Just incase anyone is still wondering shopping for scuba gear, below find some point to get you started.

1. For the truly recreational diver and still unsure about your diving frequency, then just rent first.

2. For those who will go diving frequently, then getting your own gear is a must. Knowing exactly how your gear works and how it is rigged up and where things are "normally" would be the safest way to go.

3. For those inspiring to go tec-diving; do take a look at GUE and DIR. (also if you are looking at double tank)
Do a bit of reading may save you some nickle when you purchase your gear.

GUE: http://www.globalunderwaterexplorers.org/
DIR: http://dir-diver.com/en/

Dir is a SOP established by this group of renowned divers speciallizing in cave diving. Their standards has quickly become applicable in every aspect of diving including recreational worldwide. Knowing how their "standard" DIR compliant rig is done, you may want to build your rig accordingly to avoid changing, trading out your gear and lose your nickle which could be better used for diving trips!... and more BEER!

4. If you are interested in going side-mounting then log your dives and google for "razor side mounting."

5. If very uninterested in tec or advanced diving but want to have own gear then get Vest type BC's, combo mares/cressi regulators,octos,dive consoles.

6. For backplate users: Should you think that Scubapro, Dive Rite, Halcyon, Agir Brokk, Oxycheq, DSS are too mainstream, you can try a custom type like the one I use (its a my DIY project ) http://forum.scubatoys.com/diy-68/sup-son-...ackplate-39384/

Now for the list of shopping advice:

1. Although sealantis is the official dealer of Scubapro, you may still find other retailers selling for cheaper. I recently helped a friend to buy a pair of Jetfin (for $6**.00) from Scubasymphony as compared to the quote we got from sealantis (RM7***.00)

2. Generally speaking, gear you can get from Singapore most probably be cheaper. But caveat is,
You may be subject to Tax/Duty.
You may not get immediate tec/customer service support or maintenance support. (Diving gear maintenance is very important)

3. For your Backplate + harnesses I'd advice you can get from anyone, anywhere as long as u already know what you are buying (by simply diving into forums and visiting stores to hear their biased reviews and advices) The backplate and harness requires very minimal maintenance and straight forward use and rarely has any defects.

4. For your BC, Regulator, Octo, Dive comps/Console: You may want local dive shop support. They can teach you how to use, do maintenance and servicing as well.

5. Fins/Masks/Snorkle and other gadgets like SMB, Dive Horn, Noise maker accessories etc.: You can get from anyone anywhere, even ebay if it is cheap BUT AS LONG as you KNOW what you want. Like masks and fins, sizing and fitting. If you already tried out from a friend or (at a store), then you should know what you want.

6. One more thing, if you are not in a hurry, can always wait until MIDE, which normally is in July/August. Malaysia International Dive Expo. or The one in Singapore ADEX (Asia Dive Expo). There is the place you can score good price (normally firesale and even mroe so on the last day of expo) and sound advice (provided you go there on the first day and morning/workhours when it is not so busy, you can ask a ton of questions with the dealers).

here are some links and resources:

in Malaysia
rec n tec : http://www.recntec.com/ (these folks are brand whores hahaha, but i heard their business a bit slow nowadays.)
scubasymphony: http://scubasymphony.com/shop/ (one of the reliable place)
scubaholics anonymous: http://www.scubaholicsanonymous.com/ (they dont post prices online, so call in)
Scubatexpro: http://www.scubatexpro.com/ (one of the best place to shop for accessories and "purely" recreational dive gear)
like Fin spring straps for scubapro jetfins. halcyon and scubapro straps costs 150-250. Scubatexpro sells for (30 per piece).

In Singapore
Diveshop @ Sg: http://www.diveshop-sg.com/ (they dont post prices online, but they are one of the best)
Scubatrek: http://www.scubatrek.net/index.php (good prices as well)

Of course you can just google "Dive Shop Malaysia" "Scuba Shop Malaysia" "Dive Shop SG" "Scuba Shop SG" for a huge list of shops but Those above is ones i have asks for quotes on certain items and I found them to be one of most competitive.

There are international sellers as well, but shipping as you know, to malaysia, is gonna cost you an arm. so I wont even bother to list them here.

to find our more about prices and gear on scuba;

http://scubasg.com/index.php
http://www.scubaboard.com
http://forum.scubatoys.com
http://www.divematrix.com
http://www.divematrix.com/forum.php

Those are the ones i frequent and find tons of info, There are other specialty forums like spearfishing, cavedivers, etc but I do not use them, and Im guessing that 98% of the divers in Malaysia wont be interested either curious maybe, interested not really.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Anthony

---

You are not hardcore enough

Both cases, had the buddy been a bit more careful, it would've been a very different story. Yes, I am sure that in some cases, both may be at risk, but that is how the buddy system works. This is the reality check for you being a dive buddy as well; if your buddy gets pulled out by current, honestly, what will be your decision. My instructor actually gave me an honest answer as well; says "It all depends on how close you are to your buddy," which made me think. Now, I only dive with "real" dive buddies unless I am 110% sure the dive can be a solo dive like diving house reefs.

