Diving in Jamaica - which dive kit to get?

[Gibby]

Hi

I'm after some advice on equipment etc as I'm off diving in Jamaica (Ocho Rios) in September, thw water temp stated at around 28 C

I've recently completed my Ocean Diver qualification and have been well and truly bitten by the bug.

Based on what I know of the restort and the diving included, it's likely to be fairly shallow (10-15m) and nothing too extreme as there's going to be a certain number of non-divers in the group although there may be other options for those of us who are qualified.

I'm posting this asking about the sort of kit I consider taking along with me (taking baggage allowances into account)

My thoughts were:

Mask and snorkel which I already have.

The remainder I would buy:
3mm shortie
boots & fins ( I like the look of Mares Plana X3)
gloves

Any advice on the above and recommendations from anyone who has dived in this part of the world is appreciated.

[Fiona]

<font color='#0000FF'>Gibby

Take as much personal kit as you can, you never know when you hire stuff on holiday what condition its in. &nbsp;I always take
Mask, fins, snorkel, boots, BC, reg complete with octo and contents guage. &nbsp;The most important bit is your reg, I am assuming you have one. &nbsp;Don't forget your spare bits.

I have heard stories of people not being issued with contents guages even at &quot;PADI 5 star centres&quot;, my advice would be to check they are what they say they are, some advertise as such but are not all they seem to be.

Fiona

[Gibby]

No other kit apart from mask, snorkel and a pair of slipper fins that are really for snorkelling only.

I'm possibly getting some 2nd hand kit later this month although I will need to check on it's condition, service history etc. before I decide whether I want it or not.

Based on what I've seen and heard from another diver who has been to this resort ealier in the year the equipment is in good condition and the dives are well supervised.

[Digger]

<font color='#000080'>If their stuff is ok, you'll probably be ok with it. I'd argue that a decent centres regs are often as good as a cheap 2nd hand set, and are usually maintained quite well.

As for other bits of kit, I take my computer everywhere, as most of my resort diving is down to 40m max. Even at these depths, you can still get hurt, and dive guides may or may not be as good on the dive safety side as you might like. It's often also difficult to properly plan a dive beforehand.

Could be an investment you will need for diving anyway, and worthwile making. They start at abut £100, and some really do have all the bells and whistles you could ask for.

Good idea taking snorkelling gear, you may get the opportunity to do some snorkelling off the beach etc.

Another one to have handy is a dive saver kit. Some centres are useful and keep spares on the boats etc., however you may not be so lucky! Spare mask strap, fin straps, a few o-rings and clips could save a dive, or at least a lot of faffing about!

I would be amazed if there are any centres who dive without contents gauges! If there are, don't dive with them. They're a liability, and I'd expect lots of other safety problems at these sorts of centres.

[Gibby]

I'd like to get a computer certainly,though I'd want to start with one that would cope with any of the diving I'm likely to do.
I've been looking at the Mares M1 which seems a good buy and is in the sub-£200 range. What I'd really like is one of the suunto range, probably a Vyper (£230-ish), as I really enjoyed a new level of diving when I borrowed a Vytec(£Lots) on my 2nd day of training dives of the Ocean diver certification.

[Fiona]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Digger @ May 19 2003,13:36)]I would be amazed if there are any centres who dive without contents gauges! If there are, don't dive with them. They're a liability, and I'd expect lots of other safety problems at these sorts of centres.

<font color='#0000FF'>Digger, don't be too amazed I know of at least one a friend of mine dived at when she first started to dive. &nbsp;It was in the mid 90's but it did and probably does still happen. &nbsp;

[Digger]

<font color='#000080'>That's really worrying. Then again, nothing ceases to amaze me after some of the stories you hear!

[Gibby]

looking at the pics posted on the web regarding the dive shop at this site, all the reg sets have gauges on them.

[Jules]

I did my first dives in Jamaica and the rental kit had seen better days (trails of bubbles coming out of peoples BCDs) but I think that would depend on the outfit. At Christmas we &nbsp;dived in bikini and T shirt and the water &nbsp;was 29/28 degrees c, on the day that it was 28/27 degrees I felt a little cool. All the americans we dived with had full 5mm wetsuits on. Having a bit more experience now and also having been stung by wee beasties I would probably do a full wetsuit as well just for the protection. I you have your own kit I would take it all (except lead) but if not why not check out your local dive shop for a hire? Ours was surprising helpful and good value. For the kids it was good to to use regs and guages they knew (in Bar rather than the jamaican ones which were in PSI).
Jamaica is fun, lovely people, really friendly. But in Ocho Rios you need to be ready to say no to taxis, hair braids, grass, guides etc to just about everyone !
Enjoy
Jules

[nitrox]

<font color='#0000FF'>personally i would take all my own kit, as i found that even some of the better AI resorts provide what i would class as substandard equipment.

why not try jamaqua?? they operate from several resorts and i believe they are top notch &nbsp;

what resort are you staying at???

regards

mark