Is It Too Cheesy To Get All One-Brand Gear?

[A. Berk]

Originally Posted by Sixsquid

Watch it ! That's how you get inguinal hernias

Inguinal hernias? - viscious, nasty fcukers, a pack of 'em will even chase off a lion, seen it on 'Animal Planet'

Berko

[big_si]

Originally Posted by A. Berk

Inguinal hernias? - viscious, nasty fcukers, a pack of 'em will even chase off a lion, seen it on 'Animal Planet'

Berko

No no no... They're LAUGHING hernias!!!

ouch!

[DIVE BUDDHA]

i couldnt have all the same gear from one manufacturer

apart from that d.u.i dont make everything i need !!lol!

seriously most manufactureres excel in one area and fall over in another !

i also like divers that have a few bits of everbodies! well within reason!

best wishes and dive safe leigh

[A. Berk]

Originally Posted by big_si

No no no... They're LAUGHING hernias!!!

ouch!

Huh, no laughing matter Si, my uncle Sid once laughed so much he got a ruptured hyena from it

Bkore

[A. Berk]

Originally Posted by DIVE BUDDHA

i also like divers that have a few bits of everbodies!

You mean like that big bloke with the flat head and bolt through his neck?

"I vill not rest until zee monster is dead!"

I like divers who have got bits of Shakira and Beyonce's bodies!

koBre

[DIVE BUDDHA]

Originally Posted by A. Berk

You mean like that big bloke with the flat head and bolt through his neck?

"I vill not rest until zee monster is dead!"

koBre

So uve actualy dove with woz then lol!!! its amazing what that man can make in his workshop!!

[Loctite]

You'll never manage to buy only gear from one name.

There's loads of deals around and not one manufacturer makes atactive gear acrossit's range.

Go for Black and Grey/titanium, it look the coolest

[Letz]

Originally Posted by Loctite

titanium, it look the coolest

Just avoid it in regs and get another 3 credit cards

[ShinyD]

Originally Posted by purple vonny

You get massive respect as we all look on in awe Dave. Trinny and Suzanna would sooooooo approve.

See Mark? This is what you have to put up with just by being colour coordinated. God knows what the pi$$ take multiplier would be if it was all the same brand too

Originally Posted by purple vonny

I, on the other hand, come from the Dude School of diving fashion. Anyone who has got a migraine from copping an eyefull of my kit will agree.

Aha! That explains why I had to spend the two days following Swanage Pier in a darkened room trying to lose the bright coloured spots in front of my eyes!

It was like diving with a psychedelic traffic cone

[Howard Payne]

I would say its perfectly possible to put together a set of recreational gear from Oceanic, Mares or Scubapro and get decent quaility everything from one manufacturer.

A few thoughts from a few mistakes I've made myself:

Buy DIN fitting on the first stage of your regs. Buy a top quality first stage and spend relatively less on second stages if you're on a budget.

Don't buy expensive split fins - they're crap. Get some spring heel straps - they make life a lot easier.

If you're gonna be doing any kind of serious UK diving - you need a drysuit not a wetsuit. I either dive a 3mm full length thin wetsuit for warm water stuff or a drysuit - nothing in between.

Don't spend fortunes on fancy looking designer masks - they look tacky and don't work any better than something half the price. Better to have two cheap mask then you have a spare. Get a neoprene and velcro replacement mask strap - they tend to make masks float if you drop them in the water and once you've adjusted the velcro - you should need to fiddle with it ever again.

Cheap snorkel - most people ditch them after five minutes anyway

Simple cheaper dive computers are fine rather than gimmicky top of the range models four times the price. Suunto Vypers are great. Uwatec bottom timers are also great for people starting out on a budget.

Consoles are shit. Get a simple, compact pressure gauge and put a boltsnap on it and then you can clip it somewhere accessible on your BCD where it won't drag along the bottom. Use your wrist gauge / computer for depth reading.

Ridiculous great dive knives strapped to your leg are more likely to get you tangled in something than give you the means to untangle yourself. A simple cheap dive knife with a blunt tip clipped onto you BCD or LP inflator hose is far more reachable if you ever need it and stops you looking like a Chuck Norris wannabee.

Waterproof (Swedish brand) make great warm hoods and gloves that fit and wear well and are good value if you can bear to have a clashing brand

Octopuses should be retained high on your chest with a decent length hose and without all these stupid octopus clip / snooker ball / velcro / springy dog lead / telephone cable / pinch clip type arrangements. A really simple clip or just double the hose up and tuck it into a shoulder strap pocket is fine.

My personal preference is for BCD's with integrated weights because they tend to to put the weight and buoyancy in the same place which trims you out better in the water. Some have trim weight pockets which enable you to play with this balance further and compensate for Ali cylinders.

Hope that lot helps - feel free to disregard any of it