Beginner equipment recommendations?

[beeger]

Wow. Obviously Spearit is not going to win any awards for his communication skills. I *think* what he is trying to saying is that you should not take any one given approach at face value. A point with which I must admit I do agree. I basically don't agree with anything else in that email. Chadwick please don't be put off by that post. There are many people on this board that are happy to offer up more reasoned opinions.

Jasondbaker's post below is an excellent stating point. I'll think about your email and offer up some opinions a little later. But let me give you a little overall advice right now: keep it simple. All your gear should make perfect sense to you. If things seem overly complicated then find another way. When looking at or considering a piece of gear, ask yourself if it is capable of doing its job with the minimum amount of bulk/parts/size that is needed. Streamline. Everything from the fit of your exposure suit to the routing of your hoses should be trim and close to your body without restricting movement. Follow those 2 things are the rest should fall into line. Oh, and keep in mind the following, which is going to be a little harder for you as a new diver to think through (no offense, it's just a more complicated topic): your gear not only has to work "for you during the dive," but it also has to work for you during the dive when things turn bad or you experience some sort of problem/failure. Your gear also has to work for your buddy/team members when there is a problem/failure.