, and LCD30 wing-$500, write it down

Suit-keep the wetsuits you have, but get a USIA suit, they're made an hour north of Portland OR, are very high quality, and about $1500 with pockets, P-valve, custom cut etc.

Computer: I hate the Zoop, it's useless-http://deepblu.com/COSMIQ.html it's $300, new to the market, but has had some positive feedback so far. Otherwise, buy a used Petrel for $400-$500. With that DeepBlu out right now, I wouldn't consider any other computer than those two.

Dive Light-http://www.caveadventurers.com/explorer-back-up-lights.html Don't buy used lights, they're not worth it unless you're buying a canister. These are fine, they throw a lot of light, aren't too expensive, and have an indicator LED on the button to tell you approximate battery life. They'll likely give you a bit of a break if you buy it with the regs, just call them.

Knife, just get a trilobyte or a bench made 7 safety cutter. Don't need anything else. Benchmade will hold up to salt better and doesn't have a blade to replace, but the Trilobite is $25 with cheap blade replacements
Cave Adventurers - Eezy Cut Trilobite Line Cutter - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!

Accessories-SMB should be ordered with your BCD from Tobin, I like the black gear bins from Costco with yellow lids for $10, get 2, drill holes in the bottom of one, and set it inside the other, keeps the water out of your stuff.

Force Fins: I'm not a fan, they're annoying and require you to develop a new kick technique for technical diving, Hollis F1 would be my recommendation for backmount diving in a drysuit

Snorkel: don't need one, but if you want one, just buy the cheapest snorkel you can. You're scuba diving, not snorkeling, and a simple $5 j-snorkel will work just fine

Mask: you don't need a super expensive fancy mask, Dive Gear Express has some nice ones for cheap. My current favorite, and every bit as good as my atomic for $25
DGX Ultra View Frameless Mask | Dive Gear Express®

Probably looking at $2k for everything except exposure protection, with a new bc and regs. Can probably save a few hundred bucks if you are patient and buy used, but not going to save a whole lot.

 

[rhwestfall]

Used Regs:. Conshelf XIV w/ environmental seal, and ScubaPro 156 primary, and either a 109, another 156, or a 080hp as an octopus.

Likely <$200.00, and cheap to get running.....

 

[filmguy123]

Quick bounce back to the Force Fin Pros - Rainpilot I wasn't clear on your post. "If I am diving a drysuit, then yes" - yes what? I will be driving a wetsuit in tropical waters and a drysuit in cold waters, so I do need max flexbility. Would an XXL with comfort in sole be too big for that? Need to find a flexible option that works with both.

Hollis F1 - ideal for cold water dry suit? How about tropical warm? I could just do a pair of both fins if that's the best option...

Tbone, that new computer has one major problem I can see at least at my quick 120 second glance through - Ion Lithium rechargeable battery. Rechargeable, nice. But replaceable? Ion Lithium only lasts about 400 charge cycles before degradation.

Tbone, Deep Sea Supply BP/W setup when I look through those options seems to indicate different wing options on whether I want to dive single or doubles. I thought a BP/W setup could hook me up for Singles, doubles, etc. with owning one BP and one wing, but just looking at that seems to indicate I would ideally want at least 2 BPs and 2 wings to meet my needs of: tropic warm water, cold fresh water, cold sea water, wetsuit, drysuit, singles, and doubles. That's fine... but I am just clarifying as that starts to add up and is no longer the cheap, super flexible, one used BP/W setup meets all your needs?

Rhwestfall, don't hear about these options too often but it looks like what you reference is a very nice, realiable, cheap, easily serviceable more "vintage" option? (at what point do we consider gear "vintage" in the scuba communuity? 10 years old... 30 years old?)

 

[tbone1004]

f1's are perfectly fine for warm water al80 diving.

li-ion lasts more than that, think about your cell phone.... Not user replaceable but replaceable by the factory.

you need wings to fit the diving you do, but the backplates can do both. Some wings can be used for both, but they are less than ideal for both. You can get away with one backplate for both types of diving depending on how warm the water you are diving doubles is and what kinds of doubles you are diving. Steel plates are my normal recommendation for single tank diving unless you are in Florida diving heavy steels. For AL80 diving, and cold water *5mm or thicker* wetsuit with steel tanks, or drysuit diving with singles, SS plates are the best. For doubles PNW diving with faber tanks? Steel backplate is no problem, but if you are diving say PST104's in Florida for cave diving, then you want Kydex to minimize the excessive ballast. For where you are located, you can get away with one stainless plate, and a 30lb or so singles wing for all of your singles diving, then buy any doubles wing when you go to that route.

 

[runsongas]

i wouldn't go with f1's/jetfins/turtles in warm water. too negative and you end up having your ankles almost up to your ass to keep from pivoting feet down.

 

[filmguy123]

There seems to be an awful lot of love for force fins from those that use them, and given that I have ZERO fin habits to relearn, I'd like to give them a try. It's rather risk free if I buy them used, as they seem to resell fast enough if I don't like them afterall. And because I am open to buying used fins, it's a rather small expense to consider owning 2 pairs of fins...

Well, that is my current thought, open for debate and thoughts of course because I do know very little, relatively speaking

 

[tbone1004]

eh I dive with jet fins in a bathing suit with a bp/w and it isn't a problem, with a backplate all of the ballast is so far up on your head the extra weight helps.

 

[runsongas]

steel bp though right? i tried it with an aluminum backplate and while it was diveable, it was a pain compared to quattros

 

[tbone1004]

steel plates yeah, as soon as you put a weight belt on, all bets are off because it puts a lot of weight at your hips instead of up on your back