Advice on bcd for begginer!

[BICCUS1]

Originally Posted by Simon A

Shane,
The apeks atx200 is a fine reg but it may well be far more than you need, I have an ATX50/40 set because I couldnt tell the diference between the way they and the atx200 breathe, however if I was buying again, I'd just go for straight ATX40's.
If your anywhere near Wraysbury your welcome to have a go on mine.

Simon A

Thanks for the offer m8 nice one

shane

[BICCUS1]

Originally Posted by Alun

As it starts to get to this time of year, you'll be chilly to say the least diving in a wetsuit.

You'll probably need to be looking towards some sort of drysuit orientation course (theres more to them than you'd think) Although I've never been so this is just heresay, I think that Stoney Cove won't let you in the water in a drysuit unless you can prove you can use one. Don't know about anywhere else, I was just told this.

Thanks for that m8 but am getting ready for my trips to sharm next year and also am thinking about the drysuit course can't stand being cold

shane

[Woz]

Originally Posted by bottle_monkey

also if you do buy one I would not dive with the emergency cylinder incase of it getting stuck on (ask woz how much fun that is).

Great fun. Especially when pinned to the roof of the Stanegarth 'cos it got knocked on when wandering into the wreck.

My two pennorth:
ATX200 waste of money go for 100's as they have nice hose routing from the 1st stage. Then again if money is the issue TX40's are very lovely (I have one as my primary) and work well at any depth. Cracking knob a gimmick as the reg should be set up properly in the first place so should not need adjustment.
Buddy jackets built like a brick toilet and will last for ever. Go for the TD version as it has lots of D rings for toys. Some say they are not as comfortable as other makes but in cold water with a thick suit, who cares? They will outlast anything else and AP Valves service would make a brave man weep. The XL version that I have will support twin 12's quite happily as it has a whole wedge of buoyancy. Not that I ever twin up 12's but you never know.
The AP Valves autoair thing is fine if regularly serviced and looked after (not something regularly done by some users) but you may want to consider a longer hose on your primary reg as you will be donating that to your buddy and breathing off the jacket. I would seriously consider just getting an octo to donate on a 1.5m hose and sticking with the standard inflator if on a single tank setup.
A completely seperate AAS might be worth considering- you can get a 3L Apeks pony package for 170 quid if you shop around. This will also enable you to use the reg for twinning later if you fancy it.
Knife- don't bother with anything big or fancy just a cheapo one taken care of is fine. Get some snips from Maplin too.
Torch- UK range are cheap and reliable and a good starter torch. Or the Peli range too. Similar sort of thing.
eBay not always the best place to buy- keep an eye out locally round the clubs, on here and on ukdiving.co.uk where bargains come up on a regular basis. I bought my TX40 for 85 quid and a brand new Jetstream for 90 quid. And a Vyper for 125 and my second 7L twin for 50 quid. Oooh and my drysuit for 100. So bargains galore. Just be patient and don't get too magpie on the shiny stuff.

[BICCUS1]

Originally Posted by Woz

Great fun. Especially when pinned to the roof of the Stanegarth 'cos it got knocked on when wandering into the wreck.

