Newby question on buying Gear...

[Adam H.]

Hi,

I'm new to the scuba diving world, but I'm interested in purchasing some
gear. (Should complete my open water rating this comming weekend, which I'm
looking foward to).

I was wondering - when buying gear, are there any traps to look out for, or
particular questions to ask.

I thought to start off with, I maybe better going with 2nd hand stuff until
I get an idea of what I really want/need. So far, I can think of the
following:

* Tank Capacity. Volume and Pressure rating. (I hear some older tanks are
only rated to 150bar)
* Tank Certified. (Bad Idea to purchase a tank that's life is depleted)

Are their any other questions I should be asking about tanks / BCD's /
Regulators, etc?

Cheers

Adam.

[dechucka]

Post by Adam H.
Hi,
I'm new to the scuba diving world, but I'm interested in purchasing some
gear. (Should complete my open water rating this comming weekend, which I'm
looking foward to).
I was wondering - when buying gear, are there any traps to look out for, or
particular questions to ask.
I thought to start off with, I maybe better going with 2nd hand stuff until
I get an idea of what I really want/need. So far, I can think of the
* Tank Capacity. Volume and Pressure rating. (I hear some older tanks are
only rated to 150bar)
* Tank Certified. (Bad Idea to purchase a tank that's life is depleted)
Are their any other questions I should be asking about tanks / BCD's /
Regulators, etc?
Cheers
Adam.

get a good mask, get good fins + booties and an appropriate wetsuit ( people
piss in the hire ones ) than leave the rest for a while. See if you love the
pass time before shelving out the big bucks. ONLY BUY SECOND HAND GEAR IF
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING or you know someone who knows what they are
doing Hint the bloke in the dive shop may have different motives to you.


Good luck and good diving

[Adam H.]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Post by dechucka
get a good mask, get good fins + booties and an appropriate wetsuit ( people
piss in the hire ones ) than leave the rest for a while. See if you love the
pass time before shelving out the big bucks. ONLY BUY SECOND HAND GEAR IF
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING or you know someone who knows what they are
doing Hint the bloke in the dive shop may have different motives to you.

Hmm.. that's why I'm asking the questions. I'm trying to learn what to do.
:-)

At this stage, I was actually looking at ebay. I've found some cheap
(compared to local) devices on ebay, even brand new that I thought looked
good - but didn't know if there were any catches. (ie, do some regulators
have a lower limit, say 150bar, instead of 230bar), etc, etc.

One item that caught my eye was:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7221646119&fromMakeTrack=true

Does this look like a good buy (for under $1000 AUD including postage), or
am I missing something?

Thanks & Regards

Adam.

[news.bigpond.com]

Adam,

Don't bother buying a tank at this stage. The easiest thing to hire and
(apart from lead) the heaviest thing to carry. Personally I agree with mask,
fins, boots, snorkel and wettie first. Then a BC - it's really nice to get
completely familiar with your own BC rather than messing around trying to
get familiar with a hire one!

Post by Adam H.
Hi,
Thanks for your reply.

Post by dechucka
get a good mask, get good fins + booties and an appropriate wetsuit (

people

Post by dechucka
piss in the hire ones ) than leave the rest for a while. See if you love

the

Post by dechucka
pass time before shelving out the big bucks. ONLY BUY SECOND HAND GEAR IF
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING or you know someone who knows what they are
doing Hint the bloke in the dive shop may have different motives to you.

Hmm.. that's why I'm asking the questions. I'm trying to learn what to do.
:-)
At this stage, I was actually looking at ebay. I've found some cheap
(compared to local) devices on ebay, even brand new that I thought looked
good - but didn't know if there were any catches. (ie, do some regulators
have a lower limit, say 150bar, instead of 230bar), etc, etc.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7221646119&fromMakeTrack=true
Does this look like a good buy (for under $1000 AUD including postage), or
am I missing something?
Thanks & Regards
Adam.

[dechucka]

Post by news.bigpond.com
Adam,
Don't bother buying a tank at this stage. The easiest thing to hire and
(apart from lead) the heaviest thing to carry. Personally I agree with
mask, fins, boots, snorkel and wettie first. Then a BC - it's really nice
to get completely familiar with your own BC rather than messing around
trying to get familiar with a hire one!

and may I suggest a BC with integrated weights. Why? because most/all dive
boats carry weights on board and you don't have to carry a weight belt
around most of the time ( doing a shore dive you are no worse off and can
carry your weights down by wearing your BC). The only problem is making sure
that a new dive buddy know how to dump your weights if necessary.

