Questions about buying your own scuba diving equipment are quite common when people start to dive and begin to think more seriously about their new hobby. But what to start with?
First piece of diving equipment to buy
In our opinion the best start is to buy your own mask. It’s not expensive and the mask is a really personal piece of your diving equipment. A mask which doesn’t fit well, or worse is leaking, can make the best dive an unpleasant experience. It’s small and easy to take on holidays and you can use it also for snorkelling, freediving and even in the hotel pool!
What to look for?
A mask should fit your face! Every face is different, so take your time to choose the right mask fro your face. We discourage you to buy it on the internet, because you can not try it. Ask your dive instructor and we will help you test different models. In general your mask should have really soft silicon so it can adapt to your face and a double-skirt will help to prevent water entry.
Transparent or black? Standard or fancy color? Whatever you like more. We highly recommend Aqualung masks, because they definitely have one of the highest quality on the market.
Which equipment next?
Another good piece of equipment to have is your own regulator. Especially in times like these, with COVID-19 around it is a good feeling to have your own regulator which nobody else touches. The regulator is your source of air, underwater it is the most important part! Knowing that you have a high quality regulator in good conditions gives you the piece of mind you need to enjoy your dives to the maximum. Their are hundreds of different models on the market, but especially for the regulator I would choose one of the more famous brands like Aqualung, Apeks or Scubapro.
A good regulator you will have for the rest of your life. Of course you have to bring it to maintenance!
My all time favourite is the Aqualung Leg3nd, it’s a beast of a regulator. A wonderful piece of engineering. If you want the best of the best, get yourself an Aqualung Leg3nd.
But it doesn’t has to be always the top of the top. If your looking for something (upper-)middle-class the Aqualung CORE is just fine. It also has the ACD which I love for everyday use (yeah I admit, I’m lazy and like things which make my life easier)
There are lots of diving instructors out their diving everyday happily with their CORE. A more economic option would be the Aqualung Calypso. It’s a basic regulator, with a piston instead of a membrane. This means you don’t have the same respiration comfort like a Leg3nd or a CORE, but it’s a system which works just fine. Thousands of OWD students did their courses on this regulator.
And the diving computer?
Of course! A diving computer is a mandatory piece of equipment here in Spain by law! Every diver must have his own dive computer, not only the dive guide. You could get lost from the group, or sometimes your dive guide is an idiot… (not at Scubanana!) Having your own diving computer means you take responsibility – as you should – always safety first.
Nowadays all the models on the market have everything you need (Diving Mode, Nitrox, even Freediving). Which one you choose, depends on how much money you want to spend and how many extra functions you want. A basic diving computer like the Aqualung i100 works perfectly, but sometimes you want something smaller in your color of choice? Than take the i200 or i300, it will adapt much better to your taste. Are you a technik freak? The i450 or i470 comes with Bluetooth and even the possibility to connect an electronic pressure sensor to the regulator so you can check your remaining gas on your diving computer.
What about the rest?
It’s up to you! Mask, computer and regulator are our first recommendation, because in our opinion they are the most useful to start with and easiest to carry on your diving trips. If you really want to commit to diving you can get your whole equipment, which is nice because you are familiar with it and don’t have to worry about unreliable rental equipment. You can choose the type of equipment you like, for example a backplate with a donut-wing, instead of standard BCDs.
But don’t worry if you don’t want to. At Scubanana we have really good rental equipment, which we maintain regularly and it only costs you 6€ per dive. This can by a nice alternative for people who don’t want to carry a lot of luggage or are just on a short trip.
