a rough guide to buying kit and how not to spend a fortune

[Badknees]

The reason I've stuck this up here is to try to help divers setting out buying kit and to show how easily you can get carried away buying shit and kit you will never truely need.

I've purchased everything for crap start off gear through to expensive top of the range kit most of it has been a waste of cash.

You really don't want to end up like me with a very empty bank account and lots of useless kit.

My advice is this:

Try and buy the best kit you can afford at the time.
Ask other divers what they use.... you will get as many different anwers as questions.

If you can try before you buy, do so!
Don't be shy, ask to try other divers kit...you will get the ones who tell you to get lost but I've found most will gladly show you their kit.

This is the hardest part..... try and look forward in your diving journey, where do you think you will be in say 12 months 2 years time and try and plan accordingly.

For example a poor Reg choice now, could see you replacing it in 6 months time for one that will do what you require form it.

A wing or BCD? Have you tried a wing? do you know the difference?
A wing can be versitile and easily adaptable to your changing styles of diving.
BCD's tend to be less so. Wings give you an option to "upgrade" with very little expence compaired to a BCD.
BCD's have there own benefits intergrated wieghts, lighter, easily set up.

Then when you know roughly what you want Shop around. I use my LDS more than the net as I can haggle and get a better discount.
Take advice from your LDS but don't get pressured into buying their end of line kit. If you walk in knowing what you want you've got the upper hand. Take a dive mate with some experiance with you.

Hope this helps.

If anyone wants to try any of my kit you are more than welcome just give me a PM and I'll do my best to hook up with you.

Kit list to follow

[Badknees]

Hope this helps anyone buying kit. I've tried to briefly give my thorghts on the kit I've got. some of it's great some not so great some shit.

KNIVES/SNAP BOLTS/SMBS/REELS.
3off SMB BUDDY VALVED £24.99 1 yellow (emergency) 2 red. Great .
2off SMB £50.00 spares
1off SNORKEL AIR PURGE £17.99 waste of time
10off STAINLESS STEEL CLIPS £30.00 can never have enough
1off KENT TOOLING 50M REEL. £70 Oh the sexy heavy reel you. Nice very solid.
4 off FINGER SPOOLS 30 – 50M £10 EACH. Used all the time now. nice small. Have put larger double ended bolt snaps on.
1 off CUSTOM DIVER WRECK REEL. £80. well made but has a fiddly knob and locking mech. Not my fav.
1 off REEL SCUBAPRO £60.00 crap crap crap.
1 off REEL £70.00 nice and compact.

REG SETS/GAUGES/BCD/WINGS/ATTACHMENTS
1 off OMS/STAINLESS STEEL BACK PLATE WING £400.00 can’t fault the oms love it to bits.
1 off BCD SEA QUEST £450.00 nice well built bcd nice features would if had to buy another.
1 off REG mk 2 WITH R95 SECOND STAGE. SCUBAPRO£145.0000 very basic reg set never had any problems at all with it. Never free flowed either.
1 off REG mk 11 with S555 second stage SCUBAPRO £235. free flowed on a few dives nice breath if you don’t know any better. Good reg set.
1 off REG OCTO SCUBAPRO £90.00
2 off XTX100 reg set £400 Love these great breath no matter what the depth. can't fault.
4 off xtx40 o2 cleaned reg set £280.00 love these the basic brother of the 100's used on stage cylinders. never once free flowed.
1 off REG BAG MARES £18.99 it’s blue
6 off HOSE 2M APEKS £32.00
3 off HOSES £90.00
1 off DIN - A CLAMP ADAPTOR APEKS £30.00
5 off SINGLE SPG SUNNTO £49.00
1 off SK7 COMPUS £30.00 Now wrist mounted in housing.
1 off GAUGE TRIPLE SUNNTO £130.00 waste of cash but nice when learning have broken down in to seperates.


COMPUTERS/TORCHES/CAMERA
1 off SUNNTO VYPER £220.00 great comp still used as bottom time depth gauge.
1 off VR3 COMPUTER £700.00 does everything and more. Will not lock out.
1 off O2 tester £170.00
1 off GREEN FORCE 50W HID UMBILICAL TORCH £460.00 cracking torch nice tight beam very well built. Burn time around 2.5 hours
1 off SARTEK 21W TORCH £800.00 Lovely best torch to date. Now with Halcyon reflector to sharpen the beam. Burn time 4 hours.
1 off TORCH FAMI £220.00 Very well made hand held torch giving nice blue white beam runs on 4 AA batteries and last 1 hour.
1 off TORCH SEA&SEA £39.00 back up torch nice tight beam lasts 4 hours on 4 AA batteries
1 off TOUCH STROBE SEA&SEA £25.00 It flashes.
1 off F30 CAMARA £350.00 Lets me take great picture even tho I’m crap.

