Scuba equipment?

Question

I just got my Open Water certificate, and I have decided to purchase my own gear(bc,regulators,octos,and such), since I had a bad experience with renting bcs,when I dived in florida.

My question is what types of equipment would you suggest to buy and where? preferably items that are long lasting and are versitile in its use.online, or near nashville TN

Answer 1

Get a cup of tea...  this one turned out awfully long.

*******

I've not done any shopping in Nashville; all my gear came from shops here in N.Alabama (SDI in Huntsville is my favorite).  I was on the MTSS email list for a while; seems like a good shop but I've not done any business there.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with rental gear.  Ordinarily I strongly recommend renting equipment for a while to get experience with different types and manufacturers.

Thumbs up to scubabob - think very, very carefully about ordering anything online and then never buy life support that way.

You'll want to consider what kind of diving you're most likely to do and where.  For instance - my wife and I prefer warm water diving so my BC is one of Oceanic's reef-style that has the bladder strictly on the back.  Hers is a Dive-Rite tec style harness with a Venture Wing.  If you're going to do a fair amount of open ocean diving where the water is a little colder or there's chop, you might want to consider a wrap-around BC.  The only answer I can give here is try stuff on!  Don't be in a hurry to buy.

Regulator set - I really, really like my Aqua-Lung Titan.  The second stage was actually built by Apeks (though they don't advertise it) and I bought it when Aqua-Lung was doing a promotional sale where they were throwing in the octo at no additional cost.  If you are willing to shop around and wait, you can find such deals.  At the risk of advocating being a "vulture", dive shops to go out of business from time to time.  Deals can be made under such circumstances where you are buying from a recognized vendor and so can get a proper warranty that will be honored elsewhere, but at a bargain price.

WARNING - there is an online outfit whose name starts with "Leisure" that sells regulators.  I've called them and they declare they will provide annual service on regulators.  Don't believe it.  There's a bulletin at SDI from one of the manufacturers that explicitly declares they will not honor the warranty if a reg is bought at this particular online shop.

Instruments - this is a little like buying a stereo or an iPod; you'll be chasing state-of-the-art and your computer will be obsolete the year after you buy it.  If I was to do it over again, I'd have a standard SPG and depth gauge on a hose and wear a dive computer on my wrist (probably what I'll recommend to my nephew when he starts diving).  As is, I have a very nice Suunto Viper that I like a lot.  I've used several other types of computers (borrowed or rented) - there was one wrist-mounted rectangular thing with a bunch of buttons and a very non-intuitive interface that I really didn't like.

Wetsuits - here's where you can save some money.  Buying used gear works, rentals, and believe it or not: Sam's or Costco.  You can find shorties like for surfing or water skiing for under $40.  I got a 2mil that I've been using for all my warm water diving that way.

Skins - my wife bought some winter-weight Under Armor at d**k's Sporting Goods.

Tank - don't bother buying your own unless you're going to do a LOT of shore diving.  Living in Nashville, I doubt it.

Weights - you'll never carry weights in your luggage if you fly to dive; the destination shop will provide them as part of the package.  However, I do some local diving so I have my own.  I prefer shot bags and a pocket belt - much more comfortable.

Gear bag - lots of things work.  Mine is is a soft-side wheeled duffel that I got at Costco for $45.  Heck, I even saw someone with a Samsonite suitcase on one trip.

Answer 2

Your local dive shop will be able to recommend a good setup for you to use. They can also help you to find dive sites and buddies to go with. You can also continue your education with them and get into more advanced diving. I'm not sure who you certified with but I'm sure there is a dive shop in Nashville that has your agency. Here's a link to all the dive shops in your area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&i...

Good Luck with your search.

Answer 3

For starters, personally, I'd not buy online. A few reasons for this:

1/ Some unscrupulous vendors pass off factory seconds or back room repaired stuff as dive gear. It may not be safe.

2/ Buying at your LDS (local dive shop) means that you touched, tried on, got advice on and physically seen the gear you're about to buy.

3/ Buying at your LDS means you're buying local, keeping a local business person in business. Likely the same person you'll later ask for advice or hook up with dive buddies through. Hard to find a dive buddy on the net. Easy to do on a Saturday afternoon at a dive shop.

Ok..my sermon is over ( I don't own a dive shop by the way).

It's gonna sound funny, but....your best bet IS to go to your LDS for advice on this. All I know is that you're a recent OW. I have no idea where you plan to dive mostly, your skill level ( not all OW's are equal), what your future plans are regarding your skills and courses and what your budget is.

I could suggest a kit costing 6 grand + or one at around 1500 bucks all in.

Ask your LDS, they'll be happy to make you happy. Regular customers at many shops get amazing discounts that many times are at a little below MSRP or even at cost. That beats online shops anyday because they CAN'T sell at cost, ever. They also don't know or care much about you other than your wallet. Your LDS will care. They'd like you to come back even if it's just for conversation. They've seen your face, you've seen theirs and if you need service for gear you've bought..guess where the best and fastest service will be. The LDS you bought your gear from. Something simple that may take 2 weeks via mail may only take a few minutes on the tech bench and possibly for free.

Welcome to the dive community. We're a little "old school" and community driven at times.

Ok..the sermon is REALLY over. :)