My two pennorth:
ATX200 waste of money go for 100's as they have nice hose routing from the 1st stage. Then again if money is the issue TX40's are very lovely (I have one as my primary) and work well at any depth. Cracking knob a gimmick as the reg should be set up properly in the first place so should not need adjustment.
Buddy jackets built like a brick toilet and will last for ever. Go for the TD version as it has lots of D rings for toys. Some say they are not as comfortable as other makes but in cold water with a thick suit, who cares? They will outlast anything else and AP Valves service would make a brave man weep. The XL version that I have will support twin 12's quite happily as it has a whole wedge of buoyancy. Not that I ever twin up 12's but you never know.
The AP Valves autoair thing is fine if regularly serviced and looked after (not something regularly done by some users) but you may want to consider a longer hose on your primary reg as you will be donating that to your buddy and breathing off the jacket. I would seriously consider just getting an octo to donate on a 1.5m hose and sticking with the standard inflator if on a single tank setup.
A completely seperate AAS might be worth considering- you can get a 3L Apeks pony package for 170 quid if you shop around. This will also enable you to use the reg for twinning later if you fancy it.
Knife- don't bother with anything big or fancy just a cheapo one taken care of is fine. Get some snips from Maplin too.
Torch- UK range are cheap and reliable and a good starter torch. Or the Peli range too. Similar sort of thing.
eBay not always the best place to buy- keep an eye out locally round the clubs, on here and on ukdiving.co.uk where bargains come up on a regular basis. I bought my TX40 for 85 quid and a brand new Jetstream for 90 quid. And a Vyper for 125 and my second 7L twin for 50 quid. Oooh and my drysuit for 100. So bargains galore. Just be patient and don't get too magpie on the shiny stuff.

Thanks m8

The atx 200 over the atx 100 is only £10 so may go for the atx 200 or maybe atx50

So the buddy TD is technical diving bcd ?

I am looking at the BUDDY PIONEER TD BCD what do you think ?

shane

[Woz]

I'd go for the ATX 50 and save your money for some other kit. Cos there will be other stuff! Of if you really want the 200 go for it- the Apeks range are well liked, rugged and reliable. Those and Poseidons are the only ones you can drag down the car park without shedding bits all over the tarmac. DIR boys like Apeks, cavers like Poseidons. There is a whole new argument there... and if money really is no object the Poseidon XStreams are apparently a very nice reg but I have not had the pleasure of a suck so that's just pub talk.
And Apeks are, I think, about to bring out a new range which can be left handed too. So they'll clear up on the technical market, I can tell you.
Pioneer TD a nice jacket. Ditch the bottle though. You will find that the pocket left by the absence of the bottle fits a rolled up DSMB nicely.

[BICCUS1]

Thanks for the info m8 so it is going to be the pioneer or the seac sub pro 300 but the buddy is cheaper so if it is good may go for that!

shane

[BICCUS1]

Just seen that kent diving take off £30 if you do not want the air cylindr so may go for that

Does any body know if they had integrated weights?

[Kate R]

Originally Posted by BICCUS1

Just seen that kent diving take off £30 if you do not want the air cylindr so may go for that

Does any body know if they had integrated weights?

if i remember correctly only the ranger has integrated weights out of the buddy range.

also if i remember correctly, the pioneer is exactly the same as the explorer, except the emergency bottle is round at the front instead of behind you. if you don't get the emergency bottle (and i'd definitely recommend getting a pony instead), then there's no difference between the two - except the explorer's about £30 cheaper. i got my buddy explorer TD (TD = lots of D-rings) from the dive show a few years ago for about £250 (without the auto-air)

[AirHog]

Originally Posted by Kate R

if i remember correctly only the ranger has integrated weights out of the buddy range. also if i remember correctly, the pioneer is exactly the same as the explorer, except the emergency bottle is round at the front instead of behind you. if you don't get the emergency bottle (and i'd definitely recommend getting a pony instead), then there's no difference between the two - except the explorer's about £30 cheaper. i got my buddy explorer TD (TD = lots of D-rings) from the dive show a few years ago for about £250 (without the auto-air)

I also think the Pioneer has the trim weight pockets at the back. Try the following links for a pretty good price comparison that is regularly updated:

BCDs http://www.divebag.co.uk/bcd.htm
Regs http://www.divebag.co.uk/regulators.htm

I know from experience that James (Amphibian) can probably better those prices if asked, even though he is normally among the lowest for Buddya dn Apeks kit anyway.

The oither thing to think about on the regs is the size of the exhaust port. My dad has the ATX200 and while they are a nice breath I don't like the bubbles running up my mask, I much prefer the older TX style that I have with slightly wider exhaust. I have 2 x TX50 and a TX40 and again, prefer the TX40 breath so use tis as my primary.

HTH

Regards

Mark