Buying first set of scuba equipment from Ebay

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:


>As an Ebay addict I was wondering whether I might be able to buy some
>second hand equipment, or would you advise against this?
>
>I believe I would need the following equipment: -
>
>- BCD (Should I get Medium or Large?)

You need to check out these at a local dive shop or two and see how
they fit and, just as important, how comfortable they feel on you as
well as the weight range they cover. These vary a lot and will last a
virtual lifetime if taken care of properly. As an example, my old US
Divers BCD finally gave out after more than 25 years of use and I did
my research as I state above and bought one new on Ebay for about half
of what they wanted in a store. You could be lucky and find a good
used one, but I would personally never buy one of these that I
couldn't see, check out and try on.

>- Reg Set (Don't know what to look for)

There are literally tons of these and they, too, last a virtual
lifetime if they are taken care of properly. Mine is over 25 years
old and works great. I had Scubapro service it recently and they got
a great kick out of the quality of their own equipment. This you
might be able to get used, as the parts to service them and the cost
are relatively easy and cheap.

>- Weight belt (if BCD does not have integrated weight system) (I hate
>weight belts – the intergrated system sounds much more pleasant)

Forget weights if they aren't integrated or perhaps even if they are.
These are easy to rent wherever you go and who wants to lug a bunch of
them around?

>- Wet suit (Thought a 3mm full suit would be suitable for the warm
>water diving that I will be doing)

This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics. It can get a
bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
one made in Thailand.

<jbk@piasystems.com> wrote in message
news:gruk70d518isjngi07rs5hqjk6ghe4g24p@4ax.com...
> On 12 Apr 2004 04:04:06 -0700, m.w.c@ntlworld.com (Michelle) wrote:
>
> This is individual, but I never use them in the tropics.

Yes, it is. I use my 3 mm for all tropical dives even in Thailand. As I
was doing continous daily dives, it came in quite handy keeping me warm and
unstung.

Got a few hits on the face, ears, backs of hands.

?It can get a
> bit cold when you hit the thermal, but if you are a new diver you
> should stay above that for a while anyway and it isn't that bad anyway
> in the tropics. I had a short sleeve jean set made in the Philippines
> when I lived there to ward off the jelly fish and it worked fine. Get
> one made in Thailand.
>
>