Should both divers be advanced divers, then it may be the case of complacency. Divers who logged 100+ dives will often overlook certain things like leaving his buddy to stay down longer or peeling away. This is why dive planning must also be carried out every dive. Sometimes 2 divers, 1 shoots the camera and the other waits, the dive plan must indicate how long to stay on 1 location so that both has a common understanding. Otherwise the guy waiting 20minutes to get a good angle of a nudibranch while his bored buddy start wandering off somewhere else.

This quick certification of OW diving needs to focus on continuous learning. Some newly certified divers fall into the category of Russian Diver mentality. With 5 dives under the belt, they can get overly confident sometimes.

---Diving at Pulau Pualau Sembilan---

If March cant come sooner, Pulau Pulau Sembilan is a good place to get your compressed air fix and also to brush up some skills. Not to put it in a negative light, some days, poor vis (about 8-10ft), currents, urchins etc. So that is a good place to start brushing up some buoyancy skills.

If you do not mind fish hunters (they will be hunting on different dive location, you are only going to share the boat with them), you can find a 1-day trip there for 3dives at the cost of RM250 ish. Some people shun away from any thing to do with spearfishermen, but I only have good things to say about them when I dived with them. Their boatman is insanely experienced, knowing the all the dive sites around there very well.

I am going to a short Jarak LOB , which is slightly further away from the P9s on the first weekend of 2013. The trip may have 1 or 2 spots left and it is only RM700. Food on the Kaleebso is always good



I am NOT a representative of scubaventure. Below is just for your information.

http://www.scubaventure.com.my
Scubaventure is located in Ipoh Garden East.
They organize P9 trips very often. They are also in the midst of organizing a trip to Pulau Weh as well.
They also do certification under SSI. I did my certification for RM700. Not sure if they have raised the rates or not.


---Somebody mentioned Custom Backplates---

With regards to a few posts (pg 88-90ish) on the subject of Custom Backplates; espcially Stainless Steel backplates, I'll share my experience here as well.

For most of it is posted here already:
http://forum.scubatoys.com/diy-68/sup-son-...ackplate-39384/

I have done a decent amount of research on the subject of backplate and I am in the process of making an aluminum dogbone with mini sta backplate for travel. Mind you, the stainless steel BP is about 2.7kg, add the full STA is about 3.1kg

So, at the 4th dive of the day, your backplate, wing, torches, camera, smb, first & second stage, octo... aka the rig, can be a struggle to lift out of the 3rd dive tank and mount it on your 4th dive tank lolz... unless you have other people to do it for you.

So, I am making the dogbone for a travel set.

For a small sized body frame, basically the mid section of the backplate can be reduced by 1.5" to 2.5" Anything more than that, the width has to be reduced as well... But that is if we are talking about a person being shorter than 5ft and lighter than 40kg.

Stainless steel are a b!tch to work with. You can do all the laser cutting etc, but unless the CNC can run out the bevels, you would end up having to sand paper the slots to avoid scuffing your webbing. I learned it the hard way, when I chose Laser Cut over CNC. Unless you own a machining workshop, RM500 for a stainless steel back plate sounds about right. I made mine at RM150.00 material & laser cutting. Then it took a 2 day manual labour and a roll of sand paper to get the slots smoothed the way I want it.

Working with Aluminum though, would be much easier. I am 100% sure of that. I've already done up some camera trays with Aluminum and they are a piece of cake. I could literally smooth out the sharp edged by rubbing it against your jeans... Yea i tried it and it works.

Attach, find the drawings for you to start with and modify to your needs. The links posted above will explain how the design went about. the HUW H-Plate is nice, but bending it is going to be difficult unless you have access to a higher-teched braker. I had the old manual ones which I figured not only its hard to bend it, but I don't really want an integrated STA. I'll have normal BP and made an STA for it so that it can fit all my buddy's wing systems. I made a set of 5 for my group of diving buddy group (SSD).

** seems I cannot upload .dwf file here. I only attached a pdf file. If you can do cad, the dimensions on the pdf is more than enough to replicate the drawing. Otherwise, email me: anthony2211(at)gmail.com


cheers

--

This post has been edited by anthony2211: Dec 31 2012, 12:27 PM


Attached File(s)
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