question on dive gear

[cregen]

what brand of dive gear do you guys recommend since there are so many out there.

[speckle-catcher]

depends on your budget. I have not looked at new gear in several years - but when I was in the biz, ScubaPro and Atomic Aquatics would be the best.

Personally I do not care for SP, cause their second stages are large and clunky, and they are very expensive to maintain.

Other good brands are Aqualung/US Divers, Oceanic, Sherwood, Zeagle & Dacor - I sold all the above (except SP) and never had a disappointed customer

Stick to any of those brands and you will not be disappointed. Buy a mid to upper level regulator. They all basically do the same thing - but the higher end ones have more flexibility in how you can set up your regulator. They also have smaller, lighter second stages that help prevent jaw fatigue, and they could be easier to breathe off of.

TUSA is a decent reg - never sold or used one, so I can't recommend them. They seem to be sold in smaller stores and they were cheap when compared to other brands.

Stay from "in house" or no-name brands. Pick up a copy of Rodale's Scuba Diving that has their annual gear review. Look at the "tester's choice" or "best buy" models.

For BC's - I like back inflate style like the Zeagle Ranger - but most companies probably have something similar to that now. Again, stick to known companies and away from "in house" brands and you should be fine.

Most dive shops will give you a discount for ordering a complete reg/BCD at the same time - there may be an incentive to buy all the same manufacturer as well.

I won't get into computers as I know they have changed drastically in the last few years.

[JIM_D]

The info above from speckle-catcher above is as true and unbiased as you are likely to find. All of the above named brands are much more than adequate for the vast majority of recreational divers. As he said, avoid "store brand" equipment. much of it is foreign copies of out dated and low quality gear.

Buying scuba gear is like buying a new car, everybody swears by their personal favorite, and cusses the competition. rent, borrow or "aquire" gear from several different sources and try several different types before spending huge sums of cash for something that you may not like. If it ain't comfortable, it ain't for you!

check out the Rodale's ( no longer owned by them) equipment reviews on line at their site www.scubadiving.com/scuba/gear (http://www.scubadiving.com/scuba/gear)

[disgusted]

I use a Sherwood Maximuss with a Sherwwod dive computer. I have never had any problems out of them. I like an adjustable regulator for the simple fact that I can make it harder to breath on a drift dive so I can stay down longer, or I can make it easier to breath when I am swimming around a wreck. But thats just me.