Nitro Power said:
Since we are on the topic...
I don't currently have gear because everywhere we go we just get it there at no charge. However, there are certain things around Texas I want to do that makes owning your own gear more beneficial. I have been doing research, and cannot seem to come to a clear conclusion on which brand to buy. Not overly concerned about price, but also don't need the most expensive. Any thoughts here?
I am going to Mammoth Lake in Lake Jackson next weekend. It's just a lake, and visibility is poor, but its a chance to be in the water.
I also am planning on taking the certification for Spring Lake in August.
I would say specific Brands are not really better or worse when it comes to gear for the most part, because there is so much cross-breeding and rebranding under combined ownership in the industry. Read the Scuba Lab gear reviews for a general idea of what models are reviewed well by their testers, but keep in mind that the magazine is funded by advertising so beware things that sound too good to be true.
For regs I would focus more on what specific features you want from the gear and where you plan to do a lot of diving. Some brands are more widely used in different parts of the world, so if you need parts or service while on a trip, having a Scubapro reg in an area where Scubapro is widely used will make it more likely you can get service. Also make sure you have a local shop or tech that can inspect and service the regs affordably. My wife and I are diving 27 year old Apeks regs and getting them serviced in Austin last year cost us about half the price of what we paid for them brand new in 1997. Accordingly, we are now looking at buying something new that we know we can get inspected and worked on cheaper.
For BCs, think about what kind of diving you will be doing and what it takes to travel there. With airlines cutting back on weight limits and charging more for extra bags, being able to pack what you need into a smaller, lighter package is not an insignificant consideration. If you don't plan to do a lot of cold water diving with heavy weights to compensate for thick wetsuits, consider a lightweight travel BC like the Aqualung Zuma. Something like that won't have the buoyancy to float a lot of weight if you are diving a 7 mil wetsuit to 100+ feet. But diving in shorts and a rash guard in 86F water with 6# of weight like I often do, you barely need any buoyancy in the BCD. Or if you do plan to do a wider range of diving, look into backplate and wings setups that can give you more flexibility. My wife and I bought Seaquest Pro QD BCs back in the late 90s and they were great. But they are also very heavy. We were able to drop about 15 pounds of combined luggage weight for tropical diving trips by changing over to AquaLung Zumas. They pack much smaller too, which gave us more space in our luggage.
As for Mammoth, enjoy it! I haven't been there a lot, but my experience with Mammoth is that visibility can be pretty good when you get down to the colder water, but you may need a light because the poor vis above it cuts out so much of the sun. It can also be quite cold beneath the thermocline, so if you plan to stay down there long, consider a wetsuit.
