SCUBA Diving: The Advanced Shopping Experience (Part II - B!)

Dive Computers
Dive computers collect information and help divers manage their bottom time. They can increase your bottom time by better tracking how long you spend at each depth, and using them is often recommended, especially when breathing Nitrox. Dive computers are covered in continuing-education classes through the dive-certification agencies. Expect to pay: $300 to $1250.

Tanks
Cylinders made of pressed steel or aluminum are used to carry air underwater. Tanks have differing sizes and capacities, and some are designed for higher pressure, permitting more air in a smaller space. Since tanks contain flammable gas under pressure, they must be inspected regularly for damage and must be transported with care. Even if you buy your own tanks for regular diving accessed by car, you'll almost certainly want to leave them home when you're traveling by plane. Steel tanks cost about twice as much as aluminum tanks. Expect to pay: $150 (aluminum) to $400 (steel).

Cameras, Lights, and Knives
Depending on the kind of diving you wish to do, you may never need these items. Then again, if your tastes turn to dense kelp forests, distant adventuring, night diving, or photography, they may be essential purchases.

Do I want Nitrox?
Nitrox, or "enriched air nitrox" (EAN), is a specialized breathing gas used to extend underwater times and reduce surface intervals between dives. It is safest and most effective between about 60 and about 110 feet, and special care must be taken when using it outside those limits. It is, of course, more expensive and less available than air and requires more monitoring and additional steps when planning a dive.

Nitrox's main benefit comes from reducing decompression sickness, which even recreational divers often experience in mild forms. But divers must take the time to learn to use it safely. Nitrox safety is increased by using a dive computer that is programmed for nitrox calculations, and both dive-computer use and nitrox-safety classes are available from SSI and NAUI.

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 publishers of Scuba Diving magazine, has a detailed buyer's guide, updated regularly, with far more information than can be included here. Check it out!

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