Scuba Advice Please

[wrussellw]

I am considering buying all new gear. I dive in warm water, no more then 60 feet. My present gear is 10 years old and I really haven't kept up with all the new technology. Any advice would be appreciated

[gcarter]

I'd be interested since my gear is more like 40 years old....

[hardcrab]

I'd be interested since my gear is more like 40 years old....

So George - you have the twin hose aqua lung ?

[gcarter]

So George - you have the twin hose aqua lung ?

No, but when I started, they were still being used.
There's nothing easier breathing. The diaphram was about 4" or 5" in diameter, and if you swam on your back, it'd free flow.
Also, you didn't have bubbles in your face all the time.

[DickB]

That was my regulator back in the '70s - it was old then. I was going to throw it out many years ago, but checked eBay and found there was a market for vintage equipment. I think it sold for around $175 - more than I paid for it.

[MOP]

I have a buddy that ran a scuba shop, he was constantly rebuilding the regulators. I would call a local shop with the info on your and see if they provide that service, as you can see by the link below it is a common practice.

http://www.google.com/search?q=scuba+regulator+rebuild&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[Tidbart]

I am considering buying all new gear. I dive in warm water, no more then 60 feet. My present gear is 10 years old and I really haven't kept up with all the new technology. Any advice would be appreciated

Not a heck of a lot has changed in the last ten years. The main area of change has been in the dive computers. They constantly are getting better, and smaller. If you are planning on doing a lot of diving look into these. If you are just going to do a few dives to 60 feet, a depth gauge, bottom timer, and dive tables still work just fine.
A lot depends on how much you want to spend. Suits haven't really changed, neither has masks, snorkels, and fins. I like Sherwood regs as they are simple (easy to service) and reliable. Not knowing what regs you are using, consider bringing them in for an overhaul and a professional opinion on whether to upgrade or not. Yours may be just fine. Mine are over 10 years old and work perfectly.
If you travel to dive, consider a travel BC. That is an area there have been some advancements. You want one that will obviously, do the job, but will also pack easily and not add much weight. With all the luggage restrictions nowadays you have to pay a lot of attention to your weight or it will cost you.

B

[Ghost]

Keep your old gear. Get your regs rebuilt and your tanks VIP'd and they should be fine. Consider a new computer, and a wetsuit with a modern lining that makes it easy to put on, like a Henderson gold core.

Also consider a BC if yours is old enough that it might be physically compromised by age/storage. A BC is more important for safety than many give it credit for, in my book.

Do plenty of homework with anything that relies on RF or whatever to feed signal to a pressure gauge/computer. Keep It Simple Stupid. I've heard lots of gripes about reliability of such systems. A pressure hose to a gauge is not so bad, and very reliable. An iffy signal to your tank's status is annoying at best, dangerous at worst.

Talk to people before spending a ton on full face masks with communication systems. You dive for some zen down there. Yakety Yak may seem cool in the store, but ruin the experience unless you and your buddy are on the same wavelength about chatting.

FWIW,

Mike