What equipment

[ekiledjian]

Hello all,

I am an PADI OW diver with 13 dives. I live in Canada and have made the decision to be a warm water diver therefore I only dive while on vacation. I am looking for recommendation on a good reg, octo and BCD. Although I do not dive Nitrox now, I plan to do my AOW and Nitrox within the next 12 months.

What I do not understand is that some local shops are saying that I do not need to buy a Nitrox ready regulator (and that I can make a modification later). IS this safe? What should I be looking for? What brands are better for my kind of diving?

As for the BCD, some recommend a back recreational type BCD and other retailers are recommending BCDs with back plates and wings.

Thanks

 

[Daryl Morse]

Hello all,

I am an PADI OW diver with 13 dives. I live in Canada and have made the decision to be a warm water diver therefore I only dive while on vacation. I am looking for recommendation on a good reg, octo and BCD. Although I do not dive Nitrox now, I plan to do my AOW and Nitrox within the next 12 months.

What I do not understand is that some local shops are saying that I do not need to buy a Nitrox ready regulator (and that I can make a modification later). IS this safe? What should I be looking for? What brands are better for my kind of diving?

As for the BCD, some recommend a back recreational type BCD and other retailers are recommending BCDs with back plates and wings.

Thanks

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but rather to give you some counter points.

Lots of people will tell you something different about what type of equipment to buy and what equipment to buy first. Whatever you do has to work for you, not for me or anyone else. I thought a lot about this before I bought anything. What I'm doing works for me, but it's probably not right for you. Before you purchase anything, spend time thinking about what kind of diving you will do and how often you will dive. It sounds like you've already decided that your diving will be vacation only. Have you thought about where and what the water temperature will be where you will go? Have you thought about what might happen if you decide you want to take up cold water diving at some point in the future?

In my opinion, it's a big investment to purchase a BC and regs if you're only going to dive a couple of times per year while on vacation. I started diving last year and have been accumulating equipment since I started. I dive pretty regularly, although not as often as I'd like. I dive at home (cold water) and also whenever I get a chance while on business trips (warm water). I rent the equipment I don't yet own myself. I initially purchased mask, snorkel, fins, and gloves. Then I purchased a compass and a computer. I also got a set of boots for diving in warm water and I'll probably also get a set of thinner gloves. Recently, I purchased a bp/w and regs. Aside from some small stuff, my only remaining big expenditure is a drysuit. (Yah right, next comes doubles...) I prefer to not think about the cost of all the equipment.

I've been on several dive boats while on trips and they had pretty decent gear, some of it brand new. If I was only going to be diving a few times each year, I'd be hard pressed to shell out all the money for BC and regs. Maybe I'd get a wetsuit, but do you know the water temperature where you will be diving? I've used everything from a drysuit to full 5mm plus 5mm hooded vest to 5mm farmer john with top to 5 mm only while on trips. (Haven't been anywhere really warm yet.) Not sure what I'd buy if I was going to buy a wetsuit because it's so temperature dependent.

As to your question about nitrox, most regs are compatible with up to 40% O2. Worst case they should only require O2 cleaning. This shouldn't be an issue for you because most likely, you won't be using 40% anyway.

All that said, before you purchase gear, read a lot, ask a lot of questions and if possible, try before you buy. I am very glad I waited before buying my bp/w and regs. If I had bought that gear earlier on it wouldn't be what I have now and I'd be very disappointed.

 

[whalerock]

Hi there, I would say the best way is to try some differnt regulators, most of the standard regs are alraedy ok to use with Nitrox, and if not than they need most likely just to change o-rings. What brand is the best, hard question, I am ahppy with Scubapro and Dive Rite regulators, but Mares is also a good choise, there are so many differnt brandes out there, check who offers a good service and go on a "test dive" befor you buy a set. Regards to BCD, I think for your kind of diving a recreational BCD is fine, I would go for integrated weigts, but again try it out in a pool or on a dive, most of the dive centres will let you do this.
anyway, have fun with your new equipment and safe diving

 

[spectrum]

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but rather to give you some counter points.

Lots of people will tell you something different about what type of equipment to buy and what equipment to buy first. Whatever you do has to work for you, not for me or anyone else.

The above is a very very good point.

I'll add....

In most peoples opinions what they dive is a good thing to buy or what they sell is what you need. Fact is nearly anything you can buy will work well and safely for the type of diving you describe. After that it's fit budget and preference

To buy or not??? I'm not a seasoned traveler, in fact I have yet to experience dive travel but there is something to be said for knowing your gear. Remember that if you own it will need annual service and in a lot of cases this is not use dependent. Then again if you have the gear you may rethink the travel diver position and dive locally and often.