CYLINDERS
2 off 7LT ALI CYLINDER DECO £170.00 Yellow and light.
2 off CYLINDER 15LT 232 FABRE £125.00 nice for shore dives.
1 off CYLINDER 3 LT 232 PONY SET FABRE £90.00
1 off CYLINDER CLAMP QUICK RELEASE BEAVER £69.00
2 off CYLINDER HANDEL £24.00
1 off TWIN 12lts WITH MDE MAIFOLD £350.00 Sexy sexy sexy
1 off SINGLE TANK ADAPTER FOR OMS £40

DRYSUITS/FINS/MASKS/GLOVES

1 off 7 MM SEMI DRY AND BAG £179.00
1 off DRY SUIT CX500 £550.00 great build quality never once leaked
1 off DRYSUIT CX600 (TECH SUIT) £750 great build quality just getting used to it not totally happy with it but it’s growing on me.
2 off DRY SUIT BAG BEAVER £19.00
1 off HOOD 3MM SCUBAPRO £25.00 used all year round.
1 off HOOD 5MM SCUBAPRO £25.00
1 off GLOVES 3MM BEAVER £24.00 crap crap crap.
1 off GLOVES 5MM SCUBAPRO £45.00 great when cold and used correctly. Lose a lot of movement tho.
1 off MARES X VISSON MASK £55.00 main mask love to bits.
2 off MASK MARES £71.98 used as back ups good mask in its own right
1 off SCUBA PRO SPLIT FINS £120.00 love these just backwards not so hot. Good in current.
2 off PRO FORCE FINS £140.00 sold one pair getting used to them great movement backwards fantastic forwards…..hmmmmm time will tell
1 off FINS MARES £79.99
1 off TURTLES. Hated them.
4 off FIN STRAPS BEAVER £18.00 best thing since porn!
1 off UNDERSUIT ORANGE WEEZLE £135.00 warm and very orange
1 off UNDERSUIT THERMALS FOURTH ELEMENT £135.00 nice in summer
1 off UNDER SUIT THERMALS ARTIC FORTH ELEMENT£140 nice in winter but you do lose movement.
1 off WET SUIT SHORTIE AUALUNG £59.00 nice suit makes me look fat!
1 off SUIT BAG £19.00
1 off WET SUIT BOOTS AUALUNG £30.00

OTHER STUFF
8 off 1 KG WIEHTS £39.20
4 off 2 KG WIEGHTS £32.76
10 off BOLT SNAPS / STUFF £70.00
1 off CLIP £20.00
1 off CLIP DOUBLE STAINLESS LARGE 6OFF £36.00
1 off DIVE KNIFE £22.00
1 off DIVE SLATES £30.00
3 off GEAR GULPER BOXES £75.00
1 off GOODY BAG BUDDY £19.99
1 off OCTO GUARD OCTO GUARD £19.00
1 off OCTO GUARD CLIP ON £9.99
1 off POCKET MASK BEAVER £12.00
1 off QUICK RELEASE LANDYARD £19.00
2 off RETRACTOR LANDYARDS £38.00
1 off SHEARS £12.00 better than a knife
1 off SLATE CLIP ON £12.00
1 off SMALL BLACK TOOL BAX B+Q £7.00
1 off STAINLESS STEEL TOOL SET £19.00
1 off STORAGE BOX £49.00
1 off WHEEL MUTI LEVEL PLANNER PADI £36.00
4 off Iantd DIVE TABLES £36.00
1 off LOG BINDER £20.00
1 off LOG BOOK BEAVER £20.00
1 off WIEGHT BELT £12.00
1 off WRIST SLATE £17.00


and 1 navara to carry it all!
hope this helps a tad as buying kit is a nightmare when yu first start out.

[sazza]

very helpful kneesy except you do realise no one else quite has the money to buy it all unless theyve been diving for 20 years!!!

[O2 Steve]

BK, are you outfitting a dive centre or do you just, single handedly, keeping your LDS going????????

[sira]

Sazza, I am not that far behind him except I could add all of Rainey's kit to the list! Now that thought has just depressed me!

[Fiona]

I have no wish to be too rude but that reads a little like "my **** is bigger than yours"

[rainbowannie]

Does that mean I'm not going to be a proper diver until I've got all that kit.....???

It's been very thought provoking to actually list everything but I think that if I read this post as a new diver I would be really scared as to what I was letting myself in for financially. I know that you do build up kit bit by bit over the years but that list could easily be overwhelming for some people

In my first two years I spent less than £1000 on all my kit. Most of my second hand kit has still got years of life left in it as long as I look after it.

I have replaced my BCD and bought a dry suit in the last three months (Now I know they are going to last me for many years to come) so my original figure is now almost doubled....especially when you include the camera gear.....but that doesn't count as essential diving equipment!!

But even so when you work out an equivalent weekly cost I reckon it's really good value for money PLUS I don't drink or smoke and what would I spend every week if I did!?!

[sazza]

sira Wrote:Sazza, I am not that far behind him except I could add all of Rainey's kit to the list! Now that thought has just depressed me!

lol yeah true but there are two of you and only one of kneesy!!!!!! (thank the lord)

fiona i know it may look like that but to be honest its just kneesy being kneesy trying to be helpful but he just doesnt do the pink n fluffy bit.........

[GaryA]

BK: you really are a kit bitch...

[Badknees]

GaryA Wrote:BK: you really are a kit bitch...

Are you offering?