Scuba Diving Lover

If you are interested in scuba diving as a life-long hobby, you may want to purchase your own diving equipment. This will be a good investment for the long run, but in the beginning you may be overwhelmed by the amount of diving equipment that you need and you may wonder if it is best to buy discount or used on some items. Here are some suggestions that may help you when you begin looking for diving equipment:

Things to buy new: Any piece of equipment that will be used for breathing, air pressure, or buoyancy. This diving equipment is essential to your actual survival and unless you are absolutely positive that a used piece for sale is in perfect condition, you should probably buy new. This includes your regulator and your buoyancy control device as well as your tanks. You may be able to find these pieces of diving equipment through a discount dealer and this is fine as long as you know that the quality of the equipment is good.

Your face mask is a very important piece of diving equipment. It must fit perfectly without leaking. You may have to try on several before you find one that fits you just right. You need to push on the sides to make sure it does not allow any water in or air out. It is a very personalized piece of diving equipment. This is why it probably should not be purchased used.

Scuba equipment that can be purchased used: a diving table or diving computer, your wet suit, booties, hood, and fins. You can also purchase a collection bag, knife and sheath, diving float and flag, and other accessory items used.

Other things you should consider buying new or used-a first aid kit, an oxygen tank repair kit, and a snorkel for when you are on the surface to conserve the air in your tanks.

There are a number of other things that you will also need to carry with you on a dive including your diver certification card, and sunscreen, towels, a windbreaker, and other things that you will need when you are not diving.

Scuba diving is a wonderful sport and hobby that allows you to experience something that most people will never see in a lifetime. If you are prepared with the right equipment, the experience will be even more meaningful.

Eriani Doyel writes articles about Recreation and Sports. To learn more about diving equipment visit avdiving.com

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It can be an exciting or terrifying experience - buying your first scubadiving gear. When you first walk into the Aladdin’s cave just groaning with the latest dive technology, your question is likely to be “Where do I possibly start?” The answer is quite simple. Choose your dive centre very carefully - then, if you enjoyed your scubadiving course, trust them to outfit you with the best dive gear for your type of diving.

When you select your dive centre start by establishing the credentials of it. Generally, the more status the dive centre has, the more it has been audited for quality and customer service. If possible, choose a PADI 5 Star Career Development Centre. Failing that, try a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre and so on down the retail status list. Other training agencies have similar ratings. Word of mouth is another very strong indicator as most people tell others about a bad experience.

After you have completed your course, unless you are totally focused and do it beforehand, you will want to buy your our scubadiving gear. There are literally thousands of different dive items on the market and each scuba retailer offers a selective few brands. Normally these equipment lines are complementary so that the dive centre should be able to satisfy novice or experienced recreational divers through to highly experienced technical divers. If you are about to buy your own scuba gear take time to read our advice.

Probably the most critical dive equipment is the regulator and buoyancy control device BCD) combination. The regulator should be selected on performance and reliability, that is ease of breathing at the depths you intend to dive to. Do a careful price
comparison if your budget is critical. Your scuba dive centre retailer will guide you here.

A BCD must be comfortable but most importantly it must be able to lift your face clear of the water at the surface. The inflator mechanism must be easy and fast to operate. Check the lift of a BCD before you start loading the integrated weight system up with lead weight. While it may lift you wearing a wetsuit, it may be overloaded once you take it off to pass it (with any integrated weight & cylinder) into the boat. Recreational BCDs are not designed for technical diving and should not be used for
that purpose.

You will need to consider your instruments as well. Whatever your financial position you will need a submersible pressure gauge (SPG) and compass. It may be cheaper to purchase a dive computer rather than a depth gauge and timer / underwater watch. Dive computers show dive and surface interval details as well as guiding your ascent speed.

Some give integrated information on nitrogen absorption and gas consumption. With a computer it is easy to retrieve dive information so you can log your dive.There are also Nitrox computers for sport divers and multiple gas computers for tech divers. Get your dive instruments in a console for easy reference.

For regulators BCDs and instruments, check the warrantee. If you intend to travel, it should be worldwide. Some offer lifetime warrantees for parts. Beware buying product over the Internet, as there may be no warrantee. In many countries, scuba dealers will not honour internet warrantees, as the product was not bought through a licenced dealer and ownership is hard to authenticate.

You will want to stay warm and may only need a shorty wetsuit in the tropics. As you move further away from the equator, you might need a full length 5mm or 7mm wetsuit or even a drysuit. Try to buy the best you can afford as you will not enjoy even the most spectacular dive if you are trying to stay warm. Night diving is fantastic - only if you are warm. Comfort and fit are critical.

