Scuba gear for beginners

What does each piece of scuba gear do?

Short answer: the tank holds your air, the regulator lets you breathe it, the BCD controls your buoyancy, weights help you sink, and the mask, fins and exposure suit let you see, move and stay warm.

• Mask. Puts an air space in front of your eyes so you can see clearly underwater. It covers your nose so you can equalize the pressure inside it.
• Snorkel. Lets you breathe at the surface without lifting your face or using tank air.
• Fins. Turn slow, relaxed leg kicks into movement. Full-foot fins are worn barefoot in warm water; open-heel fins are worn with neoprene boots.
• Exposure suit. A wetsuit, semi-dry suit or drysuit that keeps you warm. Water draws heat from your body far faster than air.
• Buoyancy control device (BCD). An inflatable jacket or wing that holds the tank on your back. You add or release air to float at the surface or hover underwater.
• Regulator. Reduces the tank's high pressure to a pressure you can breathe. It includes your main second stage, a spare (the alternate air source) for a buddy, a pressure gauge and a hose that inflates the BCD.
• Tank (cylinder). Holds compressed air or enriched air nitrox. Many resorts use aluminium 80 cubic-foot (about 11-litre) tanks.
• Weights. Offset the buoyancy of your body and suit so you can descend. They sit on a belt or in pockets in the BCD, with a quick release.
• Dive computer. Tracks your depth and time, calculates how long you can stay without needing decompression stops, and warns you if you ascend too fast.

What scuba gear should I buy first?

Short answer: mask, snorkel and fins, then a dive computer.

A mask that leaks or fins that rub will spoil a dive more than anything else, and fit varies from person to person, so these are worth owning from the start. Many dive centers ask students to bring their own. A dive computer is usually the next purchase: it is personal, you learn to read one display instead of a different rental model every trip, and it keeps a record of your dives.

After that, divers who dive often or in cold water tend to buy their own exposure suit, then a regulator and BCD. Tanks and weights are almost always provided by the dive operator, and few travelling divers own them.

Is it better to rent or buy scuba gear?

Renting makes sense while you are learning what you like and if you dive only on holiday. Buying makes sense once you dive several times a year, when the comfort and familiarity of your own equipment start to pay off. Rental gear at a reputable dive center is serviced and safe; the difference is fit and confidence, not safety. If you rent, arrive early, check the fit, and ask the staff to walk you through any equipment that is new to you.

How do I choose a mask that fits?

Hold the mask to your face without using the strap, breathe in gently through your nose and let go. A mask that fits will stay in place by suction alone. Check that the skirt seals around your whole face without pressing hard on your nose, and that nothing digs in above your lip. People with moustaches often find a softer silicone skirt seals better. A new tempered glass mask has a thin film from manufacturing that makes it fog; clean it with a mask cleaner or non-gel toothpaste before the first dive, following the manufacturer's advice.

What wetsuit thickness do I need?

Short answer: roughly 3 mm for warm tropical water, 5 mm for mild water and 7 mm or a drysuit for cold water.

As a rough guide, water above about 25 °C (77 °F) suits a 3 mm suit or even a shorty, 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F) suits a 5 mm full suit, and below about 20 °C (68 °F) calls for 7 mm, a semi-dry suit or a drysuit. People feel the cold very differently, and you lose more heat on the second and third dive of the day, so if in doubt go thicker. A hood keeps a surprising amount of warmth in. Check the water temperature for your destination when you plan your scuba diving trip.

Do I need a dive computer?

Most dive operators now expect every diver to wear one, and most divers would not dive without one. Older dive tables still work for planning, but a computer tracks your actual dive profile minute by minute, which gives you more bottom time on multilevel dives and warns you about fast ascents and missed safety stops. Learn its settings before your trip, especially how to set it for nitrox if you use enriched air. The scuba diving safety guide explains no-decompression limits and safety stops.

How do I look after my scuba gear?

• Rinse everything in fresh water after each day of diving, and soak the regulator with its dust cap on so water does not enter the first stage.
• Dry gear out of direct sunlight, which breaks down rubber, silicone and neoprene.
• Store the BCD partly inflated, and hang wetsuits on wide hangers.
• Have the regulator and BCD serviced on the schedule the manufacturer sets, usually every one or two years, and before a trip if they have been stored for a long time.
• Change dive computer batteries before they get low, and check the seals.

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