What equipment do you dive with?

Mick L

I dive:

Diving here:
OMS backplate, harness and 100lb bungeed wings.
Apeks ATX100 reg
Poseidon Cyklon 5000 reg
2 x 12L Faber tanks
Gates drysuit
Uwatec Aladin Pro Ultra computer

Diving in warm waters
Buddy Pioneer BC
Scubapro 5mm wetsuit

I started out buying from the shop I did my training with but most of my major gear was bought online apart from the tanks which I got here. The other little bits were got from various different dive shops around Dublin.

daveg

How much did the kit set you back Mick?

Personally I'd love to get a full face mask as below.....



Some fantastic gear here

Peace

Daveg,

I was going to buy some kit from diversdiscount but they start to mess me about. Anyway, most of the gear thats up there is available in the UK (online) and the increase in shipping from the US wipes out any cost benfit. Plus after it reaches ireland you have to pay duty on the value of the equipment you've imported....trust me, i got raped on a purchase i got from the US...would have been about 150euro cheaper to get it from the UK...which is what i do nowadays.

I dive: twin 12's, mde manifold (allegedly), Halcyon BP (stainless steel), dive rite harness (because the halcyon one didn't have a release) , OMS wing (100lb lift, phoa!), Oceanic and Poseidon regs, and a gates pro vsn 1100 dry suit.

Yup, a bit of everything for flavour. The cost of that kit you can tot up yourself...personally anytime that conversation start i say the same thing everytime....i've never done the maths since i don't want to think about it. :eek:

On the other hand, the most expensive thing you can do is buy a cheap piece of kit!

djk1000

While you're on the subject, the time has come for me to invest in a dive computer. Any suggestions for a good site with good prices? I looked at diversdiscount but I'd prefere to buy in the UK or E.U.

Mick L

What type of computer are you thinking of getting?

sci0x

Originally posted by djk1000
While you're on the subject, the time has come for me to invest in a dive computer. Any suggestions for a good site with good prices? I looked at diversdiscount but I'd prefere to buy in the UK or E.U.

Try here: Dive Computer

Peace

djk1000, there are a number of different types of computers out there.

air integrated, non air integrated, deco/no deco , console / wrist mounted, nitrox , tri mix...

Seriously, which type?

I have an aladin pro ultra(wrist mount). VGood peice of kit although i've kind of started to out grow it. Its good because it deals with nitrox mices up to 40% and calculates deco stops (important IMO) but it doesn't allow you to gas switch (for accelerated decompression). Like if you were doing deco stops on 80% Nitrox instead of you bottom gas you can get out of the water a lot quicker...like i said, the aladin doesn't gas switch.

It also doesn't do trimix, which i think i'll be diving within the next 6 months or so.

I was diving in Scapa Flow recently and one of the divers (an experience and very squared away diver ) didn't dive with a computer. He dived a run time (pre determined plan, which was generated on a pc using deco software) and just used a digital bottom timer (about 100 euro). Once you stick to your run time then you get out of the water no problem.

I'll be probably using just 2 bottom timers and running run times when diving trimix as a trimix + gas switching computer will cost 1100 euro.

You can always just download software called GAP (which is what i've done) and allow it to calculate your dive times/deco schedule.

I've kinda rambled on here a bit so to sum up my €0.20 is that the Aladin Pro Ultra is a good buy assuming you won't be doing any real tech diving (accelerated deco/trimix). Its good for nitrox and deco diving. They're boxy, but they're good.

Mick L

If I had to go back and buy a computer over again I would get the Suunto Vytec. I have an Aladin Pro Ultra and as Peace has said it doesn't allow gas switching. The Vytec allows up to 3 gas switches. A couple of divers on our last trip had them and they seem pretty good.

Smiler

Check out here for prices.

http://www.scubastore.com/eng/index.asp

Personally I dive with

Gates VSN 1100 Drysuit (Has everyone got one of these )
Scubapro Mk16 + R380
Buddy Commando (With a Scubapro Air 2 fitted)
Faber 12 Litre Stubby
Ralftech Weight Harness (I love this coz I hate belts)
Suunto Mosquito (Stinger's Baby brother, great price & nearly all the same features. Great size too)