what type of scuba gear should i get?
im gonna be getting scuba gear and im a 15 year old girl and im about 5ft9in. im be pretty much diving in the atlantic in MA. what type of gear should i get?
Above all else, a 7 mil wet suit. Atlantic water in New England is always well below body termperature so you’ll need greater thermal protection than you would diving in the Bahamas. I personally have a Bare becuase it’s excellent protection without having to pay for a brand name like DUI. Also get a hood because most of your body heat is released from your head, so if you keep your head warm your brain won’t steal the warm blood from the rest of your body. Get at least a three mil set of dive gloves for regular diving, both to keep your hands warm and to protect them against the inevitable nasty thing you’ll be touching (like the invisible growth on that anchor chain you’re holding onto during your deco stop) . Don’t bother with 5 mil gloves unless you get a drysuit.
Get TWO dive knives, one main knife (I strap mine on my leg but I’ve seen people tape their onto their octo) with a chisel point to pry things up and one smaller backup knife (I put mine on my BC) with a pointed edge. Get a dive mask either in clear plastic, or that has transparent side panels. Sooner or later you WILL need to depend on your peripheral vision to see through the pickle-juice green New England water and the black rubber masks act as blinders.
Everything else- buoyancy compensator, fins, dive computer, and the like- are mostly personal preference and/or specific to the individual dive.
Above all else, a 7 mil wet suit. Atlantic water in New England is always well below body termperature so you’ll need greater thermal protection than you would diving in the Bahamas. I personally have a Bare becuase it’s excellent protection without having to pay for a brand name like DUI. Also get a hood because most of your body heat is released from your head, so if you keep your head warm your brain won’t steal the warm blood from the rest of your body. Get at least a three mil set of dive gloves for regular diving, both to keep your hands warm and to protect them against the inevitable nasty thing you’ll be touching (like the invisible growth on that anchor chain you’re holding onto during your deco stop) . Don’t bother with 5 mil gloves unless you get a drysuit.
Get TWO dive knives, one main knife (I strap mine on my leg but I’ve seen people tape their onto their octo) with a chisel point to pry things up and one smaller backup knife (I put mine on my BC) with a pointed edge. Get a dive mask either in clear plastic, or that has transparent side panels. Sooner or later you WILL need to depend on your peripheral vision to see through the pickle-juice green New England water and the black rubber masks act as blinders.
Everything else- buoyancy compensator, fins, dive computer, and the like- are mostly personal preference and/or specific to the individual dive.
References :
Advanced open water diver with three certs
If you plan on diving in MA I would definitely recommend a dry suit, especially if you’re at all sensitive to being cold. Anyone who has ever dove in the Northeast knows how cold the water is, especially the ocean, even in the summer. I dive in PA and there are a good number of guys that use dry suits all year. You can stay down longer and just generally makes the dive more enjoyable not having to worry about being cold. If you insist on a wetsuit, look into the Merino lined ones by Pinnacle. That’s what I wear and its a significant improvement over regular ones. Semi-dry suits are also an option, but I have never used one so I can’t comment on how effective they are.
References :
7 years diving the northeast, PADI & SSI Master Diver, 2 years on a fire company water rescue team