What order do you buy your equipment?

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I would get the BC first, because if you are renting the rest of your gear they may run out of your size BC but all the regs are the same. Plus they cost the same to rent and the BC is cheaper to buy than the reg, octo and gauges.
 
In my opinion i would get a wetsuit first then the BCD so you know it fits you perfectly, not to mention you can attach your clips and etc to it. Regs should probaly be next as just about any regs would do (its just a matter of preference here). Finally depending on the amount of diving you do would decide if you should either buy or rent a tank.

well thats just what i think..anyone else please feel free to add

-Mike
 
shakespear:
The diving class I am interested in requires:

Booties, fins, snorkel, and mask.

After certification what order do I need to buy the rest of my equpiment in?
Click to expand...

In the best order for you. I assume from your question that you don't intend to run out and buy everything right off the bat and many will say (and I don't disagree despite my actions) that taking your time is the best bet. Here are some considerations, in no particular order.

Wetsuit: If you're a perfect of the rack sort of person you can choose to rent for a while. Remember that peeing in a rented suit is bad form and some folks a grossed out by using a rental suit. If you don't always get the SAME suit sorting out your bouyancy and trim may be a longer term trial and error process.

BC: Are you able to rent one you are comfortable in? Around here that will rule out weight integrated for the most part so be prepared to dive with it all on the belt or with some perhaps tucked (non-ditchable) in pockets if any. Clip on weights may give some flexibility too. Not having the same BC all the time may be the biggest handicap to mastering bouynacy. [edit]--> Others have made a very good point that the BC is the core with all of your attachment points. You will have clips, cutting tools and other acccesories and getting all of that onto a rental will be haphazzard at best.

Regulator/Octo/Gauge set: Good enough stuff can always be rented and fit is rarely an issue. This is an easy one to defer till the end. The other side of the argument is that this is your air delivery and you don't want to leave it to chance.

Cylinders: It's a logistics thing. If you can rent immediately prior to your dives as well as make a timely return it's almost transparent since you need to make one stop for fills anyway. There are positives to owning your own cylinder and the payback is decent for frequent divers. In some areas your rental options will be AL-80, AL-80 and AL-80

So there are some thoughts. As I've learned there is is almost always more than one way to view these decisions. Another deciding factor can be when you "fall in love" with one of the components and you're confident that you are buying what will serve you well.

Good Luck and walcome to diving.

Pete
 
After the general stuff like booties, fins, mask and snorkel I then went: wetsuit, hood, regs, bc and then tank. It took me forever to decide on what kind of BCD that I wanted. I didn't want to buy anything unless I knew I was going to be 100% happy with it. So for the BCD I rented various ones and friends loaned me theirs to try out. You do what works for you though.

Mel
 
I didn't even think of the wetsuit I had one from snorlkling over the winter and did't think of it as "dive gear". I got all used gear to start with for less than the price of a new BC. And will replaced it as I go. The last thing that I got was my own cylinder. Two AL-80 the only reason for this is the LDS is closed on tuesdays and after 6pm so that can mess up an after work dive quick. They are going to take a while to have any kind of pay back here considering they are $3 to rent and its $1 to fill.
 
I bought a wetsuit so Id always have the best fit and comfort...but then I bought my computer. Never know what youre going to get from an LDS and mine is a wrist mount so...then I bought my backplate setup. I just ordered my regs. Sometime after the computer I bought a smal llight and knife...Everything was mailorder.
 
My order was similar to mxracer19:
wetsuit
computer
regs
backplate and wings
I got the last 2 in that order because I knew which regs I'd like but I was waiting to try a backplate before buying one. Also I like the idea of having my own regs thta I knew were in good condition and wouldn't leak like some of the regs I had hired
 
shakespear:
The diving class I am interested in requires:

Booties, fins, snorkel, and mask.

After certification what order do I need to buy the rest of my equpiment in?
Click to expand...

Replace the most anoying rental item first. Likely this will mean getting an exposure suit then buying a BC. Don't buy weight 'till after you have a BC and know what kind you need. Buy a tanks last. That said if you see a bargin and you _know_ you want the item snatch it up while it's cheap. So while I said buy a tank last, if you see one you want for 1/2 price get it.
 
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