What kind of scuba gear should i get?(scubabob)?
im only thirteen so i dont want something to expensive because ill grow out of it. im going to get certified for scuba diving and ill be generally diving in water ranging from 55 degrees to 65 degree water. i will also be diving in south africa cape town in june. any gear recommendations?
Your BC will be a personal choice. Try a number out if you can. Manufacturer’s in dive gear make no real difference. There are no bad ones. This you will outgrow. Back inflation or jacket style? As a beginner to the sport, I suggest you go with jacket for your first BC. They’re more forgiving on the surface. Back inflates usually put a diver face down most of the time. Jackets don’t. Back inflates can come later as you gain experience, your dives become more complex ( wreck diving or caves for example where you want a slimmer profile) and since they tend to be more expensive…it’s something to consider when you’ve finished growing.
Your mask, fin and snorkel set is also a personal choice. Just bear in mind it must fit you properly. The snorkel is something you likely won’t outgrow but the other two you will.
Fin choice? Blades or splits? Try both. Some people can’t stand splits, some people can’t stand blades if they can have splits. Personal kick style is involved and everyone is different. I can’t stand splits. I go nowhere fast. Blades don’t tire me and I can whip past folk using splits. My style of kick is all. I do a lot of sculling for propulsion since I wreck dive mostly and blades tend to be better scullers. You’ll also want open heel fins not full foots. Your tootsies need warmth that booties will provide. Booties only fit in open heel fins. Full foot fins are for warm water. You can still dive booties and open heel in warm water…you’re covered for both conditions.
Your reg set though, needs to be an environmental set. You’re diving colder water than most other recreational divers. Buying enviros will help prevent reg free flows in those conditions. This is almost always what does a warm water diver in when they try a cold water dive with their gear. Their regs free flow. I see it often here when Carib divers try to dive here. Dive over. Frightened diver.
Your regs, by the way..you won’t outgrow and if you buy nitrox compatible as well as enviro regs ( most these days are nitrox compatible but make sure), you can kill two birds with one stone. If you decide to get nitrox certified later…your regs are up to the task as well as suitable for diving all water temps.
Your exposure protection will consist of gloves, hood, booties and at least a 5mm double wet suit. You’d probably be more comfortable in a 7mm though. You can easily ice dive a 7..doing that in a 5 would be inviting issues but would cut it at 55F. At least for my Canadian blood it would. 🙂 Only one way for you to find that out though. If you can spend the extra money, buy what’s called a semi dry wet suit. They slow water flow through a suit considerably, keeping that warmth in longer.
any
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As with all gear purchases, the simple answer is, get gear that fits you and that’s suitable for the conditions you’ll be diving. Although many manufacturers do now produce ‘kid-size’ gear, the range is still pretty limited, and what you can get will depend largely on what’s available wherever you are. This makes it difficult for anyone on Y!A to recommend specific makes/brands.
I would recommend that you get yourself certified and get a few non-course dives under your belt, before you start thinking about purchasing the major bits of gear (BCD, reg, cylinder). These can almost always be hired relatively cheaply, and renting gives you a chance to try several different brands before deciding what you like. You will probably want to get yourself the basics though–mask/snorkel/fins, suit/boots, and maybe a dive timer/computer (the UWATEC and SUUNTO ranges are both good bets here).
The suit is probably the most important thing to think about at this stage. As far as I’m concerned, the water temperatures you’ve quoted are cold (55-65°F = 12-18°C), so you will definitely be needing a warm suit, either a thick (5-7 mm) 2-piece wetsuit, semi-dry, or even a drysuit. (The waters off SA are also pretty chilly, BTW).
If you go for a wetsuit, it needs to be a snug fit, ideally with tight seals at wrists and ankles, or you’ll get cold water flushing through it all the time. Finding a well-fitting kids wetsuit can sometimes be an issue–it might be that you’ll need to buy an off-the-peg size and then get it tailored to fit you exactly. You could also go for a ‘semi-dry’, which uses a dry-zip in addition to the seals, and hence can be a little looser, without being as expensive as a drysuit.
Fit is a less important issue with a drysuit, but they are a lot more expensive. If you choose to go that route, it might be worth checking the local dive shops to see if any of them are selling off old rental gear (which should still be usable, but cheaper than buying new). If the shop has an affiliated dive club, then it’s well worth joining–not only will you find a ready supply of dive buddies, but you can be little more certain that secondhand gear is salesworthy if it comes from fellow club members than buying it from some bloke online.
Finally, whatever you buy, so long as you take good care of it, you may be able to sell it on yourself when you grow out of it.
If you have any further questions, feel free to email me through Y!A.
References :
Former full-time SCUBA instructor (PADI # 609394)
Your BC will be a personal choice. Try a number out if you can. Manufacturer’s in dive gear make no real difference. There are no bad ones. This you will outgrow. Back inflation or jacket style? As a beginner to the sport, I suggest you go with jacket for your first BC. They’re more forgiving on the surface. Back inflates usually put a diver face down most of the time. Jackets don’t. Back inflates can come later as you gain experience, your dives become more complex ( wreck diving or caves for example where you want a slimmer profile) and since they tend to be more expensive…it’s something to consider when you’ve finished growing.
Your mask, fin and snorkel set is also a personal choice. Just bear in mind it must fit you properly. The snorkel is something you likely won’t outgrow but the other two you will.
Fin choice? Blades or splits? Try both. Some people can’t stand splits, some people can’t stand blades if they can have splits. Personal kick style is involved and everyone is different. I can’t stand splits. I go nowhere fast. Blades don’t tire me and I can whip past folk using splits. My style of kick is all. I do a lot of sculling for propulsion since I wreck dive mostly and blades tend to be better scullers. You’ll also want open heel fins not full foots. Your tootsies need warmth that booties will provide. Booties only fit in open heel fins. Full foot fins are for warm water. You can still dive booties and open heel in warm water…you’re covered for both conditions.
Your reg set though, needs to be an environmental set. You’re diving colder water than most other recreational divers. Buying enviros will help prevent reg free flows in those conditions. This is almost always what does a warm water diver in when they try a cold water dive with their gear. Their regs free flow. I see it often here when Carib divers try to dive here. Dive over. Frightened diver.
Your regs, by the way..you won’t outgrow and if you buy nitrox compatible as well as enviro regs ( most these days are nitrox compatible but make sure), you can kill two birds with one stone. If you decide to get nitrox certified later…your regs are up to the task as well as suitable for diving all water temps.
Your exposure protection will consist of gloves, hood, booties and at least a 5mm double wet suit. You’d probably be more comfortable in a 7mm though. You can easily ice dive a 7..doing that in a 5 would be inviting issues but would cut it at 55F. At least for my Canadian blood it would. 🙂 Only one way for you to find that out though. If you can spend the extra money, buy what’s called a semi dry wet suit. They slow water flow through a suit considerably, keeping that warmth in longer.
References :