Regs and BCD's

[boogybaz]

Been diving for a few years now, mainly on holidays abroad, so have always had hire kit, some good and some awful tbh...

I already have most things, with the exception of a set of regs and a BCD.

Without spending lots of cash, what would you guys recommend as a entry level BCD and regs set and where would the best place be to get it.
Been looking a scubapro and mares at the moment.

Thanks

[Rob Dobson]

If you are primarily doing recreational stuff abroad then I'd suggest going for a light weight wing/BCD to keep within the baggage limits. There are several travel ones around.

As for regs I'd suggest you go with DIN (one less point of failure), Scubapro MK25/S600 with R390 is a good combo, or Apeks DS4 with Tx40/Tx50. Or just post here asking if anyone has regs and a BCD they want to sell and see what's about.

Ebay is a bit hit and miss so you are probably much better off dealing with a reputable person from this board when it comes to 2nd hand kit.

[nickb]

Originally Posted by boogybaz

Without spending lots of cash...

Been looking a scubapro and mares at the moment.

If you don't want to spend loads of cash, avoid Mares like the plague.

I'd look at the Buddy Travel Wing

[boogybaz]

Thanks nickb, I did see a review for that Buddy one a while back and thought it looked quite good, nice price as well.

[andy0524]

[quote=nickb]If you don't want to spend loads of cash, avoid Mares like the plague.

Why avoid Mares! Or is this because they are too expensive?

Andy

[chrisch]

Originally Posted by Rob Dobson

...As for regs I'd suggest you go with DIN (one less point of failure), Scubapro MK25/S600 with R390 is a good combo, or Apeks DS4 with Tx40/Tx50. Or just post here asking if anyone has regs and a BCD they want to sell and see what's about.

Ebay is a bit hit and miss so you are probably much better off dealing with a reputable person from this board when it comes to 2nd hand kit.

I would agree with the DIN and that both Scubapro or Apeks regs will be a good buy that lasts a lifetime. But the Mk25 is top of the range ££££. At the other end the Mk2 will give good service and is fine for diving down to about 40m. The 300 series 2nd stage is plenty good enough for both main and octo.

Scubapro can be bought as seperate 1st and second stages so it would be possible to upgrade to Rob's choice at a later stage, bit by bit.

Chris

[nickb]

Originally Posted by andy0524

Why avoid Mares! Or is this because they are too expensive?

That's what I said

Mares is well-made gear, but they spend a fortune on flashy, aspirational advertising and have to recoup the outlay somehow.

Those good-looking models don't come cheap. That's why the likes of Otter used Billy-BSAC fat-bastard types

[IanStevenson]

I went through this recently :-)

Ended up trying on LOTS of BCDs and finding very few that fit me well. Maybe I'm just a funny shape, but the difference it makes to me having my shiny new Seaquest Pro QD compared with the badly fitting BCDs I rented before has made it clear to me that getting a BCD that fits is probably the most important single factor.

For regs, I went with Apeks (XTX) just because of the sheer force of public opinion in their favour, and I got a great deal (cheaper than the Aqualung regs that conventional wisdom seems to dictate are almost as good and a lot cheaper!).

I admit though that I was working more on the side of buying stuff that I wouldn't regret and would last me 10 years. I didn't buy the cheapest stuff I found, because it seemed to me that most of it wouldn't have any scope to "grow" with my diving, and I would end up wanting to replace it (and making a corresponding loss) quite quickly. Don't know if that helps at all.

These are my notes from when I was buying: http://www.ukdivers.com/forum/topic....27&whichpage=1

Ian

[B]

Buying your own gear can be quite daunting, we found we were almost drowning in conflicting advice, reviews etc etc... in the end, tried a few bcd's on, looked around and then found the godsend of best advice ever from robin hood watersports where we bought bcd, octopus and reg combi for a completely amazing price... give them a try, call sally in diving dpt, she is extremely friendly and knowledgable and does no hard selling.... thumbs up to robin hood for hiring her!!!

Good luck

[Scuttler]

I've got to say if you're only using your kit once or twice a year for holidays then it's probably cheaper to keep hiring it.

If you're intending to start UK diving and you don't want to spend a load of cash then the suggestions above are sound advice. A lot of places will also let you try the kit in the pool to ensure you're completely happy.