Gear

[Redleg0811]

Currently my wife and I only have mask, snorkel, fins, booties, and gloves. I am thinking the smart move is to wait until she finishes her class and my refresh before buying further gear? It has been so long I am not sure what to look for in gear. I liked the back floatation and internal weights of my old Zeagle Ranger. So I will probably get another back floatation. I liked being able to adjust the pressure of my reg. I don't have a problem buying used if it is in good shape and the gear I want. Just not sure what that gear is.

I have been reading her OW. Can people recommend other places to read about gear? Reviews and such?

I can't wait to get back into diving. I am so excited that my wife wants to do it also.

Thanks
Martin

[60south]

Hi Martin,

Where do you plan on diving? Gear for PNW diving may be different than tropical destinations.

I would definitely finish all the classes and refreshers before any purchases. This will give you time to try out some rental or borrowed gear, think about your objectives, and ask questions about gear in class.

Cheers,

glenn

[Redleg0811]

Hi Glenn,

We plan on doing diving around the PNW, but also have a trip planned to Belize.
I saw this You-tube of this dive instructor saying these are the top 5 items that it makes sense to get and buy quality.
1. Mask
2. Dive flag
3. Dive Computer ( surprised me. His logic was it is important to RTFM and know your dive computer, vs getting a rental one that is different each time)
4. Thermal protection
5. Regulator

I would have thought BCD, but he said, yeah they are a little different, but in general they are pretty easy to figure out if you get a different one each time.

I am still going to wait until the wife and I are done with class, but will be researching.

Martin

[Boarderguy]

Look at a backplate and wing. They are very customizable to your exact needs and aren't full of floaty material like jacket or back inflate BCDs. Seaskin dry suits run about 1k and are fully custom fit at that price point. Regs are often coming up for sale on scubaboard.com and once serviced they work well, just know what brand and type you're wanting. For dive computers I like Shearwater Perdix AI, but those run $800+ used without a transmitter. They are more computer than 90% of rec divers will ever need but can be grown into. Shearwater Peregrine is a great computer except it does not have your tank pressure (Air Integration). A peregrine would be great if you're renting regulators.

Personally I'd get gear in this order if not going whole hog:

Thermal protection
Dive computer
BP & W
Regulators

[Nwbrewer]

Was that list from "Divers Ready"?

Thermal protection probably falls down the list when diving warm water, but here in the PNW I put a higher premium on thermal protection.

As far a a dive flag, I'd drive that a ways down on the list for PNW diving again. If you start diving somewhere besides Mukilteo/EUP/Cove2/Redondo then start thinking about needing one. (though they can be more of a liability based on the education level of the average boater in WA state....)

Dive computers are nice, but by no means necessary in the PNW, especially when you are first starting out on rental 80's. Typically following tables and doing shore dives, you're not going to hit an NDL before you hit your rock bottom gas limit anyway. You drop a few hundred $ on a shearwater, but something dirt simple like an oceanic veo or a suunto gekko can be found used for $200 or so.

Quality regulators are important, and I'd personally move those much higher up the list. Do some research on what you want. My 2psi is that on regulators, most "features" are just gimmicks. The guts of regulators from most major manufacturers (I like Apeks regs, but other are similar) are basically the same as they have been for many years.

I agree with Boarderguy on getting a BP/W. Simple, customizable, puts the weight above your lungs where you want it. I (and I'm sure a bunch of others here) would be happy to show you our setups when you're ready to start diving.

Jake

[60south]

HI Martin,

All the other comments are really good.

If you're planning on diving the PNW, I would add "Buy for cold water, rent for tropics."

It's really easy to rent any old BC/Reg/Wetsuit for the occasional tropical trip. For local diving, however, the choice of gear becomes a lot more important.

The same computer will work in both locations, and I kind of agree that it's best to buy one and get to know it well. For recreational diving I recommend the Shearwater Perigrine; I have one and love it. Regs are fairly adaptable, so unless you're doing something demanding or exotic (tech, ice diving, burrowing in the mud) just about any regulator will work fine in both locations.

glenn

[Redleg0811]

All great info. Yes Divers ready and as you said warm water. All but 4 of my dives were in Okinawa so I was used to warm water.

As you said I thought when we went to Belize we would rent.

I know what a BP & W is, but had not thought about getting one (mostly due to a lack of knowledge. They look uncomfortable vs say a back pack style? Yes I would love to see some pictures and know more about them. I will put them on the list of things to try.

For the most part as we get used to the area and we build our skills, I plan for my wife and I to dive with groups.

I could defiantly see thermal protection bumped up on that list.

I used to have an Oceanic puck, but got ride of it long ago. My plan is to take things slow so that I can do this with the wife. back in the day I was headed to the tech diving side. I would like to get my Nitrox cert (50-100). I also think that I would like to get to the point of diving deeper. I am pretty sure the wife would only be into recreationally diving.

For the wife I was thinking of a Peregrine or something like that. Mostly likely over kill, but at this point I am kind of drawn to the Perdix AI. I think it is the geek side of me. But that might change as I look more into different dive computers and prices. As you said I did plenty fine by plan the dive, dive the plan and watching my SPG.

I had always thought I would get one that was AI with a HP hose replacing my SPG, but was thinking that having a DC with wireless AI and keeping the SPG would give a backup in case of DC failure.

So it looks like the first major purchase should be thermal protection. Since we are doing the dry suit class, the wife is cold blooded, I have become a wuss when it comes to cold, we will probably go with dry suits.