[Adam H.]

Hi,

Post by news.bigpond.com
Don't bother buying a tank at this stage. The easiest thing to hire and
(apart from lead) the heaviest thing to carry. Personally I agree with mask,
fins, boots, snorkel and wettie first. Then a BC - it's really nice to get
completely familiar with your own BC rather than messing around trying to
get familiar with a hire one!

Thanks for your suggestion. At this stage, I have my mask, snorkel and
boots. I guess the next thing on the list should be the fins and the wettie.

I've seen some fins around with a split down the middle. When I tried them
on, they were certainly a lot easier to swim with, but was wondering if
their is any downside to split fins? Are they any slower, or is their any
other downsides, or are they the better ones to go for.

I'm considering a subapro steamer (I think they're called, or maybe semi-dry
suit) - ones that are wetsuits, but hardly let any water in. I'm in
Victoria, so I guess most of my diving will be around cold water
unfortuantly at this stage. Does anyone have any suggestions re wetties
also, or are they pretty much a no-brainer?

"dechucka" <***@vomithotmail.com.au> wrote in message news:4413ce9c$0$23305$***@per-qv1-newsreader-> and may I suggest a BC
with integrated weights. Why? because most/all dive

Post by news.bigpond.com
boats carry weights on board and you don't have to carry a weight belt
around most of the time ( doing a shore dive you are no worse off and can
carry your weights down by wearing your BC). The only problem is making sure
that a new dive buddy know how to dump your weights if necessary.

I've been looking at some with integrated weights. I have a friend (old
Instructor who's since quit) with a scubapro BC that he might sell, but
without intergrated weights. He says that he doesn't like them, as he
considers them dangerous. (Harder to dump than the weight belt).

I'm only new at scuba (got open water certified 2 weeks ago) so I have a lot
to learn. I have however, found that weighbelts can get stuck too (with the
BC), or the buckle can rotate, making it not so quick to release if I really
needed to, so I'm wondering if integrated weights could actually be safer in
the long run.

The other thing I guess is a reg. It's probably further down the list than
the other items above, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it too much at this
stage. Just seems like the more gear you have, the cheaper it is. <g>

On a completely different note - my wife has come up with a bad rash all
over her both times she's gone diving. Lasted about 3 days. I'm not sure
what has caused it, but I'm tending to lean towards the wetsuit. (However,
she also got it on her head where her hood covered her face), so I'm
wondering if it's an allergic reaction to the material, or if it's a common
thing?

We've thought about getting a rashie for her, but I guess you don't get
rashies for your head, so that won't help in that instance. Has anyone got
any idea of what might be causing the rash, or any ways to prevent it?

Thanks for all your suggestions so far. I'm very eager to learn a lot about
diving, and appreciate all the feedback you have given todate!

Regards

Adam.

[dechucka]

snip

Post by dechucka
BC
with integrated weights. Why? because most/all dive

Post by dechucka
boats carry weights on board and you don't have to carry a weight belt
around most of the time ( doing a shore dive you are no worse off and can
carry your weights down by wearing your BC). The only problem is making

sure

Post by dechucka
that a new dive buddy know how to dump your weights if necessary.

I've been looking at some with integrated weights. I have a friend (old
Instructor who's since quit) with a scubapro BC that he might sell, but
without intergrated weights. He says that he doesn't like them, as he
considers them dangerous. (Harder to dump than the weight belt).

Dumping your weights is really last resort stuff in an absolute emergency.
If your buddy is well briefed he will be just as able to pull a pocket out
of your BC as reach under your BC to undo a clip.
The only time I have dumped a weight belt was when my buddy was getting
tired and getting nervous on the surface ( in a very nasty chop ) waiting
for the boat which had to leave the line to pick up other divers, dumping
his belt made him lighter and calmed him down ( we got it back as I
clipped it up and slid it down the line).
PS we made him pull the line up

I should have said dumping you weight belt while under is really last resort
stuff

[dechucka]

snip

Post by dechucka
with integrated weights. Why? because most/all dive

Post by dechucka
boats carry weights on board and you don't have to carry a weight belt
around most of the time ( doing a shore dive you are no worse off and can
carry your weights down by wearing your BC). The only problem is making

sure

Post by dechucka
that a new dive buddy know how to dump your weights if necessary.

I've been looking at some with integrated weights. I have a friend (old
Instructor who's since quit) with a scubapro BC that he might sell, but
without intergrated weights. He says that he doesn't like them, as he
considers them dangerous. (Harder to dump than the weight belt).

