OK.. "lets get down to buisness"
Sounds like a plan to me. Since both of you want to spearfish, and both are starting out, this thread will help you both out with queston- as well as many others out there. You may be in different countries, but you'll both need to wear similar wetsuits and socks/gloves to dive in.
Almost all of us on here started out with plastic fins and many of us moved up to something fancier as we got more into the sport. Some of the nicer fins have footpockets that you can change out with different blades- Beuchat,OMER, Spetton, C4, Sporasub, Picasso, and some older Cressi Sub models. I would suggest one of these fins to start with and then you have the option of changing out blades at a later date.
Fancier blades can be made out of fiberglass, like the Water Way/Nemo fins, or Carbonfiber, like C4, Specialfins, Omer Record's, Beuchat's, M-technic's and others. These come in different stiffness blades to match your leg strength- I would always recommend going softer. They cost a lot more but they are a lot more fun than a plastic blade.
If you can try on footpockets at a local shop it's worth every penny for paying full price at that shop for the chance to do so. If not, find something close. I wear a 43 and have footpockets in the 42-44 size range- I have fins/pockets from OMER, Sporasub, and Picasso and they ALL allow me to wear wetsuit socks underneath to keep my feet warm.
Look for the ultimate fin thread on here and you'll see all kinds of opinons on fins and what people like, or don't like. I really like a fin blade with an angle to it, but others would disagree.
Masks are easier since it comes down to what fits. Some low volume masks are great for deeper depths, but that doesn't always make much of a difference on spearfishing- depending of course where your doing it and what depths you'll be hitting.
You'll both need a GOOD wetsuit. ELIOS will make a decent custom suit for about what an off the rack suit will cost you from some of the better dive companies. Socks and gloves, or even 3-finger mitts, can also be made by them. One thing that this thread should beat home is the need for a good wetsuit to get the most out of your diving- and in colder water it really is a safety issue.
Rubber belts are also a nice to have item, I've seen them cheap on EBAY as of late, but your still better off spending the cash on a better wetsuit and using a crappy old scuba belt to start with. Eventually you'll want to move up to a rubber belt to stop the slipping.
Snorkels are all over the place. Tradition states a simple tube with no valves, but I know guys who love the purge valve for diving in choppy water. I have a whole quiver of snorkels and use different snorkels for different things- I don't use a purge valve for spearing, but I love them for playing underwater hockey with. Decent snorkels can be had for cheap- my favorite one I bought used off of Ebay for $2!
Spearguns come after you have all of the basic gear. A pole spear isn't such a bad way to start. Hawaiian Skindiver Magazine recently had an article about learning how to spear with a polespear before moving up to a speargun to improve your stalking techniquie.
Sorry for the long post but I thought I could kill two birds with one stone.
jon
