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When Should you invest in scuba regulators, BCD, cylinders, wetsuit, fins, dive computer etc.
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Great content, keep it up!
I bought a jacket style BCD and then almost immediately moved to a BP&W 🤬
10:50 where is this plane wreck??? 😮
I regret buying the Cressi Thor fins. I assumed they were good after a certain youtuber promoted them ;) But it turned out to be completly useless fins. I was kicking and kicking and consuming all my air without getting anywhere. After a few dives I bought the Apeks RK2 fins and it felt like a compeltly different world. I was suddently moving around with no effort at all.
No5: My dive closet has a 3mm shorty, 5mm full, tri-lam dry, and a 3mm dry. Can’t wait to add to it!
I am one of those that showed up with my own diving computer on the Openwater course. And no regrets. I have now all my dives registered in its log and learned how sensative and conservative these things are. I just felt saver with it on me.
Yeah me too. Ordered a shearwater peregrine as soon as I signed up. Sat and played with it for a month before I ever did my pool session. Already knew it inside and out day 1
Having dived all over the world, I agree with most of what you say, but would recommend to anyone who is more than a holiday diver to invest in their own Regs, you don’t need $1000 set (a lot of regs now have a 2 year service interval, and some come with lifetime parts replacement) just buy a good all rounder, and a computer. I take my mask and computer on every holiday – and Regs if I have the weight allowance. Good fitting dive boots are a godsend especially when you look at some of the resort gear you come across. Thing I most regret was being sucked into buying a Alloy 63 cf, way to small for anything other than a short shore dive or cleaning a boat hull.
I found it necessary to buy lead for my trim pockets even though I do my diving mostly in warm water and have to travel to dive. I’ve found many dive centers don’t always have 1lb weights, which is what I use in my trim pockets.
Rented regs/bc for a couple years, want diving much. Finally just bought my first new bc, first bc was used and got some 100 dives off of it. Finally bought my first new bc ever a BC2. Having my own reg/computer is fantastic. Had my own mask and find from new since I was a free diver since 11, so really only needed to get a new mask,
You skimmed over the booties very quickly. Booties and fins at the same time.
I was PADI OW Certified on Aug 6 2023. Just ordered a Custom sized BC. I’ll be getting Regs and a Tank later. I need the BC for the AOW Class. As I am between Small and Medium sizes. I need M Chest and a S waist.
How much was the OW course ?
@Saul $800 here in NJ. Plus other gear. Some of which I already owned. 2 Nights in a Hotel since there was a 120 Mile drive each way. And a start time at 8am.
@chris Philhower wow It costs like 150 USD in Sharm Alshikh Egypt , I guess I will do it there
@Saul The $800 Included Rental Gear. Tanks, BC, Weights, Reg/Computer, Wetsuit(7mm John and Jacket for OW). I went through the only PADI shop within 30 Miles of me.
No need to get a custom sized BCD!! Have you considered a Backplate and Wing set up?
i snorkeled long before i dove. so i already owned my own mask and fins and boats. a dive computer that you understand completely is critical. i had one flood and was stuck with a rental for a week and felt unsafe. you really don’t need air integrated as your first computer.
I think snorkeling fins are not quiet efficient under water
@Saul I bought and traveled with scuba diving fins
It was mask, fins, wetsuit at first then bcd, reg. Then sold my bcd , reg and when back into diving years after rented a bcd and reg and was like God no 🤢 , went on bought my own bcd and reg before second dive.
We are a bit atypical I guess… Me and my wife planed our entry cours before COVID, months in advance when COVID still was a minor Chinese problem. Just before we where panned to start, hell broke lose and everything was in lockdown. Once we could, we wanted to go but with the hygiene issue on regulators, we decided to buy our own even before the first dive. But also the abc gear, and pool fins, and bcd’s. 🙄🤣 After the pool sessions we bought our own wetsuits and open heel fins for the open water dives, and up till today, 150 dives further, we still use all our gear but just bought more gear to have all of our own before. This thanks to good advice at the local dive shop.
Over the top…..maybe, but it it worth every cent since than.
Important on this is to have a dive shop that put his client service just above sales.
At the time i invested in a basic BCD. Now i have flappy snag hazards with clipped on clips. If i had waited somewhat longer i probably invested in something more suitable.
It only takes one dive trip to see someone have a problem with a rental regulator or vomit into one to move regulator way up the list.
Agree! How quickly many forget the Regulator is your LIFE SUPPORT!
Becomes very apparent when you find your life support starts leaking air mid dive
As for your “octo” screw that thing. Get the cheapest one possible and make sure it bashes on everything and is dragged through the sand…
It’s not for you, it’s for your buddy so what do you care?
(For anyone who can’t tell, I’m being facetious. I believe complete opposite of what I said. Primary donate and your secondary reg on a necklace should be the default teaching IMO).
