shakespear
Contributor
Before I make any expensive purchase I try and do some research on the different options. I can't seem to find a good place for diving stuff. Is there a place?
Where can you look up gear ratings?
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what kind of gear?
Problem with scuba gear is so much of it is basically the same you end up buying what is convenient. I.e. you are close with a particular dive shop who is a scubapro dealer, you did all of your training there and they offer you a discount, so you buy SP. Applies to any gear brand.
BC's, most suck, some are good, but again you are going to gravitate to whatever brand people around you are diving.
Regs are all basically the same and any difference is a pricing game because performance is all splitting hairs. Computers can tell, humans can't.
Read up on the threads on here, I have a very simple list that I recommend to people based on 7 years of experience, much of which is in caves.
Backmount BC-Deep Sea Supply SS plate in whatever size fits, and a LCD30 or Torus 26
Sidemount BC-Hollis Katana
Regulators-Deep6 or Hog D3
Fins-Deep6 or Dive Rite XT for Sidemount, SP Jet Fins or Hollis F1 for backmount
Mask-whatever fits
Computer-Shearwater Perdix or Oceanic Geo 2.0
Exposure protection-whatever fits
The online retailers will usually have a place for reviews on the products that they sell, but only those. Some are doing Youtube reviews which you can find online, but unfortunately there just isn't a lot of places that offer unbiased reviews.
Look at your end goal of diving and work backwards from there. Buy gear appropriate for the type of diving you want to do, because if it is appropriate for that type of diving, it will be no problem to use it for the most basic recreational diving.
Frankly if you want to actually try some gear, commit the 6 hour drive and go to Cave Adventurers in Marianna FL. You will be able to test drive basically all of the equipment that they sell *which is tailored to sidemount and cave diving fwiw*, but for regulators and fins it doesn't matter. Very few places are able to offer that. Only other one that I really know of is Dive Right in Scuba but that is a 10+ hour drive to Chicago and isn't pretty clear blue water.
Problem with scuba gear is so much of it is basically the same you end up buying what is convenient. I.e. you are close with a particular dive shop who is a scubapro dealer, you did all of your training there and they offer you a discount, so you buy SP. Applies to any gear brand.
BC's, most suck, some are good, but again you are going to gravitate to whatever brand people around you are diving.
Regs are all basically the same and any difference is a pricing game because performance is all splitting hairs. Computers can tell, humans can't.
Read up on the threads on here, I have a very simple list that I recommend to people based on 7 years of experience, much of which is in caves.
Backmount BC-Deep Sea Supply SS plate in whatever size fits, and a LCD30 or Torus 26
Sidemount BC-Hollis Katana
Regulators-Deep6 or Hog D3
Fins-Deep6 or Dive Rite XT for Sidemount, SP Jet Fins or Hollis F1 for backmount
Mask-whatever fits
Computer-Shearwater Perdix or Oceanic Geo 2.0
Exposure protection-whatever fits
The online retailers will usually have a place for reviews on the products that they sell, but only those. Some are doing Youtube reviews which you can find online, but unfortunately there just isn't a lot of places that offer unbiased reviews.
Look at your end goal of diving and work backwards from there. Buy gear appropriate for the type of diving you want to do, because if it is appropriate for that type of diving, it will be no problem to use it for the most basic recreational diving.
Frankly if you want to actually try some gear, commit the 6 hour drive and go to Cave Adventurers in Marianna FL. You will be able to test drive basically all of the equipment that they sell *which is tailored to sidemount and cave diving fwiw*, but for regulators and fins it doesn't matter. Very few places are able to offer that. Only other one that I really know of is Dive Right in Scuba but that is a 10+ hour drive to Chicago and isn't pretty clear blue water.
OP
shakespear
Contributor
Yeah, looking at BCs and Regs
A lot of people avail themselves of the wealth of experience among Scubaboard members. In other words, you could ask here. Look at some options at some local dive shops or on-line retailers. See what seems to appeal to you or not appeal to you, and then come back here and ask. There are many threads here on SB in which someone asked for help choosing their first set of gear. A quick Google search using the keywords "first set of gear" reveals many such threads on this site, and better keywords might reveal still more. Did you like the gear that you did your training in? What did you like about it, and what did you not like about it? Once you have some idea of what appeals to you, ask for opinions. Again, there's nothing wrong with walking into brick-and-mortar dive shops and asking, though they will surely try to sell you whatever brands they happen to be dealers for. But at least you can look at some different stuff and weigh the sales spiels against each other. It may mean a drive to another city. But you can pick the brain of real people, and perhaps be able to try in a pool before you buy. Don't feel pressured to buy. There is nothing wrong with renting gear and trying different things for many dives before you decide to buy your own. I rented gear for years before buying my own.
Any current regulator will be absolutely fine for your purposes. Buy one that's reasonably priced and that can be easily serviced by a local shop. The only caveat to that would be if you were planning on diving in very cold water, you might want to consider something called an environmentally sealed regulator.
