Posted by Mojo Mike on May 04, 2004 at 20:31:54:
In Reply to: Dry Suit and Peak Performance Buoyancy classes posted by Scott on May 04, 2004 at 14:54:14:
I once left scuba diving for a few years. Because of all the dogma surrounding dive equipment. In the old days, seemed like everywhere, I went, big, bulky and useless equipment was being cramped down my throat. People thought I was crazy. Because I wanted to carry a reasonalble sized knife. Instead of something that looked like a cross between a boat anchor and a English broad sword.
It boils down to your personal taste and comfort. Which will change as your experience grows. I personally do not like big and bulky. I prefer streamlined equipment without a lot of bells and whistles.
I echo the praise of the Dive-rite Transpac. I like it a lot. There are numerous good BC's. For years I hated Scubapro BC's, but loved their regulators. Scubapro came out with the Hawk series of BC's. That I like a lot. I bought the Knight Hawk. Lighter than the others, my buddy dives the Super Hawk a bit to heavy for me. These BC's are on the high end and have some bells and whistles, but is very well laid out. Most of my diving is with a Transpac. I plan to get wings for a single tank soon. A lot of people have serious opinions about BC's and Regulators. For every good piece of scuba equipment. There is at least another half dozen out there. That are just as good.
I do recommend buying a BC with a built in weight system. That is if you hate weight belts as much as I do.
Although I dive dry nowadays. It had nothing to do with being cold. I dove in Monterey to Russian Gulch with a Seaquest Semi-Dry wet suit. It kept me very comfortable. I am getting old and in my 50's now. So my weight cycles. With a drysuit if you gain or lose 20 lbs. It is no problem. Plus I was able to afford a dry suit finally.
One last thought, there is some serious differences between Hawaii and California. There is a lot more to learn. Than what was taught you in Hawaii. Cold water, kelp and variable weather conditions is just a few things you need to become familiar with.
No matter what anyone tells you. Dive for Fun!