Scuba Gear

What Gear Do I Need to Dive?

Choosing and using your gear is part of the fun of diving. The Scuba Shop will help you find the right equipment. Each piece of equipment performs a different function so that collectively, it adapts you to the underwater world. Read below to learn more about the standard equipment required for all recreational diving.

As a minimum, you want your own mask, boots, fins and snorkel when you start diving. These have a personal fit, and we will help you choose ones that have the fit and features best suited to you. It’s recommended that you invest in your equipment when you start your course because:

you’re more comfortable learning to dive using gear you’ve chosen
you’re more comfortable using gear fitted for you
divers who own their own gear dive more
having your own gear is part of the fun of diving

Does the Environment Affect What Kind of Gear I Need?

Tropical Environments:

If you plan on diving in fairly warm water (temperatures above 81°F)

Temperate Environments:

If you plan on diving in fairly cool water (temperatures between 60°F to 81°F). In warmer water, a temperate diver may choose to omit a hood, for example, depending on the planned dive time.

Cold Environments:

If you plan on diving in cold water (below 60°F).

How do I know what the best gear is?

There is no best gear. But, there is the best gear for you. Scuba equipment comes in a wonderful variety that accommodates a broad range of needs, interests and sizes.

The professionals at The Scuba Shop are trained to help you find gear that best matches your preferences, fit and budget. We can get you set with the right stuff, plus we provide service and support for years of enjoyable and dependable use.

Standard Scuba Diving Gear

	Mask The purpose of a dive mask is to allow you to see underwater. The reason is that light behaves differently in water than in air, and your eyes focus according to how light behaves in air. That’s why water makes everything blurry. The mask creates an air space where your eyes can focus.
	Fins The purpose of fins is to provide a large surface area so your leg muscles can move you through the water.
	Snorkel The purpose of a snorkel allows you to rest or swim with your face in the water on the surface without wasting tank air. When you’re skin diving or snorkeling, the snorkel permits you to view the underwater world continuously, without having to lift up your head for a breath.
	Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) The BCD is an expandable bladder that you inflate or deflate to regulate your buoyancy. There are two basic BCD styles: back-mounted style and jacket-style.
	Regulator Your regulator makes it possible to use the air in the scuba tank. It reduces the scuba cylinder’s high pressure air to match the surrounding water pressure, and it delivers air only on demand, when you inhale. It regulates the air flow.
	Scuba Cylinder and Valves The scuba cylinder and valves work together. The steel or aluminum container is used to store high-pressure air so you have something to breathe underwater. The valve is used to control air flow from the cylinder.
	Exposure Suit Wetsuits are used by scuba divers to maintain body temperature and to provide skin protection.
	Alternate Air Source Alternate air sources come in three basic configurations. Regardless of the type, they are used for an out-of-air emergency situation by sharing them with your dive buddy.
	Compass A compass helps you know where you are and where you’re going. A dive compass will be liquid filled to make it pressure resistant and to help stabilized the compass needle.
	Dive Computer Dive computers are by far the most common dive instruments and have become standard equipment. Your computer combines your depth gauge, timer and sometimes your submersible Pressure Gauge (SPG) into a single instrument. Your dive computer applies depth and time information to a decompression model to keep track of nitrogen that dissolves into your body during a dive and in doing so, constantly tells you the time you have remaining.