advice for buying my gear

[Papa Bear]

Use your friends gear, Rent, try the instructors, but understand that dive gear has come a long way? Do you need AC or a Radio in your car? No, but it makes the driving experience a better one! The gear you start with will not be the gear you end up with! Unless you ask a lot of questions and try a lot of gear before you buy!

Mask: It has to fit, brand is not important, but quality is!

Fines: Stay away from Split fins it is simple physics, trust me!

Booties: Depends on surface you will be diving on? Beach, Boat, or Rocky shore will dictate the soles you will need!

Wet Suit: If you dive cold water this will be your most important purchase! If you are uncomfortable you will not dive and your gear won't matter! It will rot!

Regulator: Simple, Light, and a name Brand that if you travel you cam buy parts in Timbucktoo!

BCD: I like Dive Rite it travels well and is the most versatile I have seen in 37 years! Also rugged and will last and they are modular! Back inflation I think is best, but up to you? Back does not squeeze you on the surface!

Computer: If I could recommend one computer it would be the Oceanic Data Pro plus II. You will never need another as long as you dive! It is the Lear Jet of computers, yet easy and reliable! No cheap, but the company stands behind it and I have over 1200 dives on mine and it is great! It will expand with you, it will help you plan your dives, and it is down loadable!

Last but not least: Reed's Rod all porpoise dive tool! Save a reef dive with Reed's Rod!

[hbh2oguard]

Fines: Stay away from Split fins it is simple physics, trust me!

Huh? I love my split fins! yeah I know there is a loss or power but I don't even notice that I'm wearing them. I don't normally dive in real strong currents so the loss of power/thrust isn't that big of an issue.

[Papa Bear]

So would you stand for a loss in power with other things you buy? More coral gets whacked with splits because they are not stable! I can scull or kick once to a SF user who has to kick two or three times to get to the same place! Split fines like the ones that flex are broken and I can see why people are sold broken gear and like it? Oh, ya I do, I remember the election, never mind!

[hbh2oguard]

Love how you bring politics into everything but I know you are one of the few republicans left so I commend your efforts (only 20% of Americans classify themselves as republicans per CNN). But back to fins..... it's personal comfort over anything and split fins are comfortable for me!!! Not too worried about disrupting coral because I'm stuck in the cool temperate waters of central CA.

[Papa Bear]

Right everyone is behind the Obama Nation! Well right is not by majority rule that is a mob! But the point is just like Obamanation the woll is being pulled over people eyes. The fin industry had to come up with a new product so they could sell fins, because a good set should last for years! It is all sales and they feel comfortable because they are inefficient!

BTW I am Conservative first and republican second, and I am not the one who puts politics into everything it is the liberals and Dumocrats that want to control every aspect of your life and SCUBA is next! Look at Cap & Trade it is the beginning of the end for us!

Try a good set of light blades and you will see the difference!

[acelockco]

One of the prerequisites to being a Democrat is that you know how to spell. I guess that answers some questions.

[Papa Bear]

And to day the Dumocrats will be voting to control the internet! How nice! And I am blamed for bring in politics? Form over substance is the liberal way! and ace when I want you to grade my comments for spelling, I will ask you! Other wise butt out our I will hunt down every typo, miss spelling, all the miss statements you make! Remember when YOU are pointing fingers three are pointing back at you! And you sire are just being rude!

[hbh2oguard]

Try a good set of light blades and you will see the difference!

I have and hated them. On my last boat dive my fin clip broke and I used a pair of mares and really didn't care for them, way too stiff.

[Papa Bear]

They are telling you something, you need to get your legs in better shape! Or you kick is not right, it is a law of physics that every action has an opposite and EQUAL reaction. So here is an easy way to experiment and see for your self. Get a number of fins and go to the pool, use your split fins and watch carefully how many kicks it takes to get across the pool. Not hard kicks, but very slow gliding kicks and make sure you get the same range of lag movement so you can compare. I.e., not big with one or small with the other! Now try all the fins at least three times and add all the kicks for that fin together and divide by three to get an average per fin! Let us know what you find. If you can try different materials and weights! I find my Dive-Rites to be light and very effective! Be consistent and honest

[deragoku]

"Your face, and through your nose and technology to ensure a good seal, to ensure easy assist to tie the access to the nose, also check the hard drive part of the framework, not too close or touching the nose or nose.