If you could build the best dive gear what would it be?
Give me your thoughts. I am going to buy this gear.
I have Scubapro Seawing Nova fins
Deepsea boots
Scuba Pro mask
I need everything else. What would you suggest? I live in Wisconsin. I will do most of my diving in the midwest.
Read the Equipment Discussions section of the forum thoroughly. You will find many different recommendations for midwest diving gear in here. Try to buddy up with more experienced divers in your area. Check out their gear configuration and ask them why they made the gear choices they did. Many of us made the wrong choices when buying our first set of gear. So if you end up selling stuff on ebay in a couple years you will find yourself in good company.
The problem with dive gear is that once used, its resale value takes a big hit.
All dive stores rent gear, so until you are certain what gear to buy, I would recommend just renting your gear. Rent different styles and types of gear, that is, don't just settle for renting a jacket-style BC, give the backplate and wings a try also, you may be surprised.
My first four years of diving were with a jacket-style, but now I dive exclusively with a backplate for the past ten years. Like every/most new divers do, they buy what their instructor was using or what the store recommended. This is not to say that this may not be the best for you, but how do you know until you have tried other types and styles?
Dave Torry
I wish I could rent the dive equipment I want to buy. Unfortunately it seems it donât work that way.
I would like to try out the Scubapro MK25/S600 and the Scubapro Knighthawk BC. But it seems I am very limited in what I can rent.
The equipment that I can rent does not come close to top shelf. Therefore I find I cannot get a feel of what I really want.
The first pool dive I did was a disaster, My wetsuit did not zip up, the weight belt was too small and fell off and the 2nd dive in a pool was with a wetsuit that was way to small again and only came up to my navel and then my weight belt slid off again to my ankles.
I do realize I do not have hips therefore I canât use a dive belt. Not the fault of the dive shop. They treat me great. I canât say enough good things about them, But I know I cannot rent what I would like to try. I want to dive more than anything I have ever wanted before but I am having one hell of a time trying to do so.
Jason said this already and we all know your story, we've all been there at least once. It's impossible to do it right the first try. It shouldn't be but it is. I own 3 backplate and wing so not even that is a single solution. All of us own 'extra' gear. We all really want to give you the answers but they simply don't exist. Even gear I loved for 5 years is now wrong for me today.
A few ways of thinking about it. .
-Jacket BC's are not so different that one is markedly better, only markedly different. they are all safe so it's not anything to worry about inexpensive. Get something that fits and dive it a lot. Then buy something else.
-Regs, Any top brand is as good as any other. I swear by Apex and dislike ScubaPro, but I have buddies that swear by Scubapro and dislike Posidon.... We all like something different and we are all correct. I could have easily ended up with ScubaPro but the shop had APEX that day. Sealed cold water reg is all that matters.
Go get some gear, try not to spend a lot thinking it's better (maybe regs are better, but computers and BC, not so much) Your going to replace or upgrade it in a year or two so try not to break the bank thinking it's a one time buy, it's not. I have never met a diver that only has one set and no regrets.
Good luck
I do have the BC you're looking at, but I'm a big guy so its a XXL. If that would fit you, I'd be happy to let you try it some weekend. PM me and we can work something out
I also have a regulator, but its an MK11/R295 so I can't help you on that front.
I ran into the same thing. Unfortunately, as others have said, the dive shops rent out cheaper gear because it gets used and abused. One thing to do is call the diveshops. See if they know any instructors selling some gear.. I ended up buying my gear pretty much untested as most shops didn't have larger sized gear for me to even rent.. The place I did my training had larger gear, but only one set, so after not being able to dive acouple of times, I jumped in and bought gear.
Arcflash....well said, I like and believe your in your advice.
Thank you for the replies and advice. I do appreciate it.
We don't rent the Knighthawk but we do rent the Aqua Lung Balance with the air source 3. We also rent the Aqua Lung Titan LX Supreme, Kronos Supreme and can sometimes make arrangements with one of our staff if you would like to try the Legend LX. All of our regulators have dive computers on them.
I also tried to get what i thought would be the best. now I'm accumulating a small collection of stuff that i use during different conditions.
for fins I'm probably odd among this group as i relay like my freediving long fins. for fish watching i find that I hardly have to move my fins to move. plus the ends of my fins are nearly 3ft farther down from my feet. I'm 6ft tall, that makes the moving portion of my fins nearly 9ft behind my front viewing area...
Ive gone back and forth as to which fins i like. but i think for the money the cressi gara series are the best value.not expensive, they are also tough yet light weight. problem you will find, since most midwest diving is done in relatively cold water, you will need to wear booties, and the long fins rarely come in open heal styles. for summer diving i use the gara closed heal, then come cool water i was able to find open heel set.Omer supposedly makes a model but they are tough to get in this country.low end omer fins are also somewhat more bulky the high end blades are too expensive for entry level gear. Rife out of California has open heal also. then for relay cold spring/fall Ive got a medium length fin set that is also open heal with booties, as these are easier to wear with heavy bulky wetsuits.If your curious about trying these types of fins Ive got nearly every size for my kids and myself you'd be welcome to tag along and try them.
I think most everyone would agree that for local diving you might as well spend the money and invest in cold water ice regulators.