How to choose your scuba diving gear (part one)

“WHAT EQUIPMENT SHOULD I BUY FIRST?”

As a scuba diving instructor, I get asked this question a lot – and I’ve been there – the amount of scuba diving equipment is overwhelming! Stepping in a dive shop, there are various types of BCDs, regulators, fins, masks, dive computers, and all the accessories. Where do you begin? Be prepared as scuba diving doesn’t come cheap and it’s worth forking out for quality equipment, in the long run, you’ll avoid having to repair or replace them.

Choosing scuba diving gear is personal, whether you’re more comfortable finding the right brand, colour, hygiene or technical ability. If you have (good!) scuba diver friends, it’s worth asking for recommendations and trying their equipment before the purchase.

In this part one series, I’ve listed the equipment that I think is important, for newly certifie