If surfing is fighting against the power of the ocean, then scuba diving is exploring the mystery beneath it. Nowadays, scuba is becoming more and more popular. Many people regard diving as a sport for leisure entertainment. One of the greatest pleasures of scuba diving is to be able to open up a different world for ourselves. Now, the topic of this article is: what scuba gear do we need?

Diving is generally divided into two categories: snorkeling and scuba diving. Snorkeling refers to swimming on or through water with a breathing tube. The equipment needed by snorkelers includes diving goggles, frog shoes, breathing tubes and swimsuits. Scuba diving refers to the diving activities carried by divers with their own underwater respiratory system. So today we will tell you what the scuba diving essentials you will need to prepare. With such equipment, you can dive in a cool way. Scuba diving gear mainly includes a mask, a breathing tube, a diving suit, a gas cylinder, diving gloves, diving shoes, a BCD buoyancy control device, a regulator, a scuba gauge, diving fins and so on.

Scuba Mask

This is what divers have to wear. And the selected diving mask must be suitable for your own face, preventing water. The main components of a mask include transparent lenses, a skirt and a head strap. Some brands even design special masks for short-sighted and long-sighted diving enthusiasts. Contact lenses can be worn while diving.

There are two basic types of diving mask: half mask and full face mask. The half mask covers the eyes and nose while the full face mask covers eyes, nose and mouth. The most important thing when buying a scuba mask is to consider the compactness between the mask and the face. Make the mask as close as possible to your face.

Breathing Tube

The composition of a breathing tube is very simple: one tube and a mouth-piece. The body of the breathing tube is usually a semi-rigid plastic pipe. The lower part of the mouthpiece is made of silica gel. The requirement for a proper breathing tube is also to fit your face.

Diving Suit

When choosing a diving suit, we should look at its style and brand, but the most important thing is its practicability. Diving suits are divided into dive skins, wetsuits and dry suits. Dive skin, as its name implies, is to prevent the bite of jellyfish underwater. Another function of dive skin is sun protection. Wetsuits are more suitable for scuba beginners. The thickness of wetsuits is between 1mm and 5mm. The main function of wetsuits is cold-proof and thermal. Dry suits are waterproof and impermeable, which are more suitable for wearing in cold water. Together with a diving suit, you also need diving gloves and diving shoes. Their function is also to ensure that divers are warm, not exposed to the sun or bitten.

BCD Buoyancy Control Device

This is a matter of life and death. The BCD buoyancy control device can help divers keep balance in the water and adjust buoyancy by rising or falling. BCD can be divided into different styles: jacket-style BCD, back inflate BCD and hybrid BCD.

Diving Regulator

A scuba regulator is composed of a first stage, a demand valve, a spare respirator and a low pressure hose. Its function is to convert the high pressure air in the cylinder into normal pressure air. The first stage is attached to the cylinder, and the demand valve is connected to the respirator. The demand valve is also divided into yoke and din, the difference of which is whether there is an O-ring.

Scuba Gauge

The scuba gauge is a critical diving equipment to keep you safe underwater. The design of a scuba gauge is diverse. According to different functions, diving gauges can be divided into these types: diving computer, residual pressure meter, compass, thermometer and so on.

The submersible diving computer is a digital equipment used to check the diving time, cylinder allowance, water quality and safety limit. There are two categories in the market: wrist and console. Most wrist submersible computers cannot detect the air pressure in the cylinder. The console type is connected to the high-pressure outlet of the breathing regulator through a high-pressure hose, which can directly test the air pressure in the cylinder.

Residual pressure gauge is to monitor the air volume of the cylinder at any time. The accuracy of 0-scale varies with different residual gauges. On the scale, different colors (green, yellow, red) are used to warn the air volume reduction of the cylinder.

Diving Fins

Diving fins or flippers can be divided into two types: open-heel and full-foot. Full-foot fins are mostly used when diving.

Diving Cylinder

Gas cylinders are divided into ordinary cylinders and high oxygen cylinders. Ordinary cylinders can keep diving for about 10 meters and one hour. High oxygen cylinders can keep diving for longer because of their low nitrogen content. But it is not that high oxygen cylinder is the best; since its oxygen purity is high, there is a certain risk of poisoning. Beginners should pay more attention to this.