Since most new divers haven't even considered this when purchasing a BC, let me put this out there, and then you can read any of the many many threads here for specifics. Definitely consider a backplate and wing (BP/W). I can't think of any situation where a traditional jacket BC would be preferable to a BP/W, with the possible exception of someone traveling frequently with VERY strict baggage weight and size limits.
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what he said. The problem with LDS's that people don't often realize is that the Scuba Industry is set up almost identical to the car industry in the US. I.e. you can't go into your local Scubapro shop and ask about Aqualung products and expect an unbiased answer, just as you can't go into a Chevy dealership and expect unbiased information about Ford.
If there are particular products you want to ask about, odds are there are unbiased reviews or at least discussions on here and this is about as good of a resource for proper reviews as you can expect.
Now, this forum is HEAVILY biased towards what the industry deems "technical equipment".
That means BC's that will be recommended are backplate and wings, and for a damn good reason imho, but that is what to expect. Cost/performance/value leads against standard jacket bc's. Sidemount is also a fairly heavy leaning on here and if you are interested in sidemount, I'd really really recommend going and taking a sidemount class at Cave Adventurers. You won't have to purchase any equipment before the class and can try everything while you're there to make a decision based on what YOU think instead of what others tell you to think.
Regs are also largely technical biased, so swivel turret first stages, preferably with a 5th port on the bottom that makes hose routing best for backmount singles, doubles, and sidemount. There is also a large bias towards wanting to be able to self service regulators which shows up in the regs that are recommended.
I'm also a massive fan of buying used equipment....
My money right now?
$500 for a DSS bp/w
DeepSeaSupply - Complete Rigs
$500 for a Deep6 reg set
Single Tank Regulator Package - Regulator Packages - Regulators
Roughly a grand for top of the line gear, yes D6 is new, but the company that builds them is not so parts kits are not going to be a problem, the first service is free, they are VERY nice regulators, and very soon there will be a TDI class so you can learn to service them yourself. Class and tool cost will pay for itself in 2 service intervals, not including the knowledge you'll have.
So what are YOUR diving goals?
What are your diving interests?
What is your budget?
What gear are you currently looking at and what do you want to know about them?
If there are particular products you want to ask about, odds are there are unbiased reviews or at least discussions on here and this is about as good of a resource for proper reviews as you can expect.
Now, this forum is HEAVILY biased towards what the industry deems "technical equipment".
That means BC's that will be recommended are backplate and wings, and for a damn good reason imho, but that is what to expect. Cost/performance/value leads against standard jacket bc's. Sidemount is also a fairly heavy leaning on here and if you are interested in sidemount, I'd really really recommend going and taking a sidemount class at Cave Adventurers. You won't have to purchase any equipment before the class and can try everything while you're there to make a decision based on what YOU think instead of what others tell you to think.
Regs are also largely technical biased, so swivel turret first stages, preferably with a 5th port on the bottom that makes hose routing best for backmount singles, doubles, and sidemount. There is also a large bias towards wanting to be able to self service regulators which shows up in the regs that are recommended.
I'm also a massive fan of buying used equipment....
My money right now?
$500 for a DSS bp/w
DeepSeaSupply - Complete Rigs
$500 for a Deep6 reg set
Single Tank Regulator Package - Regulator Packages - Regulators
Roughly a grand for top of the line gear, yes D6 is new, but the company that builds them is not so parts kits are not going to be a problem, the first service is free, they are VERY nice regulators, and very soon there will be a TDI class so you can learn to service them yourself. Class and tool cost will pay for itself in 2 service intervals, not including the knowledge you'll have.
So what are YOUR diving goals?
What are your diving interests?
What is your budget?
What gear are you currently looking at and what do you want to know about them?
runsongas
Contributor
You're going to get advice to try out a bpw here. But plenty of people get by just fine with a good quality back inflate bc from the bigger brands.
If you have some shops near you with a good selection, take a look to see what they have available. especially ask if they sell display items for a discount. that can be cheaper than buying online sometimes.
for regs, if you don't want to mail them for service or self-service, you are somewhat constrained to what your LDS will service. the taiwanese regs are good values if you are only looking at new regs, but getting a set of high end regs (Apeks/Atomic/SP etc) used in good condition and paying for a service can still be better. There is lots of lightly used gear floating around available for way less than new because of the attrition rate.
Scuba gear is a depreciating asset and not an investment, stick to renting if you will primarily be diving on vacation.
whichever way you go, i would stay away from low end gear. you end up with gear that is no better than what you can rent and having to maintain it. go for regs with balanced 2nd stages and at least a back inflate bc. if your budget is tight, look at used gear.
If you are considering diving with double tanks, dry suit diving, technical diving or cave diving, then get a backplate and wing. But if you are sure that you will only be doing warm water, single tank, recreational diving, then get a backplate and wing!
DRIS' website has user reviews for gear. Just look to see if they carry what you're looking for. I'm sure the other large dive gear sellers have the same.
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