4:50 I don’t recommend fixing your cutting device to your forearm or any place where you can’t reach it with either hand. If you have it on one hand and the other hand is entangled in fishing line e.g., you have to do the Houdini to cut yourself free. Of course, it’s a different story if you have more than one knife.
There seems to be a problem with CCs, they go out of sync at 8:20
I had the available funds at the time of my Open Water course to buy all my gear HEAD to Toe, and with the help of a couple friends who worked in the Dive Industry I was able to save some money. But I got ALL my equipment before I even touched the water. and was able to learn on my own equipment and feel that much more comfortable while doing my OW course and all thoes that fallowed. Became a Rescue and Master Diver on my 1 year anniversary and now just over 2 years in and working at my local dive shop.
DSMB is missing :) on your list
he mentioned it but wanted to get Lead and Cylinders on the list because thats what he gets asked about more….
Chuckling to myself about this vid. I guess I am a bit of an anomaly. I absolutely knew, I was going to dive a lot, before I did my OW, 3 yrs ago. Mainly as I had tried it as a teen, in the 70s, and as an adult in the late 90s. In my late 50s, I engaged bucket list, and signed up for my OW. Lots of research, lead me to believe in the, buy once, cry once, theory of scuba gear purchasing. Being a safety consious kind’ve guy, redundancy was a word I liked. I used the gear lists from the PADI Self Reliant course, and the SDI Solo course, to determine what kit I should have to dive. Some gear was purchased new, and some used. Most of the used gear came out of the rental fleet of my chosen, local dive shop. A Scubapro Hydros Pro is much more palatable at a used price, for example. Same with tanks. Before I was able to hit confined water for my OW, I had everything from 13cu pony, two computers and a custom made drysuit. 3 yrs and 360 dives later, I have only replaced gear that was lost or stolen, and my pony is now a 30cu pony. I do have sellers regret over getting rid of the 13cu pony. The one caveat I will say about buying everything before I took the course, I knew I would love it due to the fact I had actually tried it. I knew, I would commit to it.
If you have any intention of diving twins or progress as a diver, backplate and wing is the only option as a BC.
@Alias Incognito … ya, bp/w would not be the way I would progress to tech. 6 of my 9 broken ribs are plated in titanium, and there is no way I can do valve drills on backmount doubles. SM would be the way I would go if I wanted to go that direction. BP/W is not the be all, end all of tech diving configurations.
@mike davies I dive in Sidemount exclusively, I did it for my cave training and now in recreational diving. I never dove twins but I can see divers using it for certain situations. There are pros and cons to each.
RE gear I wish I’d never bought…. A dive rattle… They’re soooo annoying, and I’ve never really needed one.. My buddy is partially sighted, so I thought it would be a good thing to get their attention easier when something good came into view. I carried it for the first 20-30 dives, and now it’s just sat in the dive box for the last 7 years… Thankfully it was only about £20, so no great loss. But still… 😀
Rattles… they’re like diving with a ghost rattling a chain somewhere every time you turn to look at something
I have been thinking about my own fins for quite some time now. Can someone compare scubapro go sport and apeks rk3? Good performance in current is important for me. I am exclusively warm water diver. Equipment weight is not all that important. Thanks
The RK3 are a good set of fins. They have been around for decades without changing much, because they don’t need to change. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. With fins being one of the pieces of equipment that can last your entire diving life (I’ve used mine from my OWD course up to now that I’m an Instructor) I would recommend going for something you are comfortable with and you know you can depend on!!
@Alejandro Stahl Aguilar thanks for the response. I was looking for comparison between those two specific fins, wrt current conditions. I don’t have an option of trying them in water, which would have made things simpler
We were required to have mask, fins, and snorkel before we even did our pool session.
Somewhere around #5 on the list we procured a Nautilus LifeLine. We mostly dive in warm waters outside of the US and have heard too many stories of dive boats leaving divers behind.
I own for some other reasons 2 cylinders way before I know scuba.
I snorkel for many years so I already own mask snorkel and a good pair of fins before scuba. I then have my own dive comp, regulator and bcd on my first pool seesion. I have my wetsuit on my second pool session. So I’m all set with my own equipment pretty early. I still use them now I’m at 60+ logs with a new mask since old one was broken. New fins addition since they look amazing (seawing nova). #nottheaveragediver
DSMBs? I would put them around #2-3!!
As a professional diver, I am apparently the only one who says life support system is #1. Regulators. Period. And PS…no one needs a dive computer any longer unless you are diving multi-gas, multi-bottle. Bottom timer is just fine. And absolutely no one should EVER carry a dive knife..just a pair of quality scissors.
You don’t need a dive computer? As a fellow pro I disagree, very useful bits of kit for multilevel diving
@PP O2 yep. No dive computer for rec diving. Only necessary for tek.
Tek is rec.@David Ashmore Bonnichsen
Tables are outdated. Of course you can use them for repetitive dives, but a dive computer is much more precise, reliable and useful.
