Club Med Insider

Newly certified--what gear should I buy?

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While diving at Club Med’s Columbus Isle Village recently, I had the great joy of seeing several people receive their Open Water Certifications. For me, that is one of the great thrills of resort diving. Nearly every day, hard working instructors are helping expand diving by bringing in new divers.

Probably the most common question I hear is, “I’m a newly certified diver, what gear should I buy?” It’s a perennial on the various scuba diving boards and even more advanced and technical divers question what gear they should purchase as then attain new diving certifications.

Let’s face it; diving is a gear intensive sport. By some standards, technical diving is the most gear intensive sport there is, with technical gear costing as much as some airplanes. But even for basic recreational diving, there are a lot of potential gear purchases to wade through. (Yeah, I intended that pun!)

Of course, you can be a diver and never buy a single piece of equipment. I recently certified some students as advanced open water divers. One of them had been diving for decades and only recently bought his gear. While he has hundreds of dives, he preferred to rent gear.

With the quality of today’s equipment, and the high standards of most resorts and dive shops, renting gear is a reasonable alternative. It’s just not as much fun as buying your own equipment.

So, back to the original question; what gear should a newly certified open water diver buy?

The first thing to do is ask yourself what kind of diving you plan to do. If you only plan to dive on vacation once or twice a year and always in warm water the answer will be very different than if you plan to dive a lot—and dive in a mix of warm and cold water.

For example, I live in the US Northeast –New England, to be exact. Our water here never gets above about 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the ocean (lakes can get quite warm but we mostly dive in the Atlantic). So my first gear purchase was mask, fins and booties, and a 7 millimeter wetsuit.

It is also a good idea to consider what kind of diver you might evolve into. When I started diving, the local dive shop owner asked me if I could see myself becoming a technical diver. My answer, “no way.” But apparently she saw something different in my future and set me up with gear that was somewhat expandable. Of course, a couple of years later I was full cave certified, diving a rebreather and most certainly a technical diver.

For most divers, even those who are planning to dive only occasionally, a few gear purchases are a good idea:
• Your first purchase should be a safety marker (sometimes called a safety sausage) and an audible signaling device that a dive boat can hear from a great distance. This is the gear that you hope you will never use, but if you need it you really need it. If you are diving as a family, every member of the family dive team should have their own marker and signaling device.
• Buy a good mask that has been properly fitted. You simply can’t enjoy any dive if your mask is leaky or uncomfortable. For the most part, a frameless mask works best for a lot of people. Fit can vary widely so if you have a chance to try different masks on test dives, do so. But even if you can’t get the mask into the water, a good dive shop can help you get properly fitted.
• Get your own fins and boots. If you are absolutely certain you will only be diving in very warm water (warmer than 78 degrees Fahrenheit) then you can probably get by with full foot fins, the kind that do not require boots. Otherwise, get the fins with the boots to avoid uncomfortable chafing. Buy scuba fins, not snorkeling fins. There really is a difference.
• Owning your own regulator will help you become more comfortable with your gear and ensure it is configured in the way that works best for you. Personally, I just don’t like using a regulator that perhaps hundreds of other people have used. I also like knowing my regulator, the most critical piece of life support equipment underwater, has been properly serviced. For the most part, a yoke first stage will work best because most resorts and dive shops stock yoke fitted tanks. I personally prefer DIN first stages because I can add an adaptor so they will work on a yoke fitting so I get the best of both worlds. (If you want to know more about yoke vs. DIN, send me an E-mail at jtoorish@gmail.com or leave me a message here on ClubMedInsider.com).
• Then there are wetsuits –there are literally dozens of companies making wetsuits and most of them are great. Here’s my tip for traveling divers and buying wetsuit: if you purchase a 5 millimeter wetsuit (or a 5/4) and a 5 millimeter vest, you will be able to accommodate the vast majority of diving situations. Usually I start out a multi-day dive adventure with just the 5mm, and towards the end of the adventure add the jacket as my core temperature begins to decrease a bit from multiple dives.
• Add a hood and gloves and you should be in good shape in terms of handling water down to the high 60s Fahrenheit.

You can also consider buying a Buoyancy Control Device (BCD). But for the most part, if you are going to be diving while traveling, the rental gear will suffice. Here is a tip, if you are renting a BCD, make sure it fits. If you have to decide between a little too big or a little too small, opt for the slightly small because you will have more control. If it’s too big, air can get trapped in strange places and that can lead to an uncontrolled ascent –believe me, I know that from experience.

Here is what to avoid buying: pretty much any doo-dad that helps you clip, clamp or attach anything to your BCD. If you really feel the need to buy a knife, get one that is not too expensive and has a brightly colored handle but remember, most dive resorts don’t allow dive knives.

There is a saying in technical diving circles that any piece of gear you absolutely need, you should have two of them. If you don’t absolutely need it, leave it home. As an open water diver, you probably don’t need two of all essential pieces of gear, but by all means, anything you don’t need, leave home.