What to get?..

[Isaacson372]

Hello all. I used to dive a lot, then my gear was stolen. All of it. New job, new wife, new family, new house, but no new gear. Now to make a change at work, diving may be in the new plan. I need to make a few purchases that can help me get back into the water, get a few dives under my belt, and then hopefully working on a higher level of certification.
i'm in the market for new regulators. I have access to a very lightly used Scubapro mk2 / R190 set for very little money (actually just what it will cost to have them checked out at my local shop). I'm wondering if this would be a good set for me to get back into the water with. I have read in the archives that these regs may not be the right choice for the colder waters. I live in Southern California and the best time of the year around here to dive is in the winter with water temps averaging the mid to low 50's and even into the 40's on rare occasions. Does anyone out there think that these temps would have an effect on the performance of these regs?
Thanks for your time, I really appreciate the help!
tim

 

[Fishpie]

As you have already read the MK2 is a very good regulator and will work perfectly in the temp range you could experience.
I wouldn't expect to have to use a regulator with cold water features until the very low 40's.

 

[victor]

First a good buddy. Find a club, chat to locals who are diving in your area.
My guess an early purchase would be a dry suit at those water temps.

 

[spectrum]

That regulator for the price of service is a bargain so go for it. Even if you decide to flip it latter you can't lose at that price.

Mask, booties, fins and snorkel are givens for the sake of fit and leg conditioning.

After that do you have any constraints? Is an off the shelf wetsuit going to fit/be avilable? If not then it's something you need to own. Rental neoprene is a slippery slope so owning your own suit makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons.

The BC is at the center of restoring buoyancy control so it's nice to get into one of your own ASAP.

A drysuit may be a nice to have but it's not mandatory unless you chill early. Unless you get a sweetheard deal on something used it could overshadow the rest. However if you make sure you get a good sturdy wetsuit boot with the heavy soles like a seaspoft stealth there is a good chance that the aproriate fins will also fit drysuit boots down the road.

Analog instruments SPG/Depth?Compass and a comon watch will suffice for now so I would put a computerdown the list.

Watch CraigsList etc for used lead, that's not cheap anymore!

Pete

 

[Isaacson372]

Hello all. I used to dive a lot, then my gear was stolen. All of it. New job, new wife, new family, new house, but no new gear. Now to make a change at work, diving may be in the new plan. I need to make a few purchases that can help me get back into the water, get a few dives under my belt, and then hopefully working on a higher level of certification.
i'm in the market for new regulators. I have access to a very lightly used Scubapro mk2 / R190 set for very little money (actually just what it will cost to have them checked out at my local shop). I'm wondering if this would be a good set for me to get back into the water with. I have read in the archives that these regs may not be the right choice for the colder waters. I live in Southern California and the best time of the year around here to dive is in the winter with water temps averaging the mid to low 50's and even into the 40's on rare occasions. Does anyone out there think that these temps would have an effect on the performance of these regs?
Thanks for your time, I really appreciate the help!
tim

OK, so I should have included in my first post that I already purchased some other equipment. I picked up for very cheap a used (from friends at work) Zeagle Tech 10, a Dacor two gauge console with a compass, a scubapro mask / snorkel set, Force Fins (I already had a set of older jet fins), booties and gloves. I think a hood and wetsuit are next.
Thank you to those who have already responded, I was looking for info about the regs. and I think I am going to go ahead and put the $ into the MK2 / r190 set.
thank you all!
Tim