Hi all,
Just thought I'd tell about my gear setup. I'm taking the PFI class in two weeks and I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend snorkeling to get used to the equipment.
Diveskin/Oceanos 5 mm nylon outside, unlined two piece suit. I'm hoping this is already on the way and will get to me by next weekend.
For the rest I decided to support my local dive shop- Pacific in Long Beach, CA run by Tom Murray. Tom was very helpful to a new diver with lots of ideas in my head from the web. In the end I got slightly different gear than I was looking at online and spent around 10% more for the convenience of shopping locally. (Of course I also paid tax which made it 18% extra, but I can't blame the local shop for that).
For that 10% I started a positive relationship with a local shop, supported local business, and most importantly got fins and a mask that fit properly. I tried on three different masks and found one that fit much better than the others, so it was a good call.
-Mask: Aqualung Sphera. Fit was way, way better than the other models in the shop- though he didn't have the Omer line.
-Snorkel: Basic large bore with a drain valve in the bottom. Not convinced here but it was cheap.
-Fins: Riffe (Omer foot pockets) He had the Riffe & Cressi Gara 3000 for about the same price but suggested the Riffe/Omer were probably slightly better.
-Socks: 3 mm
-Belt: Rubber with plastic QR buckle
-Weights: 4x3# for 12 pounds. Tom suggested for the class I'll probably use 9#, for shallow diving I may want 12#. He only had 3# and 5# weights.
The only things I looked at but didn't buy were a knife or linecutter and a dive flag & anchor for my kayak. There's always another day.
Jim
Just thought I'd tell about my gear setup. I'm taking the PFI class in two weeks and I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend snorkeling to get used to the equipment.
Diveskin/Oceanos 5 mm nylon outside, unlined two piece suit. I'm hoping this is already on the way and will get to me by next weekend.
For the rest I decided to support my local dive shop- Pacific in Long Beach, CA run by Tom Murray. Tom was very helpful to a new diver with lots of ideas in my head from the web. In the end I got slightly different gear than I was looking at online and spent around 10% more for the convenience of shopping locally. (Of course I also paid tax which made it 18% extra, but I can't blame the local shop for that).
For that 10% I started a positive relationship with a local shop, supported local business, and most importantly got fins and a mask that fit properly. I tried on three different masks and found one that fit much better than the others, so it was a good call.
-Mask: Aqualung Sphera. Fit was way, way better than the other models in the shop- though he didn't have the Omer line.
-Snorkel: Basic large bore with a drain valve in the bottom. Not convinced here but it was cheap.
-Fins: Riffe (Omer foot pockets) He had the Riffe & Cressi Gara 3000 for about the same price but suggested the Riffe/Omer were probably slightly better.
-Socks: 3 mm
-Belt: Rubber with plastic QR buckle
-Weights: 4x3# for 12 pounds. Tom suggested for the class I'll probably use 9#, for shallow diving I may want 12#. He only had 3# and 5# weights.
The only things I looked at but didn't buy were a knife or linecutter and a dive flag & anchor for my kayak. There's always another day.
Jim