Best Scuba Gear for Beginners
Reading Time: 11 minutes As a beginner diver you don’t need the latest, greatest piece of gear with all the bells and whistles. Something simple, and cost effective, will do the trick as you immerse yourself into the underwater sport. This is a list of the best scuba gear for beginners!
New divers are bombarded with sales pitches about which certification they should get next, where they need to go diving, and what gear they ought to buy. It’s an exciting time. And a stressful one too – especially when it comes to gear!
Which gear is right for you? How much money should you spend? What’s the best scuba gear for a beginner like yourself? All valid questions you might be asking.
And believe us, we’ve been there before too. We were new divers once with ZERO clue on what gear would work for newbies like us. It’s an intimidating process!
So after years of professional diving, and 100s of dives with students and new divers, we’ve compiled a handy list of the best scuba gear for beginners. Gear that’s cost effective. Gear that will withstand years of diving as you sink deeper into a life of scuba!
But first….
When Should You Buy Your Own Gear?
Are you even ready to buy your own scuba gear? It sounds silly but it’s a valid question. Ask yourself:
- How often am I diving?
- Do the costs of rentals exceed the cost of personal gear?
- How many dives per year would rationalize purchasing a full scuba kit?
It’s a tough calculation. And I’ll be honest, I don’t have the right answer for you. It’s different for every diver.
However, if you are diving at least a few times a year I do recommend purchasing a few personal items. These include:
Each one of these is so personalized that it’d significantly increase your experience simply by owning your own. Starting with those, you can go a long way before making the big purchases of:
- BCD
- Regulator, Octopus, and SPG
- All the necessary accessories!
And I won’t sugar coat it: scuba diving is expensive. Scuba gear is expensive. It’s a lot of money all the way around. But if you’re planning to fully immerse yourself into the sport, it’s totally worth it owning your own gear.
Best Scuba Gear for Beginner Divers
But that’s not to say you need to spend top dollar for functional, yet quality equipment. You certainly don’t. Middle of the road prices can equal some top of the line gear.
The rest of this article displays the pieces of equipment that are great for new divers.
NOTE: You’ll notice we’re bit of a brand snob (all scuba divers are). For whatever reason, when scuba divers get their first set of gear, they tend to stay with that brand from then on out.
Our brand of choice? Aqua Lung. I’ve never had an issue with my gear or my student’s Aqua Lung gear. They have this dive professional’s stamp of approval!
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Dive Mask
Your dive mask is the most personable piece of your scuba kit. If you’re only going to own one thing, this should be it.
A correct fit, sanitation, familiarity and comfort are just a few reasons to own a dive mask.
One of the first masks we owned was the Aqua Lung Favola. Its wide lens design fits faces of different shapes and sizes at a cost effective price.
Aqua Lung Favola
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Snorkel
One thing you shouldn’t spend too much money on is a snorkel. It’s literally a tube – one you’ll seldom use.
Although that’s not to say you won’t use it at all. Whether it be preserving air on the surface, emergency situations, or you end up snorkeling for a day.
The Aqua Lung Impulse 3 is designed with this in mind. The top splash guard limits water entering the top of tube while the flex bottom bends and twists to the curvature of your face.
Aqua Lung Impulse 3
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Fins
My first pair of fins were the Aqua Lung Express and I still use them to this day as a professional diver. They’re just so dang hardy and versatile.
I recommend an open-heel design which require booties to be worn. Why? They fit different shoe sizes more easily, keep your feet warm in cold water, and easily prevent blisters.
Aqua Lung Express Open Heel
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Buoyancy Compensator Device (BCD)
The Aqua Lung Pro HD is the best BCD for new divers. It’s a simple design, yet you’ll find its functionality will grow as you expand your skills.
With multiple D-rings, comfortable straps, accessory attachment site, and streamline design, this BCD will take you a long way into your diving career.
In fact, we use the Pro HD for all our students and new divers. It works well for just about any one.
Aqua Lung Pro HD
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Regulator
A great regulator at a fair price is Aqua Lung’s Calypso. I just don’t see the need to purchase anything more for a beginner diver.
