7 Essential Equipment Items for Scuba Diving
Are you ready to explore new locations, experience the beauty of underwater worlds, and discover new seascapes? If you’re planning on getting into scuba diving but are unsure what gear you need, Oyster Diving have you covered. Here is a list of the essential dive equipment you need to start exploring the world’s oceans.
1. A High-Quality Diving Mask
Unfortunately, our eyes were not made to work perfectly underwater. Instead, to see perfectly without the problem of blurred vision or painful eyes, a diving mask is essential. This should be one of your top equipment priorities. After all, there is no point going diving if you can’t even see your incredible surroundings clearly.
Having a high-quality diving mask can make all the difference to your diving expedition. While renting diving masks is a possibility, buying a new one that perfectly fits and meets your needs is definitely best.
2. A Reliable Wetsuit
When it comes to diving and maintaining a comfortable temperature under the water for long periods of time, you’re going to want a dependable wetsuit. Typically made from neoprene rubber, wetsuits are effective at locking a thin layer of water alongside your skin, which acts as padding and maintains a comfortable body temperature while you explore under the water.
3. Fins to Get You Through the Water
The experience of diving is so much more enjoyable when you can move effortlessly through the water. Scuba fins help facilitate ease of movement and help you move through the water with more speed and agility than you would otherwise have managed. This is vital for an exciting and enjoyable diving trip as it helps you to explore and slowly reduce energy, rather than tiring yourself out.
Efficiency and comfort are vital when it comes to choosing a pair of high-quality fins. So, make sure you do your research before splashing your cash.
4. Depth Gauge, Submersible Pressure Gauge, & Compass
Some of the most essential pieces of dive equipment are a depth gauge, submersible pressure gauge, and a compass. The depth gauge records how deep you are travelling on your dive, the submersible pressure gauge displays the amount of gas remaining in your scuba tank, helping you monitor your supply, and a compass helps you know where you are – even when there’s low visibility.
When purchasing this equipment, you can choose either analogue or digital forms, it depends on your preferences. Alternatively, you can purchase a 3-gauge instrument which combines all three pieces in one device – ideal if you’re prone to losing or forgetting things!
5. Tank Bangers for Communication
Maybe you’ve heard of these or maybe you haven’t, but tank bangers are an essential piece of dive gear. These hard materials on elastic bands are usually wrapped around a diver’s cylinder and can be used by snapping the hard material against your tank to get another divers attention. This is ideal if you need to warn someone of a dangerous predator or some other emergency and could very well save your life.
6. Diving Cylinder
If you’re a diver, it goes without saying that diving cylinders are nothing short of essential for any diving expedition. Diving cylinders are your main source of oxygen and provide you with vital oxygen while you’re exploring the depths. Depending on your experience and the length of your dive, among other things, the size of your cylinder may vary. So, ensure you carry out the appropriate research to choose the appropriate cylinder for your dive requirements.
7. Quality Diving Footwear
‘Diving footwear’ may seem like a strange term, but this covers a range of quality accessories that keep your feet safe and comfortable at all times. After all, there are so many jagged rocks, coral, and other hard surfaces in reefs and on the ocean floor that you can’t simply jump in wearing any old footwear. So, do your research and ensure you find some quality diving footwear to protect your feet throughout your dive.
What’s on Your List?
As you may have noticed, this list only covers the essentials – there are so many components to a successful dive and every diver is different. I hope this list has been helpful and has given you a good idea of the essential items that will help keep you comfortable and safe so that you can enjoy your dive to the fullest.