Dumping your weights is really last resort stuff in an absolute emergency.
If your buddy is well briefed he will be just as able to pull a pocket out
of your BC as reach under your BC to undo a clip.

The only time I have dumped a weight belt was when my buddy was getting
tired and getting nervous on the surface ( in a very nasty chop ) waiting
for the boat which had to leave the line to pick up other divers, dumping
his belt made him lighter and calmed him down ( we got it back as I clipped
it up and slid it down the line).

PS we made him pull the line up

[news.bigpond.com]

With respect to the split fins, I love my split fins. The only down side is
a belief expressed by some wreck divers that the vortex induced off the tips
of split fins can destroy vis more quickly than standard fins. I haven't
tested this myself but I did notice a fair amount of muck stirred up in one
wreck where I got too close to the floor of the wreck.

However in open water, splitties are hard to beat. Just one word of
warning - they all lok the same. Put some paint stripes or cable ties or
comsething on your fins so you can pick them out on a crowded dive boat.

With respect to wetties in cold water diving areas, it is hard to go past a
semi dry or dry suit. I personally like my 5/7 semidry. Look around - they
vary quite a bit in quality, finish on seams etc. The best semi drys use a
dry suit zip. The cressi semi dry is not bad.

If you go dry, buy one with some decent thermal insulating properties. I
have seen dry suit divers come up shivering even with a lot of gear on
underneath the suit.

If you are buying a BC, I definitely agree with integrated weights.
dechucka is right, if you are having to dump weights then a lot of things
have probably already gone wrong. I have a SEAC Pro 3000, and I have played
in the pool with the weights. Very easy to get out. Most integrated weights
have a quick pull system.

One last point, once you have your gear - go to the pool - can't emphasise
that enought - go to the pool. Play with your gear, est weights, play with
the dumps on the BC , understand where the inflator sits on the BC, and test
how much additional weight the semi dry will force you to use - you will be
VERY surprised.

Cheers.

Post by Adam H.
Hi,

Post by news.bigpond.com
Don't bother buying a tank at this stage. The easiest thing to hire and
(apart from lead) the heaviest thing to carry. Personally I agree with

mask,

Post by news.bigpond.com
fins, boots, snorkel and wettie first. Then a BC - it's really nice to get
completely familiar with your own BC rather than messing around trying to
get familiar with a hire one!

Thanks for your suggestion. At this stage, I have my mask, snorkel and
boots. I guess the next thing on the list should be the fins and the wettie.
I've seen some fins around with a split down the middle. When I tried them
on, they were certainly a lot easier to swim with, but was wondering if
their is any downside to split fins? Are they any slower, or is their any
other downsides, or are they the better ones to go for.
I'm considering a subapro steamer (I think they're called, or maybe semi-dry
suit) - ones that are wetsuits, but hardly let any water in. I'm in
Victoria, so I guess most of my diving will be around cold water
unfortuantly at this stage. Does anyone have any suggestions re wetties
also, or are they pretty much a no-brainer?
with integrated weights. Why? because most/all dive

Post by news.bigpond.com
boats carry weights on board and you don't have to carry a weight belt
around most of the time ( doing a shore dive you are no worse off and can
carry your weights down by wearing your BC). The only problem is making

sure

Post by news.bigpond.com
that a new dive buddy know how to dump your weights if necessary.

I've been looking at some with integrated weights. I have a friend (old
Instructor who's since quit) with a scubapro BC that he might sell, but
without intergrated weights. He says that he doesn't like them, as he
considers them dangerous. (Harder to dump than the weight belt).
I'm only new at scuba (got open water certified 2 weeks ago) so I have a lot
to learn. I have however, found that weighbelts can get stuck too (with the
BC), or the buckle can rotate, making it not so quick to release if I really
needed to, so I'm wondering if integrated weights could actually be safer in
the long run.
The other thing I guess is a reg. It's probably further down the list than
the other items above, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it too much at this
stage. Just seems like the more gear you have, the cheaper it is. <g>
On a completely different note - my wife has come up with a bad rash all
over her both times she's gone diving. Lasted about 3 days. I'm not sure
what has caused it, but I'm tending to lean towards the wetsuit. (However,
she also got it on her head where her hood covered her face), so I'm
wondering if it's an allergic reaction to the material, or if it's a common
thing?
We've thought about getting a rashie for her, but I guess you don't get
rashies for your head, so that won't help in that instance. Has anyone got
any idea of what might be causing the rash, or any ways to prevent it?
Thanks for all your suggestions so far. I'm very eager to learn a lot about
diving, and appreciate all the feedback you have given todate!
Regards
Adam.