It has everything you need with an auto-closure device to prevent flooding, stable medium pressure, and a strong frame with polycarbonate to prevent wear and tear.
The Calypso will last you a long time in all dive environments with proper care and maintenance.
Aqua Lung Calypso Regulator
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Octopus
Although you can pair any Octopus with your first and second stage, we tend to just go with the matching model.
The Aqua Lung Calypso Octopus works just as well for new divers as the Aqua Lung Calypso regulator. Just keep it simple.
Aqua Lung Calypso Octopus
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Submersible Pressure Gauge + Dive Computer
If you don’t want to break the bank on an SPG and separate computer, I highly recommend purchasing the i300c + SPG combo.
This was my first computer ever and it’s lasted me for years with no slow down in sight. Having your computer right on the SPG console is handy and a great way to start your dive career – everything is in one place.
Air pressure, computer, and an attachment site for a compass on the back – you can’t go wrong with this SPG.
SPG + i300c
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Dive Computer
It’s recommended to dive with two computers during scuba. Why? Just in case one fails, you have a back up and don’t have to end your dive.
The i200 Wrist Computer is a great second computer, if you got the cash. It’s sporty enough to be worn as a wrist watch and small enough to not get too dinged up during every day life.
If you’re thinking you’ll be using just one computer for now, we recommend going with the i300c above to start. You can always add this computer some other day.
Aqua Lung i200 Wrist Computer
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Wetsuit
What wetsuit you purchase is dependent on the type of environment you’re diving in.
The thicker the wetsuit, the warmer you’ll be. Are you diving in cold water environments? A 7mm wetsuit might be necessary.
Or are you diving in the tropical Caribbean waters? Then you might not need more than a 3mm or a 5mm for the winter months.
Us? We don’t use anything more than a 3mm – you can’t catch me in water colder than 75 degrees.
KEEP IN MIND: Differences do exist between a men’s and women’s wetsuit, though. So be mindful when you’re purchasing!
Aqua Lung 3mm Women’s Wetsuit
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Aqua Lung 3mm Men’s Wetsuit
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Best Scuba Diving Accessories for Beginners
SMB
Line and Reel
Gloves
Gear Clips
Compass
Dive Booties
Gear Bag
Tank Banger
Flashlight
READ MORE: Complete List of Essential Scuba Diving Accessories
Underwater Photography for New Divers
We don’t recommend jumping into the fancy dive cameras quite yet – that’s an entire blog post in itself we haven’t gotten to. However, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use, affordable, and versatile camera for scuba diving, I can’t recommend GoPro nearly enough.
You can do anything with it, and in my opinion, we get better pictures with this than my friend’s with nice dive cameras (I may be biased, though). If you’re a new diver, it’s the perfect camera to start with some underwater photography/video!
GoPro Hero9
Read More About GoPro and Scuba Diving
- 7 Best GoPro Accessories for Scuba Diving
- What’s the Best GoPro Mount for Scuba Diving?
- 7 Tips to Prevent Losing Your GoPro While Scuba Diving
- Gear List: Our GoPro Setup for Scuba Diving
Best Scuba Gear for Beginners
When looking for the best scuba gear as a beginner, remember these few last second tips before you go:
- The most expensive gear does not mean it’s the best gear.
- Affordable equipment is just as functional as the most expensive.
- Keep it simple. You don’t need all the bells and whistles starting out.
- Accumulate a few pieces of equipment first like fins, mask, snorkel before purchasing the pricier gear like a BCD and regulator.
- A GoPro is a great intro into underwater photography.
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Read More Scuba Diving Tips
We hope you enjoyed our post the best scuba gear for beginners. Hopefully you’ll find it useful on your next adventure! Here are a few more ocean-loving articles we think you should read next:
- A Scuba Diver’s Guide to Tipping (How to Tip Your Dive Crew Accordingly)
- 13 Tips for New Scuba Divers on Your First Boat Dive
- 17 Useful Tips for Better Underwater GoPro Videos – Scuba Diving
- How to Equalize While Scuba Diving
Which scuba gear did you use as a new diver? Any recommendations on scuba gear for beginners? Let us know in a comment below!
