Choosing Your Scuba Diving Equipment
By Carl Walker
Tip!
It's easy to think that scuba diving is just about going underwater
and enjoying the fish. For most people who scuba dive on an ongoing
basis, there's a lot more to it than that.
Before taking up scuba diving as a
recreational sport, it is important that you get yourself the necessary
scuba equipment and gear. There are many options available but if you're
a beginner, it's best to start from the basics such as the mask, fins,
snorkel, and weight belt, then move on to advanced sets later.
The Basics:
The diving mask allows you to see
underwater through the glass plate in front. Most diving masks are
constructed in such a way that a user can breathe out into the mask.
This prevents the "squeeze" during the descent caused by pressure.
Choose a mask that properly fits your face and forms a seal. Most scuba
diving masks come with a rubber or silicone "skirt" that creates a
watertight seal with the diver's face.
Tip!
You can scuba dive in most places where the water is sufficiently
deep. So you can choose from the ocean, lakes, mines, rivers, caves
and anywhere else appropriate.
There are several types of diving masks
such as full face diving masks that allow underwater verbal
communication, diving helmets using surface supplied diving equipment
etc. Prescription masks are also available for people who wear
prescription glasses.
The Fins allow you to move freely
underwater and should perfectly fit the feet. It should neither be too
tight nor too loose which can hamper swimming capabilities, be very
uncomfortable and even dangerous while taking a dive. The snorkel lets
you breathe at the surface without raising your head from the water, and
should be no lesser than 30 cms in length. The weight belt helps you
maintain buoyancy so you should consider getting one if you're a
beginner.
Diving suits like Wetsuits and Drysuits
provide thermal insulation and prevent complications such as
hypothermia. Remember that water conducts heat 25 times faster than air
from the body. So, choose a suit depending on how warm or cold your
diving water is going to be.
Scuba Sets:
There are two main types of scuba sets
- open-circuit and closed-circuit.
Most scuba divers use standard air -
21% Oxygen, 79% Nitrogen - for their open-circuit scuba sets, which is
much more cost-effective than using mixtures such as heliox and trimix.
The open-circuit scuba set (also known as Aqualung) itself is quite
simple so is also cheaper and more popular than other types. Basically,
the user breathes in from the set and out to waste, with the gas
cylinder worn on the back. There are 2- and 3 backpack cylinders
open-circuit scuba sets available.
Closed-circuit scuba sets use
rebreathers. In this system, exhaled air is reprocessed by the
rebreather to make it fit for re-inhalation. This can be very economical
for people who need to take long dives. The three types of rebreathers
include oxygen, semi-closed circuit and fully-closed circuit rebreathers.
Accessories you should consider:
Regulator and Buoyancy Compensator (BC)
- The regulator, which carries the air from your cylinder, should be
equipped with a gauge and second mouthpiece. The Buoyancy Compensator,
such as such as a back-mounted wing or stabilizer jacket, is crucial for
neutral buoyancy to control depth.
Dive watch: Electronics like a dive
watch comes in quite handy when measuring your time and depth
underwater. A dive computer is also available for the same purpose which
is more accurate but more expensive.
If you plan to really move head with
your scuba diving adventure, consider getting other useful accessories
such as underwater light, a surface marker-buoy (SMB), a knife, and a
compass etc. Experienced divers, Scuba Dive centers, websites,
magazines, etc will all be able to assist you when searching for the
right scuba diving equipment and accessories.
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