Equipment

My Equipemnt

This is the equipment I use:

• Net bag (came with Buddy Commando BCD)
• Apex regulator bag (square shape but a round shape would be much better)
• Buddy Commando BCD with integrated weight pockets, large size (good lift capacity but possibly slightly too big for me, the medium was far too small)
• Line cutter (came with the Buddy Commando BCD)
• Yellow Tornado fins (solid plastic, only £20 and really a bit useless)
• Yellow quick release buckle for clipping the octopus regulator to the BCD
• Apeks XTX40 main and octopus regulator (seem OK but would like the wider exhausts to prevent my hood filling up with air, probably wouldn't buy them again because sometimes the breathing changes depending on your orientation and I sometimes get a very small bit of water in my mouth, not sure whether its the regulator or a bad fit in my mouth)
• Apeks DS4 1st stage DIN EN250 0098 dry sealed system for cold water, 4 medium pressure ports 3/8 UNF, 1 high pressure port 7/16 UNF
• Apeks streamlined double console 80m depth guage and pressure guage
• Metal keyring clip to clip the console to the BCD
• Typhoon mask and box, cheap at £20 but does the job very well
• Scubapro neoprene mask strap (highly recommended for helping you get your mask on and off easily)
• A. P. Valves Buddy Surface Marker Buoy Closed (self-sealing) DSMB
• R. McMahon Engineering Large SMB Reel
• Split ring, mini-karabina and elastic cord to hold the reel and DSBM together and to connect them to the budy jacket
• Yellow lanyard (came with the reel)
• Suunto Gekko dive computer
• Vyper USB cable
• Mares evolution 5mm wetsuit, hood and shorty size 3 (great set but I find the neck a bit tight on the hood)
• 4x2Kg lead shot, 2X1Kg lead shot
• 2 weight pockets for the Buddy Commando BCD
• Northern Diver 5mm super stretch gloves
• Cheap "Titanium" neoprene boots
• 2010-03 Frogman LED torch £35
• Equator ridgid rollable suitcase

Things I hope to add soon:

• A whistle for attracting attention after surfacing
• An underwater video camera (the housing for my Canon 40D is too expensive to justify and there's no video)
• A weight belt or pouches that strap to the cylinder so that I can adjust the weight distribution along my body better)
• A compass

At some point:

• A dry suit
• A pony cylinder

Thoughts

Here are some thoughts I've had about the equipment I own.

Integrated Weights

• Integrated weights are good as long as you only need to put 4 or 5 Kg in them. After that I find they are cumbersome.
• They also put too much weight at the front. I use abouyt 10Kg in total so it is better is to have a weight belt with a few Kg at the back and the rest in the front.
• On the Buddy BCD the integrated weights take up some of the space the pockets would have used. I think it would be better to have full-sized pockets big enough to hold a reel or camera than to have integrated weights.

Reel and DSMB

• A big reel is a lot less fiddly when you are ascending
• The downside is that it is a lot more in your way during the rest of the dive.
• Don't use the integrated DSBM pocket on the Buddy BCD, I did on a dive today (30th August 2009) and couldn't get it out. In a strong current and deep in kelp and a bit of silt, having your budy struggle to release the DSMB isn't great fun.