scuba club cozumel and equipment info

[bonnier-admin]

My wife and I are becoming open water divers. We are looking at the deals in april at scuba club, any info that anyone would like to share would be appreciated. Also I'm looking into buying our own equipment! At the moment the Mares mr12 proton or the v16 are standing out to us as good regulators but would like some input from the forum.

[jadsit]

I won't comment on the particular regulators you are considering, but I will be happy to provide my general opinions on choosing equipment. First of all, understand that unless you do a lot of diving, you will not save money through purchasing. You will have to rent many, many times to equal the cost of good equipment and annual service fees. The reason to buy your own equipment is so that you are sure you have high quality gear you know well every time you dive (and that is reason enough). That said, make sure you are buying high quality equipment that will meet your needs now and in the future. For example, I recommend that a computer be among your earliest purchases. You are not a Nitrox diver, so you don't need a Nitrox ready computer--now. But what if you get into that in two years--do you want to buy a new computer when you do? A regulator is a similar purchase. As a beginner, you really don't need a good, balanced regulator that will breathe as easily at 100 feet as it does near the surface, but how long will you be a beginner? My advice in general is to take your time with this. Find a good shop near you that can give you advice you can trust. Take the PADI equipment specialist specialty class so that you can see the ins and outs of equipment. (The shop I use deducts 100% of the course price from any purchase you make afterwards.)

[bonnier-admin]

The Mares regs you mention are a great bang for the buck. I did some research last year on this subject. I bought the Aqualung Titan LX. It breaths so smooth at depth and stays dry. Similar price to the MR-12. Also just bought and tried this month Oceanic "Caribe" full foot fins. So so comfortable and great performance. Also treated myself to Aqualung "Mythos" mask. Didnt think a mask could be so comfortable and great viz.