Buying Gear | Clydebanksac

Buying Your Own Gear

As a BSAC Member you can obtain discounts from some Diving Equipment Retailers!!

A Beginners Guide to Buying your own Equipment

by Keith Waugh

The typical average cost of a complete set of Scuba Diving equipment in 2026 is approximately £2700. This includes a Dry Suit, Hood, Gloves, Thermal undersuit, Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Weight belt or Weight harness & Weights, Buoyancy Compensator Device, a Scuba Cylinder, Demand Valve Regulator & Air Contents Gauge, mid range Diving Computer and a Diving Knife and Torch.

What Equipment should I buy?

The golden rule is don't buy any equipment right away. It is important to buy the gear which is appropriate for you, so please ask other experienced divers, get to know what to look for, decide what you need and then make the investment.

The sport of SCUBA diving is expensive in terms of the equipment required to get underwater. Clydebank Sub Aqua Club has a selection of equipment for new members to hire, until they can afford to buy their own equipment.

When it comes to purchasing their own gear, new members often ask which are the most important items to be purchased. I hope that the information I offer below will be of benefit.

Mask, Snorkel, Fins:

These items are often referred to collectively as "basic equipment" and are relatively cheap. Having said that, a mask can cost around £40-£80, a snorkel around £20 and a pair of fins may cost over £100-£150.

The mask may have a clear or coloured silicone surround or skirt. The glass front port MUST be "tempered" safety glass. Most mask styles fit most people but it is essential that the mask fits comfortably and does not leak.

A snorkel should be a simple tube with a mouthpiece attached. It must not have any fancy valves on the top end. Unfortunately, snorkels often get lost, so you may need to buy a replacement. This is another good reason for keeping it simple and cheap!!

Fins come in 2 styles; an enclosed foot pocket fitting and an open foot pocket with heal strap fitting. The latter is probably the better fitting, especially when it comes to wearing your fins over dry suit boots. The fins should fit comfortably without crushing your foot or toes.

Dry Suits come in 3 different styles: the membrane dry suit, the compressed or crushed neoprene dry suit and the "standard" neoprene dry suit.

The membrane dry suit is a loose fitting suit usually constructed from tri-laminate materials of nylon/a rubber compound/nylon. The suit has thin latex membrane neck and wrist seals. It is important to realise that this suit only keeps you dry. Thermal protection is provided by "woolly bear" fleece type under garments.

Crushed/compressed neoprene dry suits. There are subtle differences between "crushed" and "compressed" neoprene dry suits but they are typically 1.5mm to 4mm thick neoprene suits. This thickness provides some thermal protection but "woolly bear" fleece type garments are still essential with this suit. Neck and wrist seals may be neoprene or latex membrane. These suits can be made to measure to show off your svelte form and tend to be tougher than membrane suits.

Standard Neoprene dry suits are approximately 7mm thick, can be quite bulky and generally do not require fleece thermal under garments, though you may need a "base layer". It may be necessary to carry additional lead weight to overcome the inherent buoyancy of these suits.

All suits will be fitted with either a rear shoulder zipper or cross chest zipper plus a suit inflation valve and either a manual air dump valve or "auto" dump valve. A neoprene hood and a suit bag are also usually provided. A pair of neoprene gloves will also be required to maintain bodily warmth, costing around £20-£100. The suit price range varies from £800 - £2500.

Thermal under garments. With a membrane or crushed/compressed neoprene dry suit you will also require a complete thermal undersuit, including thermal socks, to keep you warm in our chilly waters. Price range here is £100-£250

Demand Valve or Regulator: There have been enormous improvements in design of demand valves (D/V) over the last 50 years. Without doubt, this is the most important item of equipment you will buy. All modern demand valves are extremely reliable and robust.

A modern D/V consists of 2 parts: a 1st stage which connects to the diving cylinder pillar valve, and a 2nd stage held in the mouth, connected to the 1st stage via a hose. The 1st stage may be a balanced piston type or balanced diaphragm type. In cold Scottish winter waters, the balanced diaphragm type is the slightly better option. You should ask other experienced divers for advice. Ask the dive shops as well. Don't forget to include in your purchase an easily readable high pressure air contents gauge and hose. The range of demand valves is considerable and the prices range from around £500-£1200.

Having bought your Demand Valve you should check its condition before and after every dive. If hoses are damaged - replace them. Get it serviced regularly.

The BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) can provide an alternative source of buoyancy and holds your cylinder firmly in place on your back. If suitably equipped, it can also be an alternative source of air supply. The BCD can be used to adjust your buoyancy as you descend in the sea if you are diving wearing a wet suit. If you are using a dry suit, buoyancy adjustment is usually carried out on the dry suit. However, as part of your BSAC training you'll learn how to use both the dry suit and BCD to adjust buoyancy. The BCD is, in effect, a buoyancy back up device for dry suit divers and for this reason should be considered as an essential piece of equipment. The prices range from £250-£900.

A Diving Computer is perhaps next on your "to buy" list! Once again there are many different manufacturers, but they basically all do the same thing, namely, keep a constant check on your progressive Dive Profile, using the Buhlmann ZHL8 algorithm to work out how much nitrogen you have absorbed and therefore how much "no stop" time you have left and how much decompression you may have to carry out as you ascend. More sophisticated computers integrate with your gas supply and tell you how much time you have left for your dive. Some dive computers are about the size and shape of a wrist watch. As a consequence, the displayed information can be quite small. You should make sure that you can clearly read the display in dark Scottish waters!! If there is any doubt, buy a computer with a larger, clearer display.