I understand you get what you pay for, but there is usually brands or models in a price point that isn't the best, but has high reliability and lasts. What would you say those mid grade brands are? Boarder said Seaskin a 1k, which by no means is cheap, but seeing different used dry suits going for more. I don't need to break the bank, but do want quality. Maybe Seaskin is quality. I just don't know.

Thanks
Martin

[Nwbrewer]

If you are thinking Tech, that implies doubles and doubles means backplate. May as well just start there. And while I agree that they LOOK uncomfortable, they are actually incredibly comfortable.

As far as drysuits, everyone has their favorite, and there are good/bad things in ever suit. I'll throw in my recent purchase of a Bare shell suit that I find very comfortable, and DRY!

Jake

[60south]

So it looks like the first major purchase should be thermal protection. Since we are doing the dry suit class, the wife is cold blooded, I have become a wuss when it comes to cold, we will probably go with dry suits.

Sooner or later every diver around here goes dry.

I understand you get what you pay for, but there is usually brands or models in a price point that isn't the best, but has high reliability and lasts. What would you say those mid grade brands are? Boarder said Seaskin a 1k, which by no means is cheap, but seeing different used dry suits going for more. I don't need to break the bank, but do want quality. Maybe Seaskin is quality. I just don't know.

IMO, the right drysuit is the one that fits. I've had a DUI (trilam), two Vikings (rubber and laminate), a Dive Concepts (trilam), and now a Seaskin (trilam). The Vikings and DC were off-the-rack, and while they worked okay, I was never very comfortable. The DUI and Seaskin were both custom and of high quality, and they both fit wonderfully.

For drysuit diving, many people find that a backplate and wing system works best. Yeah it looks weird, like it would hurt (but it doesn't), and it distributes the weight more evenly. BPW systems are often viewed as 'tech' equipment but it's really for everyone.

For tropical diving, I find there are some advantages to a vest-style BC, but you could easily go either way.

If you can, I suggest borrowing some BC systems to see what you like!

If you're going to be diving together with your wife, you should both get nitrox certifications. It's not a big deal, and it would let you dive the same profiles. This becomes important when you're doing 2 or 3+ dives a day somewhere and want to stay down as long as possible.

Have fun!

[Redleg0811]

Ok we try on and try on for comfort of a dry suit. Any to stay away from?

Do you guys have some brands of BPW to recommend and ones to stay away from?

The dry suit class was half if we added it on to a class. I thought with everything else and the dry suit adding the Nitrox might be a bit much. I told my wife that if she really gets into this I would like her to take Advance OW and Rescue. I figured we can both do Nitrox when she does advance and I refresh on it. Does that sound logical?

[Nwbrewer]

For the most part, a plate is a plate. Scubaoard for a used one, it's not like you can wear one out.

For the wing brand is not as important as shape, a donut style rather than horseshoe style is much easier to dump in any position. I like my oxycheq wing, but lots of good ones out there. I would stay away from anything with more than 40lbs or so of lift. Bigger wings with bungee that are supposed to be for singles and doubles tend to trap gas and not work great for either singles or doubles.

Something I thought of earlier regarding gear for puget sound is a light. A bright one with a nice tight beam for signaling. Visibility can be challenging at times and a good light is critical for keeping track of your buddy.

[Redleg0811]

I didn't think about a light because at this point we're not doing night diving. But you're saying a light is handy even during the day because of visibility?

I appreciate all the knowledge you guys are sharing with me

[Nwbrewer]

Yep, lot's of days the visibility can be rather bad, especially in the first 20-30fsw or so, and once you get below that it will open up, but the crap in that top layer has removed a lot of the light.

That's the lovely thing about PNW diving, you can night dive just about any time of day!

[Boarderguy]

I have a Hog 32lb wing with their aluminum BP. Don't go less than a 30lb wing. The amount of weight on our rigs here in PNW needs the bigger lift capacity. Steel tank, backplate (SS or AL), regs, etc all add up quick and your wing may not be able to float if you remove it in the water. I dive with a back mounted pony and 2lbs on the opposite side. That with a 119 cf tank and I am a little overweighted with a 12lb belt. I would highly recommend splitting your weight between the rig and your waist. Our floaty thermal gear makes splitting weight almost a necessity imo.

Wearing a BP/W without a wetsuit isn't very comfy, but up here you don't even notice it unless you get a shoulder strap twisted. Additionally a good plate and wing will be significantly less expensive than an equally good jacket or back inflate BCD. Dave money there and get a good computer.

Peregrine is great for use with rental regs because it doesn't use a transmitter. The perdix AI would be a hassle as you'd have to either remove their HP line to the spg or pull the plug on the second HP port and connect your transmitter every time you dive. You could dive the perdix without the transmitter but then it's just an expensive Peregrine.

I don't run a backup SPG. I always have more gas than my planned dive and if my transmitter failed then I thumb the dive and start heading up and back to shore. I also have a good idea of where my gas is within 200 psi most of the time. These things have gotten very reliable and are used extensively within the tech community. If they weren't good enough then they wouldn't be prevalent on our shores.

Lights: carry 2 on every dive... our waters are dark and the hidey holes that critters like are dark. These are all day dives with buddy maybe 10 ft away.

[60south]

Ok we try on and try on for comfort of a dry suit. Any to stay away from?

Nope. Try 'em all on! Don't be surprised if you or your wife can't find an off-the-shelf drysuit that fits right; many of us custom order one out of necessity.

I figured we can both do Nitrox when she does advance and I refresh on it. Does that sound logical?

That's fine.

[Redleg0811]

Again, I really appreciate all the knowledge that you've shared with me.