My Gear:
I am not a diver who believes in buying overpriced equipment just
because it has a premium name.
Regulators
The
days when a person could tell the difference between good quality
regulators is long gone and even budget brands have acceptable
performance. The reality is that much dive equipment with extremely
different price points and perceptions of quality are made in the exact
same factory. Some regulators are what is known as an OEM
design
and
the same regulator can be sold under different brand names. The price
difference in manufacturing mainly is due to different tolerances for
the design specification. Basicly, a part that is close to the designed
size will be cheaper than one that is exactly the designed size. That
being said, avoid store brand or off-brand regulators. These are
identified by only being sold from one store. That is the only store
that can service them and it usually means paying shipping both ways
and waiting for them to be serviced and shipped back to you. The cost
for service and shipping is usually pretty close to the cost of a new
regulator set so store brand regulators are normally considered
disposable.
I
have found that HOG brand regulators are made to the very tight
tolerances of the most expensive regulators, allowing them to be tuned
accurately and hold that setting. Of course this means manufacturing
costs are high but they don't buy the expensive magazine ads and don't
pay a sales force multiple six figure salaries to push their products
to dive shops. This allows money to be shifted from marketing to
manufacturing and keeps quality high and prices low.
HOG and Edge
regulators are simply the highest quality regulators you can buy at a
price that competes with lower quality regulators and the absolute best
value for your money. I liked HOG regulators so much that after I tried
one I immediately became a dealer for them and got rid of my Sherwood
and Scubapro regulators. My Scubapros had been my previous favorites
when I needed a regulator that could deliver a lot of air with the
minimum effort when I needed it. Today, I exclusively use Edge
&
HOG regulators. I have an Edge Epic regulator system I use when
training new students and when diving wet. It is incredibly
comfortable, light, flexible, and breathes great. I have it set up to
look like what most people consider to be standard. When I am diving
with certified divers or diving in a dry suit I use a HOG D3 first
stage with HOG Classic 2.0 second stages on a primary donate long hose
and necklaced backup. This is the ultimate regulator setup for any type
of open water diving where you may need to supply air to another diver.
Mask, Fins, Snorkel
Wow,
can you ever spend a bunch of money on this stuff. I routinely see
people spend more on just fins than my regular price for mask, fins,
and snorkel. Again I use Edge Flex fins and a HOG low volume mask. When
diving dry I use HOG Tech 2 fins and normally carry a simple HOG
Stealth snorkel. If I am going to be using my snorkel quite a bit I
switch to an Edge Semi-Dry snorkel. Some people like dry snorkels but I
am personally not a fan.
BCD
The
Buoyancy Compensation Device: I generally use a backplate and wing for
all diving unless I am required to be in a jacket style BCD for
training purposes. I am not a fan of the jacket style BCD for a couple
reasons. First of all, it inflates around you so it squeezes
you
as it inflates. They also come in sizes so if you dive in both a
wetsuit and a dry suit you usually have a choice of buying a
larger and a smaller BCD or if you are lucky, you can find one in the
middle that is just a little too big when you are in a wetsuit or just
a little too small when in a dry suit. A backplate & wing is
infinitely adjustable and the same thing I wear with a dry suit in PA
goes with me to St. Croix where I dive in just a skin.
Some people will say that back
inflate will not float you face up on the surface of the water. Those
people either don't dive with back inflation or were never properly
trained how to use it. If you look at my body position at the surface
you will notice I am comfortably leaning back. I can also give a small
kick to stand straight up or lean slightly forward if I want to. I can
do this because I have properly positioned weights and I can show you
how to do this too.
Some will continue to argue that only a jacket
style will float you face up if you are unconscious. Again, this is
wrong and this is something you can test on your own. You are actually
less likely to float face up when unconscious in a jacket style BCD
than in a back inflate that is properly weighted with weight in the
back. This is a silly argument anyway because your buddy would never
leave you floating face down, unconscious at the surface. Right? You do
dive with a buddy don't you?
Exposure Protection
I
have a variety of exposure protection to include a skin, several
different wetsuits, and a drysuit. I can't recommend any specific
brand, I just look for the thickness I need in a wetsuit and I prefer a
laminate style dry suit because it dries quickly. I have tried a couple
different hoods but I generally don't like them and I will wear gloves
if it is super cold or if digging for treasure but normally don't wear
them.