Hoods, Gloves, and Booties
Hoods, gloves, and booties may not strictly be required where you plan to dive or snorkel, but some kind of hand and skin protection is always recommended. Coral cuts can sting like crazy and become infected easily. These items can require special fit considerations, too, particularly hoods, which can protect you from cold-water headaches if they cover enough of your forehead.
While most certification classes won't require you to buy a hood, they will often require you to buy your own gloves and booties. Insulation and ease in putting on and taking off your fins are the primary concerns with booties, and insulation and dexterity are the primary concerns with gloves, of course. So booties are often bought in a thicker neoprene than the wetsuit, where gloves might be bought in a thinner neoprene, perhaps with some other form of insulation (such as the "Titanium" product from Parkway Scuba).
Expect to pay: $15 to $100 for hoods; $20 to $50 for gloves; $30 to $100 for booties.
Gear Bags
A gear bag makes it easy to collect your gear and keep it from getting mixed up with others'. This can be especially important on boat dives, where gear space is limited. Some gear bags are drawstring mesh pouches with a reinforced bottom, and others are ready for the airplane's overhead compartment. Expect to pay: $80 to $175
Consider a "dry bag," too, for food, a change of clothes, and a towel. From small cylinders to larger duffel styles, dry bags may seem like a luxury -- until that choppy water from nowhere sloshes into the boat or your sodden mesh bag gets tossed onto your change of clothes in the car trunk. Expect to pay: $35 to $150
There are dozens of products out there, and fit or activity preference may mean the right choice for you is completely different from the right choice for your dive buddy. Rodale, the publisher of Scuba Diving magazine, has a detailed buyer's guide at http://scubadiving.com/gear/ with far more information than can be included here. Check it out!
Come back for the next installment, "The Advanced Shopping Experience (Part II - B)," for descriptions and price ranges of the gear you may get tired of renting.
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