2. GET THE EQUIPMENT YOU NEED

When taking a scuba certification course (which we will discuss in step 3 and step 4 ), students often need to buy their own mask, snorkel, fins and booties and they often don't get good advice on how to buy this stuff. First and foremost, don't buy any equipment until you decide on a course and find out if rentals are included in your fees – then decide if you'd rather rent than buy. What you'll need to get completely depends on your course, but we'll get into that later. The following equipment are all you need for skin diving and snorkeling. They aid you in seeing clearly underwater, enable you to breathe with your mouth and nose submerged, and empower you with greater movement underwater.

The Mask

In buying a mask, it's important that the lens should is made of tempered safety glass because it won't splinter when broken (life is bad enough when your mask is broken, but plenty worse when you have shards of glass in the vicinity of your eyes).

The mask strap should be easily adjustable and have locking buckles for quick changes if needed. We suggest a plastic strap split in back rather than the neoprene wide straps. We've found that the neoprene straps may slip during a dive (Bottom line: save yourself the $15 bucks for the flashy strap and you'll save yourself mask adjustment headaches underwater). If you can put your hair in a ponytail -- do it. The plastic skirt of your mask should form a comfortable seal with your face when you are underwater. The last thing you need is your hair to get in the way when you are creating a seal with your mask. For some men, thick facial hair may also interfere (yet, there are plenty of diver guys with mustaches and beards - so decide what's best for you).

People who wear glasses have several options, such as masks with corrective lenses built right in. You can wear contact lenses with a "regular" mask while diving as well (just close your eyes before clearing your mask if it fills up with water).

When buying any diving equipment, the most important consideration is comfort and fit. Be sure that your mask is the right size and fits your face well.

The Snorkel

Snorkels come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and with fancy gadgets. Things on top of the basic snorkel are bells and whistles, but they may add to the comfort and fit.

Several snorkels come with purge valves near the mouth piece. This valve was created so that water only travels 1-way – out of your snorkel. Therefore, you don't have to use as much energy clearing your snorkel since the water will exit the valve as well as the top of the snorkel.

Make sure the mouth piece fits well and does not cut in to the corners of your mouth (Note: it really smarts when you combine an open cut and salt water for long periods of time). Typically, silicone mouth pieces will be most flexible and comfortable, but will cost more. You get what you pay for.

Finally, don't use a fancy device to snap your snorkel onto your mask. Just get a cheap double-ring snorkel-keeper. This basic rubber band-like device will keep your snorkel in place and reduces the chance of you losing it.

The Fins and Booties

Remember how we asked you before if you would be diving in warm or cold waters? Your answer will determine what kinds of fins you purchase. Full-foot fins are used in warm water, typically when you dive from a boat (they also tend to cost less). When diving in cold water or from a rocky shore, you should use neoprene booties and open-heel fins that strap on (this type allows more of a customized fit). Fins have a broad price range and vary greatly in their materials, shapes, and sizes. In general, the longer the fin and the stiffer the blade, the more the fin empowers your kick. Furthermore, vented-blade fins are designed to increase power based on the flow of the water through the vents. Keep in mind that you need the leg power to use these fins though – don't buy fins that require more strength to move them than you have to give. Comfort and fit should ultimately help you determine your purchase.

Additional Equipment

Renting vs. Buying: The rest of the equipment includes: a buoyancy compensation device (B.C.), a regulator, console, a wet suit, and air tanks. We'd prefer not to get into what all this stuff does. You'll learn it in your certification course. But for you Impatient Irvings out there who need to know now, check out www.scubadiving.com for more details. Now, all this stuff can get quite costly so it is important that you ask yourself if you are ready to purchase the equipment right away, or if you want to test things out first by renting.

Renting Buying Pros

  • No maintenance (e.g., rinsing and caring for your equipment after diving)
  • Opportunity to try out different brands and types of equipment
  • Lower costs
  • Comfort and fit
  • You know where it has been
  • Quality and known features
Cons
  • Lack of variety in rental gear
  • Sacrificing comfort and fit
  • Unknown quality of equipment
  • High initial costs
  • Equipment maintenance (e.g., care and rinsing, tank inspections, regulator maintenance)
  • Transporting your gear on trips

We suggest that you start out renting the equipment, and if you like the sport, then consider making purchases. When you do eventually choose to buy all of your equipment, the order in which you should do so is as follows: 1- mask, snorkel, fins and booties, 2- B.C., 3- regulator, 4- consoles/gauges, 5- wet suit, 6- tanks.

Scubabooty is an awesome site when diggin' around for diving equipment. Make sure you do research on scuba gear before you dive into the investment by checking out all items in scubabooty (such a cool name ain't it!). Ask for recommendations from your teacher or fellow students on what type of products to buy and where to buy them. There are many options available these days besides dive shops, including diving newsletters, chat rooms, your local classifieds (for used equipment), scuba equipment web sites, mail order firms, and water sports stores. Make sure you check return policies and that you are buying from a reputable company. And keep your receipt. If you end up hating scuba diving, you'll hate it even more when you go into your garage and see all of the equipment staring at you.