Most people dont know how to plan dive via a dive table therefore computers become necessary
When I took my open water course, I was expected to have my own mask, snorkel, fins, and booties. Then after getting my cert I went right for BCD Regulator, SPG, and computer. Just got my own 5mm and I now have about everything I need.
What not to buy:
An Air2 or similar.
If you have access to local shore-dives you really want to be able to just pick up some gas and go dive with your buddy. You don’t want to be trying to organise gear hire and turn an easy $20 shore dive into a $100-and-a-couple-of-hours ordeal. That sort of screwing around is liable to turn you off diving after a few times.
There are not many times where I would consider gear hire. Obviously except for cylinders, and weights while travelling. You really should be aiming to have your own equipment that you know the history of and can use without thinking too much. Dealing with unfamiliar and sub-par equipment detracts from your diving. Why would you want to pay repeatedly for that?!
Mask (and snorkel), wetsuit (full length. Just get a thin suit if it’s hot, because sun and stinger protection are highly desirable) and boots all at once in my opinion. If they’re hiring decent fins then you may as well try-before-you-buy and hire those. Have your basic personal gear for your first course. Just get it out of the way. That’s the cost of diving.
Then after your Open Water you should know if you’re going to dive more so fast follow up with fins, cutting devices (at least a trilobite style line cutter – avoid large knives!), regs, computer, BCD (backplate and wing – why waste money on a jacket?), decent quality closed style SMB/reel, compass, dive light(s) and signalling devices… And probably tech shorts to hold accessories as they should never be flapping around in the open.
Optionally at some point I’d recommend a PLB. My Garmin In-Reach gives me the warm and fuzzies.
Buy quality instruction. Do your research because not all courses and instructors are equal. Skills are even more important than gear.
I live in Florida and got my certification during winter, water around 70⁰F, so the first things I’ve bought were my mask and wetsuit because, yes, people pee in wetsuits! A friend of mine told me to buy it first and I thank him ! The rental was included in the course, and every diving, I had different equipment. By the end of course I got my very own equipment. The only regret is that I got a bcd jacket instead of a back plate and wing.
Shocking to see knives at #3. 😂 I’ve never had a situation apart from underwater cleaning where I needed a knife.
Mh, I have more than 90 dives and still no knife. Never needed one. And with suits and jackets…if you fly, you will very fast be confronted with additional costs. This is the reason why I only rent those things.
The problem with fins is the size. I’d very much prefer to own them and cost isn’t an issue, but I’m a minimalist traveler and don’t check-in bags. Boots + fins would definitely require it and it doesn’t seem worth it, rental ones have been good enough. Yeah I hate when I get the old style (non-spring) attachment that I find awkward to get off in the water when returning to the boat, but they’re fine otherwise so it’s not a big enough deal to justify checking in a suitcase.
Thank you, i am new to diving.
Nice list, but you forgot 1 important bit of kit . I’d put it at #3 or #4 – An SMB and Reel.
I recently purchased a surface marker buoy or SMB. I think that’s important for safety. I also end up getting a torch as there are so many good deals. I did get the BCD recently and the last thing I’m getting is my regulator set which ranges from anywhere from $500-$2800 which is a huge decision.
Hi Mark, I’ve got a “when to buy” question in a slightly different context. I have been trying to choose a regulator for the past few months and have landed on either a g260 with mk17, or an XTX50 with DST. In my local market pricing and availability are pretty much the same. Since the mk17 has been discontinued, it is beginning to disappear from local shops and the window to purchase seems to be closing pretty quickly. With Apeks, it maybe seems foolish to jump onto a sinking ship right now, although maybe its too early to tell.
I am leaning right now to hurry to get my hands on a MK17 while i still can, but am worried about potentially having difficulty with servicing in the future, but maybe this is unfounded. With Apeks, I am worried that parts will stop being available altogether in the near future.
So what do you think, wait out the Apeks drama, or rush to go with SP?
Thanks
You should be safe with both. Both are very popular regulator designs from popular brands. That being said, the Scubapro is the safer option right now. Scubapro are in a really strong position and while they’re obligated to support the mk17 for 7 years I’ll be surprised if they don’t continue to produce service kits beyond that.
Thanks a lot! By the way, when do you expect to hear some news on the aqualung buyout? Cheers @Scuba Diver Magazine
So far I am following your sequence pretty well 😊. Next I have my eye on a Suunto Vyper Novo.
I am wondering what your thoughts are on second hand gear. So far I have used the guidance that if I (plan to) wear it in my skin, I prefer new stuff. But I am content with my pair of second hand fins for example. Any thoughts on stuff I shouldn’t buy second hand?
It depends on the condition of the item but, most scuba gear is OK to buy 2nd hand. I’d probably avoid wetsuits and boots, most other gear should be OK.
Regulators, Computers and Cylinders check when they were last serviced and if service kits are still available for discontinued items. As long as items are in good condition, 2nd hand is usually fine.