Tech Talk… What scuba gear should I buy? 1st Feature

I have decided to do this feature as people always ask me what scuba equipment to buy and what to buy 1^st, so remember that this is only my opinion. Should you have different views than mine please feel free to comment?

Every week I will do a feature on different equipment until we run out of gear; this will be done in no particular order.

So let us start with some considerations before selecting gear, this will be the things to consider when buying almost any gear.

Note that price, brand and purpose will be applicable for all scuba gear.

1. Price is always a factor – when it is the most expensive it does not mean it is the best and visa versa, every person has a different budget.
2. Brand – when selecting a Brand make sure that there is a reputable service agent in your region for that specific brand. You do not want any idiot to service your gear, or have your gear send away for servicing. You also do not have to buy all the gear from the same manufacturer, although you might get a better deal if you do.
3. Purpose – how often are you planning to use your gear, what for and where do you plan to use it.

There are a couple of things to consider when buying a BCD:-

BCD – for me the most important feature of a BCD is comfort as you will be wearing it all the time. All BCD’s are adjustable; some more than others, so make sure it fits you fine with play to adjust up or down. Should you plan to travel a lot a small lightweight BCD would be the best choice (Back inflation is normally more compact than the Jackets). The down side of back inflation is that it tends to tilt you forward on the surface; this might be a problem for beginners or a distressed diver. Integrated weight pockets are nice to take some weight of your belt but I still prefer the old weight belt as you can distribute the weight evenly. If you plan to teach do not buy an “Air Trim or an i3” although it is amazing you can not show how to dump air as it has no deflator hose. The same goes for the combo Alternate Inflator Regulator as it is not good for teaching as well as the fact that you now have to give away your primary which is shorter than the standard Octo and use the Alt yourself as it is connected to your inflator hose, imagine using this in an emergency when one of you is already in distress. A lot of people will try and sell you lift, if you are weighted right you would not require a lot of lift, after all it is a BCD and not a Lift Bag. Lift only becomes an issue if you start strapping a lot of extra equipment on or for more technical diving. Now if you are a lady go for a BCD designed for women as the will be more comfortable than the men’s. Lets look at pockets and D-ring; these feature is just a bonus and would not make me choose differently, I prefer Zipped to Velcro pockets and dislike open pocket then the more D-ring it has the more gear you can strap to it until you look like a Christmas tree and it goes against the whole idea of being streamline.

Happy shopping…