Your opinions on my first set of Dive Kit..!?

[Dominic]

Drysuit-wise, compressed neoprene is expensive stuff. A cheap compressed neoprene suit is something I would avoid like the plague. Check Hobby's thread about Ndiver suits before you make a purchasing decision.

Undersuit: Been recommended Bowstone...

I originally bought a Bowstone. Cost me £100. I sold it last Sunday for £30 just to get it out of my wardrobe - it's just not in the same league as a Weezle. Don't do it!

Reg/DV/Octo: Apeks TX40/TX40

I use a TX100 and a TX40 - like them both.

BCD: Buddy Commando TD

What I originally bought, since replaced by the Buddy Tekwing.
Before deciding on how to order it, you might want to Read This

Fins: Mares Quattro (Everyone seems to recommend them!)

Divex sell Jetfins (very popular type of fin) for £25, you may want to look into it.

Console: Suunto 3 Gauge

If you have a computer, why do you want a console? Nasty inconvienient bulky things...

[John Gulliver]

Well, Justin, you've been given lots of advice, some of it contradictory. Here's my twopennorth, just to make you even more confused. There are lots of good regs about. Frankly, just about any cold water reg will meet your needs. However, the TX40 you mention is among the best, in my opinion. I have a TX40 as my main reg and another as my octopus. I've used them for 6 years and done somewhere between five and six hundred dives with them and they've been excellent.
As regards drysuits, I definitely prefer a membrane suit to a neoprene (have had both) but a crushed neoprene suit is basically just a more hard-wearing membrane suit, so it's a good choice, in my opinion.
Conventional BC or wing? You'll almost certainly want some kind of wing BC or backplate and harness with wings later on but I personally think a conventional BC is easier to use for an inexperienced diver, so I suggest you buy a good second hand BC (without an inflation bottle) to start with. You can then sell it without too much loss if and when you decide to progress to wings. Hundreds of thousands of divers all over the world are quite happy diving with an ordinary BC, as I was for the first 14 years of my diving life. I love my wing BC (DiveRite Transpac II) but I wouldn't be particularly worried if I had to use an ordinary BC for some reason.
Pony bottle or not? You should definitely get a pony in due course but I presume you will only be diving to relatively shallow depths and under supervision for the time being, so perhaps there is no immediate hurry, if you are short of funds. Whatever you buy, dive as much as you can, within the limits of your training and certification, and get familiar with your kit, then upgrade it when you feel really confident and comfortable in the water. By then, you'll know exactly what you want. If you buy second hand, that needn't mean too much loss.

[daz]

OK Just to further add to the points made above.

I dive a membrane suit,  It is IMHO very flexible allowing me to add or subtract undergarments as conditions dictate.  It is easy to clean and maintain.

I know many people who still dive with Buddy jackets,  none of them have the air cylinder fitted but they seem very robust capable jackets and IMHO are a good jacket as BCDs go.

Personally I love my wing and would never go back to a jacket BCD,  but I do not regret using a BCD jacket to begin with.  I did not lose that much money when I sold it and I got a couple of years of good diving out of it before I got my wing.

I dive a diverite transpac 2 and trekwing,  works fine with single cylinders and also small twins as does the recwing.

I would definatly recommend trying as much different bits of kit as possible before buying.

Darren

[Dr Stevil]

Blinking flip! a three page thread appears overnight.
Bet you didn't bargain on all this eh Justin? ;)

I see you've been given the standard bsac branch kit indoctrination (Buddy BCD & Apexs regs), came thru the bsac system myself, as did several others here.

Wings are cool, I've got an OMS one, with a single cylinder you'll need to add some weight to the cam band to counteract the forward tipping you tend to get with wings. Buddy BCDs are very good but personally I don't like the pocket positions, with a wing you can add pockets and position them to suit your preferences (I almost bought a Buddy but I'm pleased I went the Wing route)

Apex regs - use them myself, good value, reliable, cheap to service (and recommended by the DIR crowd too)

Suit - I'd recommend going for a membrane: at first, buoyancy control will be a little more tricky but it's worth the steep learning curve - my neoprene hangs forlornly on its hanger looking for a new home - but I've herad good stuff about crushed neo too.

Mask - check out Cressi sub Big Eyes, improved downwards vision (I'm getting one soon)

fins - check out the split fins, I've got some and just bought some for my other half

Re your interest in instructing, I can heartily recommend BSACs IFC (instructor foundation course, used to be called summat else when I did mine), this will qualify you to help in the pool and being an instructor is a sound way to make sure you're practicing your skills with great regularity, but as Dave has indicated you need plenty more dives under your belt before venturing into OW instructing.

I don't know how your branch is for 'kit-trials' but if you come out on dives with the YD crowd I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities to try out different kit
Chee-az
Steve

(Edited by Steve W at 12:03 pm on Jan. 22, 2003)

[Davey Willo]

Steve,

Before you purchase a Big Eyes I'm reliably informed that they can be a nightmare to remove and replace because the seal is too wide and keeps folding in on itself, I actually saw this happening to one of our friends during the Advanced Nitrox course in Hodge Close, which prompted the conversation which brought to light the Big Eyes tendancy to fold.. maybe worth further investigation before spending your hard earned mate

Regards
Dave.

[andy2tanx]

aaaah Dave... you said you'd keep that quiet!!

[Dr Stevil]

I've tried the mask in the pool before, didn't notice any probs then but I'll check with the person whose mask it was (another instructor) and see if they'd still recommend the mask, maybe even borrow it again. BTW I'm sure I've seen some DIR-er recommending them but can't remember where
see you tomorrow
Steve

[Andy Winterburn]

Steve
I have the big eyes mask and apart from having to remove my hood in order to replace the mask (its amazing just how fast this can be done at 5 oC) the only thing I've had to do is trim the hood around the face because they are bigger so might cause problems in that respect. Carry your old mask as a backup eh?

[Justin Owen]

No I didn't expect all this fuss!!

I'm gonna go to SDS, Go Dive and Divers Warehouse on Saturday to try the all the options.

About the only thing I know for certain is that i'm getting the Apeks ATX40's and the Suunto Vyper!! The rest is in the balance... I understand all the comments about the "wings", but i'm still training with a whole team who are using BCD's - the way I see it - I'll be more comfortable with a BCD to start with, and can then upgrade to a more advanced system in the future - and it won't do any harm having the BCD in reserve and for cheap holidays to Ibiza!?

Really looking forward to completing my training and meeting up with you lot some time in the future!

Best regards,

Justin.

[Driftwood]

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Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Quote: from Justin Owen on 11:42 pm on Jan. 22, 2003

I understand all the comments about the &quot;wings&quot;, but i'm still training with a whole team who are using BCD's

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Erm... and the difference is? Both are just essentially an expensive balloon with an in/out valve on it.....

Press one button a bcd/wing inflates

Press t'other and it deflates.

Besides, a wing would look so much more macho for impressing the laideeze in Ibefa! :lol3: