I've heard worse.

It is possible to barf up your lunch, into your regulator.

Now tell me would you really want to rent a set of regs after hearing that?

Yeah seen that before too... Though it was into his own regs. A buddy of mine found out that he was scared of eels that day and his response was to get sick.

What I'm trying to get across to our young friend is that sometimes it pays to invest. I bought a decent set of regs Mares Rubi, not sure if that make is over there and later some, Posiden (deep diving). The difference in breathing, after using the schools Aquapro's was noticable. I left like I really could breath rather than suck air. though that's not why I first bought them.

After seeing a guy loose his lunch through his reg ( not through fear, just stuffed himself silly at lunch time before the dive, I really, really, wanted my own.

It's been a long time since I have gone diving. Yup, married with children syndrome.

I agree with some kind of neoprene cover. A shortie or just a vest or shirt makes a difference in comfort, even in Hawaii. My last diving was free diving and after a few hours in the water, I am happy to have it. Even happier coming out at night in a cold wind and rain.

Night diving is fun to me. And I like the Underwater Kinetics lights. Princeton Tech is ok too, but I have just always used the UK brand.

A good spear or spear gun is a good piece of gear to have too, but here in Hawaii, I think it is illegal to spearfish while SCUBA diving. Only ok for free diving.

Drop me a line if you want to dive around NYC. There are fun and hairy stuff here. I dive with combo wetsuit which has 3 mm on the arms and legs but torso is made out of 7 mm. That's perfect for around here. When you get your cert in Florida and come back it will almost be time for diving at Dutch Spring and that's a fun site to practice your skills.

Thanks all! This is really helpful! I now am the proud owner of:

Edge Fins and boots
http://www.divers-supply.com/EDGE-CRUISER-FINS-p/edg011.htm

and a brand of mask and semi-dry snorkel only known to the good folks at LeisurePro. This reg how ever seems like it's out of my price range for the first trip however your argument is pretty convincing! Yuk!

If I had to choose between buying my own suit or my own reg which should I go with?

Gulliamo,

All depends on yoru environment... if diving this time of year in nyc, a dry suit would be priority (at least for me).

If going to florida for your training, you can prob get away without a wet suit, though it would make like comfortable. I'd prob go with regs first in this case.

Good luck,
Kris

Gulliamo,

Nice set of fins, by the way. You might want to pick up a set of spare straps, as and when you can. Straps tend to break, just when things get interesting. You don't want a dive ruined for the sake of a strap.

Have a spares kit, mask strap, fin strap, O-rings for the tanks, just to name a few.

Most clubs have a good selection of kit, regs, suits, etc, try a few out before commiting to either. Dry suits require training, you need a fair few dives under your belt before you consider a dry-suit. For me when the water's below 15°C (60°F)then use a dry suit. For Florida, as someone said maybe just a thinsulate shorty to stop scrapes.

Suits aren't that much to rent anyway, but I like to have my own regs, especially one I've found easy to draw from. I've found more than one rented reg that I felt I had to pull on to get air. Not a comfortable feeling while your trying to concentrate on the instructors exercises. When you've tried a few out you'll know what's good for you.

Enjoy your diving experience.

Great advice all! (That's why I come here.) Is a reg -like a mask- something I really have to try before I buy or is it more like a fin that is safe to order unseen online?

Same question for suits. Also - what do most of you where under the wetsuit?

As for the regs... not really. Most mouth pieces for the average stuff (scubapro, etc) is about the same. Some have different features and stuff, some require you to suck air alittle more then others, etc...

I would still recommend to try out a few types first... or just go with a basic unit from a dive shop expecting to upgrade after a short period of time.

As for what I wear under my wet suit... its the same as what i wear under my kilt! LOL... nah, shorts... swim trunks, etc... Usually on a dive boat and just put the suit over what i'm currently wearing at the time.

kris