Devour Scubaboard and don't forget the gear forums. Become an educated customer/diver, most classes provide only minimal gear selection info. For every prefered choice there is a justifiable counter choice. Pay attention to where folks are diving, that can color preferences. Visit local dive shops that have pools and try some equipment. If you have good local rental oportunites do that to eliminate or confirm options. Don't discount networking, there are seasoned divers who are willing to help new divers sort it out via PMs or in person.

Have fun,
Pete

 

[pt40fathoms]

OK, so you’re only going to dive warm waters while on vacation. That's fine; you fit into a very large group of divers who do the same. So with that in mind, it's safe to say that diving several types of gear multiple times in order to get the feel for them is not likely to happen, now is it. Secondly, you probably want to be comfortable both under the water, while one the surface in the water, and while on land. Further to that you probable have little interest in learning how to dive with technical type gear, or back inflation BCD's, and that's perfectly OK.

So, what you need is something that fits your experience level, your projected frequency of use, and offers a minimal learning curve in order to use it correctly. You also should have gear that is easily serviced worldwide.

If I'm correct in this conclusion, then the following should be what you should look for.

The BCD should be jacket style, not rear inflation, and not a back plate and wing style. Both rear inflation and BP&W take a while to learn how to use properly, and as a vacationing diver, you want simple to use and easy to learn. Some will tell you that rear inflation is easy to use, and to an extent they are right. But you most likely will not have the time dedicated to learn and keep your skills up, and will end up being frustrated with it. So get a Jacket style BCD. Mares, Oceanic, Scuba Pro, Dacor, Zeagle, they are all good. Get one locally and get the one you like when you put it on in the store. The Zeagle manufacturers representative regularly posts on this board, so try and send them a private message and see what they can steer you towards. I’m sure they have something you’ll be very happy with.

The Regulator should be a no fuss unit, with no adjustment knobs or levers. They just end up confusing vacationing divers, who tend to dive with them set wrong most of the time anyways. So look for a regulator that offers good performance and no fuss knobs to deal with. My favorite is the Mares Proton Metal or the Proton Ice. But if your local dealer stocks some other style, then take a good look at them. I would tend to stay away from all plastic regulators, as they tend to be of poorer quality and build.


I hope I've at least helped in steering you in a direction that is useful.

Dive safe and have fun while on vacation.

 

[pt40fathoms]

You should follow manufacturers recommendations when using a regulator with Nitrox. Most do not come O2 clean and are not lubricated with oxygen compatible lubricants. However, a full service local dive shop can clean the regulator and use the proper lubricants, making many regulators capable of use with Nitrox 40 and lower.

 

[cnctina]

Hold off on the nitrox for now. Some of your tropical destinations might not even have it. If they do it might be $10 extra per fill. example: $10 X 3 dives per day X 6 days= $180. Skip the aow classes and spend that money on a trip to Rotan or Coz. 3 or 4 dives a day for a week is how you really build your skills.
Try as much different gear out as you can before you buy. Go to the pool and try out other divers gear, most divers are cool about it. Try the bp/wing if you can, you might like it and they pack easy.
Don't forget the speedo.

 

[lackingcreativity]

In my humble opinion Zeagle is the only way to go. But Daryl Morse said it best: what works for me won't necessary work for you.

 

[DiveMaven]

I live in the Pacific Northwest and was in the same situation as you. I have no interest in diving cold with a drysuit, and instead choose to be a vacation diver. We do take vacations twice a year and typically dive 2 tanks everyday, so we actually wind up diving more per year than a few locals I know who only dive around here.

Because we travel out of the country for one of our trips every year, we chose to buy our own gear. We had heard too many horror stories of the condition of rental equipment in Mexico and the Caribbean to feel comfortable renting. And frankly, when we were in the Caribbean this past December, we saw some pretty beaten up gear that neither of us would have felt comfortable using! :11:

I'm not going to recommend any specific brands to you, but instead say that as far as a BC is concerned, really try on as many as you can before you make a decision. If you can test them in a pool for comfort in the water, that's even better. As an example, my first BC was a SeaQuest Diva that was highly recommended by a few women divers I know. It's a great BC, but it never fit me right and I came to hate it after only 10 dives. I've since replaced it with a Zeagle Zena, which fits me perfectly both in and out of the water, and I love it! It's a back inflate, which I find easier for bouyancy and trim underwater, and I've never found it to throw me on my face at the surface, though I've also never inflated it completely either.

My friends who dive with Divas still love them and wouldn't trade with me for anything, and I feel the same way about my Zena. The point is that everyone is different and you need to explore all your options before making a decision so you find the right BC the first time rather than selling on e-bay like I did.

Go to scubadiving.com and check out their gear reviews....and read as much as you can about the equipment you're considering. Also, I'd suggest calling Larry at ScubaToys once you've narrowed your choices down. He's a great additional resource to your local dive shops, and might be able to help you make your final choice....and make you a great deal on top of it!