Before using a Dive Computer you should have a clear understanding of gas absorption and the use of Decompression Tables. You should also understand exactly what information the Dive Computer is displaying and why.

Finally, proper dive planning is essential, particularly "repeat dives". Use the relevant information to work out a good plan for a safe dive and not just assume that the computer will sort it out!

Typical price range of Dive Computers is £300-£1600

Diving Cylinder: You might wonder why this item is not higher in the list as it is essential for scuba diving! Many diving clubs own cylinders, so you could borrow/hire a cylinder. Also, a scuba cylinder is not such a "personal" item as are so many other items of equipment.

Cylinders are available in many sizes: 7 litre, 10 litre, 12 litre and 15 litre. Also you have the choice of steel or aluminium and 232 bar or 300 bar working pressure. You may like the idea of twinning cylinders, for example, 2 x 10 litre cylinders joined with cylinder bands and a manifold for the pillar valves. This set up also gives you the opportunity to consider "redundancy", meaning you have 2 demand valves; one on each cylinder. With this method you have a "back up" air supply. The most popular cylinder is the single 12 litre steel cylinder of 232 bars.

A scuba cylinder is filled with air or nitrox to a high pressure of 232bars or 300bars, so cylinders must undergo certain tests every 2.5 years and have the details stamped on the cylinder, and a "test" certificate must also be issued, to make sure that it is safe. A cylinder bought from a reputable dive shop will present no problems. However, if you buy a second hand cylinder, always make sure the cylinder complies with the regulations and comes from a reputable source. If in any doubt, don't buy it.

Typical price of a 12 litres cylinder is £250-£300 including a cylinder boot.

Weight belt or harness: Even though you will have removed ALL the air from your BCD and as much air as possible from inside your dry suit, you will still not be able to get underwater, owing to your own buoyancy and the inherent buoyancy of some of your equipment. You will need sufficient additional lead weight on a weight belt or harness so that when you are fully submerged, just under the water, you can gently rise and fall merely by inhaling and exhaling.

Correct weighting and good buoyancy control are important techniques which you will be taught by your instructor. Suffice to say at the moment, you must never dive with too much weight on your weight belt or weight harness.

At the beginning of your dive NEVER compensate for too much lead weight by putting air in to your dry suit or BCD. Get out of the water and get rid of the excess weight. Complete a proper buoyancy check. Your Instructor will teach you this simple yet important procedure.

Weight belt or weight harness and weights roughly costing £100-£150.

Most other items of gear are not really essential, but more like "desirable". Once again I suggest speaking to other divers about their kit and also asking the dive shop. The list may consist of: A diving knife, a diving torch, compass, a delayed Surface marker buoy and reel, a kit box or bag. As your diving skills and knowledge increase, you will find yourself needing spares such as, a spare diving mask, spare fin straps, a repair kit, spare "o" rings, etc. The list and cost can go on and on!!!!!

Colour, Colour, Colour!!!
Finally in this list of kit to buy and in what order, I should mention colour!! Unfortunately a great deal of diving gear is predominantly BLACK. Logically, black is a disaster in the dark seas around Scotland (see the photo).

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Coastguard fit their staff and equipment out in bright colours. That should send a clear message from the maritime professionals!!

The Case for COLOUR!?

Please Support the RNLI- They've got our backs!

Equipment maintenance

All this lovely gear will have set you back £2500-£5000. It is very much an investment, so you need to keep it in good condition. After EVERY dive trip ALL the kit should be washed in FRESH water and dried away from direct sunlight. Carefully close the zipper on your dry suit, hang it upside down by the feet, if you can, and hose the suit down, paying attention to the air inlet valve and the dump valve. Open the zipper again and store, if you can, in a dark, well ventilated place in your house. Try to avoid storing the suit folded up.

With your Demand Valve make absolutely sure that you have dried any salt water in the dust cap, firmly secure the dust cap over the demand valve high pressure air inlet and then thoroughly rinse your demand valve in fresh water. DO NOT operate the 2nd stage purge button, or you might get water up the hose. Your Demand Valve hoses and "o" rings should be checked regularly for damage and leaks. If faulty, get the hoses changed and/or replace the "o" rings.

Your BCD should be thoroughly washed on the outside and periodically the inside should be rinsed as well. Again, allow to dry away from direct sunlight and store, if possible, inflated in a well ventilated dark area.

Your diving cylinders MUST NEVER be completely emptied. Always have at least 30-50bar left inside the cylinder. Regularly check the pillar valve for leaks and if there is a problem, get it serviced by a reputable local Dive Shop. In any case your cylinder(s) must be tested by a certified test agency every 2.5 years. This will usually be a local Dive Shop.

Where to buy your Diving Gear

Diving Equipment is expensive, £2500 - £5000, so obviously we want to spend wisely. Your first thought may be to head for "online" purchase. This is fine, but it doesn't exactly help your local Dive Shops. "So what!", you may say. But just think for a moment. At the local dive shop you can see the gear, try on the gear and ask the shop staff for advice. You can't do all that online.

When you want small accessories or spare bits and pieces urgently, the local Dive Shop can usually help out right away. So, please give the local Dive Shops a chance when you are buying the big items of dive gear. In my experience they will always do their best to match "online" prices.

One final thought and perhaps the most important reason for supporting the local Dive Shops. By law, your cylinders require a "Test" every 2.5 years. The local Dive Shops have trained staff to provide this important service. No local Dive Shop means no cylinder Test, means no diving!!!!

There are several Dive Shops in the Glasgow area. All of them can easily be found by online search or ask a Clydebank member.