When you select your dive mask try every one on display. Ssniff in hard and listen for air leaks to ensure an exact fit. Additionally, press the mask in over your nose and brow to ensure there is no contact. Some mask lenses can be changed for prescription lenses. If you wear glasses ask your scuba dealer which ones will take prescription lenses. Identify the dive masks that fit then try those few again. When you get to the
best two, choose the cheaper one. If your mask does not fit well, you will not enjoy your scuba diving. Resist the temptation to buy a cheap snorkel. You need a good one so you can breathe on the surface face down. Accept the dive centre retailer’s advice.

Fins are your propellers. Get fins that fit your feet properly, without placing pressure on your toes or the bridge of your foot. Always wear your own dive booties when trying on fins. Split fin technology is state-of-the-art now and worth every cent.
Try for a soft or medium flex fin. If you want to be a technical diver, select firmer split fins. Get spring straps if your retailer has them.

You will need weight unless you are negatively buoyant at the surface. When you purchase your BCD, consider one that allows you to carry weight in the BCD weight pockets rather than around your waist. Many women do get minor bruising on the hips through wearing heavy weight belts. With a drysuit you will generally need more weight than you would with a wetsuit. Contoured weights are preferable to slab weights.

You are now set to have fantastic scubadiving adventures. Enjoy the freedom of gliding in the ocean current along coral encrusted walls, through underwater canyons, exploring
timeless shipwrecks or absorbing the stillness and tranquillity of a freshwater lake. Wherever you are, you will enjoy your scuba diving if you are confidant that you have chosen your scubadiving gear wisely.

Tony Howell is the owner/manager of New Zealand Sea Adventures, Wellington’s only PADI Career Development Centre. Tony’s qualifications include: PADI Course Director, PADI Specialty Instructor Trainer in over 25 specialtys, TDI Instructor Trainer (IT), First Aid & CPR IT, Coastguard Tutor/Examiner and Service Technician IT.
Tony has helped hundreds of people to choose the best scuba diving gear to give them the most enjoyable and safe diving experience.
http://www.scubadiving.co.nz

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Before taking up scuba diving as a recreational sport, it is important that you get yourself the necessary scuba equipment and gear. There are many options available but if you’re a beginner, it’s best to start from the basics such as the mask, fins, snorkel, and weight belt, then move on to advanced sets later.

The Basics:

The diving mask allows you to see underwater through the glass plate in front. Most diving masks are constructed in such a way that a user can breathe out into the mask. This prevents the “squeeze” during the descent caused by pressure. Choose a mask that properly fits your face and forms a seal. Most scuba diving masks come with a rubber or silicone “skirt” that creates a watertight seal with the diver’s face.

There are several types of diving masks such as full face diving masks that allow underwater verbal communication, diving helmets using surface supplied diving equipment etc. Prescription masks are also available for people who wear prescription glasses.

The Fins allow you to move freely underwater and should perfectly fit the feet. It should neither be too tight nor too loose which can hamper swimming capabilities, be very uncomfortable and even dangerous while taking a dive. The snorkel lets you breathe at the surface without raising your head from the water, and should be no lesser than 30 cms in length. The weight belt helps you maintain buoyancy so you should consider getting one if you’re a beginner.

Diving suits like Wetsuits and Drysuits provide thermal insulation and prevent complications such as hypothermia. Remember that water conducts heat 25 times faster than air from the body. So, choose a suit depending on how warm or cold your diving water is going to be.

Scuba Sets:

There are two main types of scuba sets - open-circuit and closed-circuit.

Most scuba divers use standard air - 21% Oxygen, 79% Nitrogen - for their open-circuit scuba sets, which is much more cost-effective than using mixtures such as heliox and trimix. The open-circuit scuba set (also known as Aqualung) itself is quite simple so is also cheaper and more popular than other types. Basically, the user breathes in from the set and out to waste, with the gas cylinder worn on the back. There are 2- and 3 backpack cylinders open-circuit scuba sets available.

Closed-circuit scuba sets use rebreathers. In this system, exhaled air is reprocessed by the rebreather to make it fit for re-inhalation. This can be very economical for people who need to take long dives. The three types of rebreathers include oxygen, semi-closed circuit and fully-closed circuit rebreathers.

Accessories you should consider:

Regulator and Buoyancy Compensator (BC) - The regulator, which carries the air from your cylinder, should be equipped with a gauge and second mouthpiece. The Buoyancy Compensator, such as such as a back-mounted wing or stabilizer jacket, is crucial for neutral buoyancy to control depth.

Dive watch: Electronics like a dive watch comes in quite handy when measuring your time and depth underwater. A dive computer is also available for the same purpose which is more accurate but more expensive.

If you plan to really move head with your scuba diving adventure, consider getting other useful accessories such as underwater light, a surface marker-buoy (SMB), a knife, and a compass etc. Experienced divers, Scuba Dive centers, websites, magazines, etc will all be able to assist you when searching for the right scuba diving equipment and accessories.

Scuba Diving HQ http://scubadiving-hq.com/ Articles, tips and information about scuba diving.

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