Scuba Equipment List
I have finally completed my equipment collection. Here are the details below.BC: Sea-Quest Balance (back inflating). Overall, I’m pleased with this BC. The quality and construction is superb. The back inflation makes the BC compact, non-intrusive when diving, and great for traveling. On the surface however, it takes effort to keep your face out of the water. For traveling, I would buy the Balance as a second BC. For general use and as a primary BC, I would recommend the Sea-Quest Pro Unlimited.
Regulators: Scubapro MK20UL first stage, S-600 primary, and R380 octopus. These are great regulators. I do not think the MK20UL aluminum regulator is worth the extra expense over the MK20. The aluminum UL is more fragile and than the MK20 brass regulator and requires a special coating for corrosion resistance. The UL version does weigh less, but you need ballast anyway so it doesn’t help much.
Computer: Suunto Cobra. Simply the best. No complaints whatsoever. Highly recommended due to air integration and extreme flexibility. I’ve recently built my own wide voltage (Palm-compatible) interface so that I can connect a PC or Palm to my Suunto to download the stored dive history data. More information on my DIY interface is available here.
Wetsuit: Scubapro S-Tek 5.0 mm with Silverskin lining, Scubapro 0.5 mm steamer. These are great wetsuits. The Silverskin makes entry and exit much easier. These are lower-priced than the Henderson Gold Core and, in my opinion, have a much more pleasing appearance.
Fins: US Divers Blades. Very efficient fins. A bit to stiff possibly, causing some ankle and upper-foot fatigue. I’d like to try some of the new “flexible fins” that may help this problem. I don’t the new fin will offer a substantial advantage in efficiency, although the manufacturers would claim otherwise.
Tank: 80 cubic foot tank in brushed aluminum. Fairly standard; I don’t remember the brand off the top of my head.
Dive Trips
I need to publish a complete listing of my log book and will do so whenever I finally build my on PC serial interface for my Suunto Cobra. Here is a very brief summary of places I’ve dived:
- Dale Hollow lake in Kentucky
- Various Florida Fresh Water Springs (including Vortex Springs, Devil’s Elbow?, Gennie Springs, and several others)
- Key Largo, Florida
- Hidden paradise Quarry in Indiana
- Lagrange Quarry in Kentucky
- Blue Springs Quarry in Indiana
- St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Manatee exhibit, Cincinnati Zoo