Our opinion, not professional advice. My Scuba Forum is written by recreational divers, not dive instructors, doctors or other dive professionals. Everything here is our personal opinion and general information. It is not dive training, medical advice or safety instruction. Always follow your training, your instructor, your dive operator's briefing and your doctor. Read the full disclaimer.
Forgetting a mask strap on shore is an annoyance. Forgetting it on a boat an hour from the dock can cost you the day's dives. A written scuba gear checklist removes the guesswork, and it makes packing for a trip much faster. Print this page or copy it into your phone, tick each item off as it goes in the bag, and check it again before the boat leaves.
The core scuba kit
These are the pieces every open water dive needs. Some you will own, some you will rent, but every one of them should be on the boat and working before you gear up.
- Mask: the most personal piece of gear. A mask that fits your face without the strap is the one to keep.
- Snorkel: handy on the surface while you wait for the boat or swim to the descent line.
- Fins: open-heel fins with boots for boat and shore diving, full-foot fins for warm water and boat diving only.
- Exposure protection: a wetsuit, semi-dry or drysuit matched to the water temperature (see below).
- BCD (buoyancy control device): holds the tank, lets you float on the surface and fine-tune buoyancy underwater.
- Regulator set: first stage, primary second stage, an alternate air source (octopus) for your buddy, and the low-pressure inflator hose.
- Pressure gauge (SPG): or an air-integrated computer, so you always know how much gas you have left.
- Dive computer: tracks depth, time and no-decompression limits, and warns you if you ascend too fast.
- Weights: a weight belt or integrated weight pockets, with enough weight to descend and to hold a safety stop with a near-empty tank.
- Cylinder: usually supplied by the dive operator, filled with air or enriched air nitrox if you are certified to use it.
Exposure protection by water temperature
You lose heat far faster in water than in air, even in the tropics, and a cold diver uses more air and makes worse decisions. These ranges are a common starting point; people who feel the cold, or who dive several times a day, often go one step warmer.
| Water temperature | Typical choice |
|---|---|
| Above about 28 °C (82 °F) | Rash guard, dive skin or 3 mm shorty |
| About 24 to 28 °C (75 to 82 °F) | 3 mm full wetsuit |
| About 20 to 24 °C (68 to 75 °F) | 5 mm full wetsuit, perhaps a hood |
| About 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F) | 7 mm wetsuit or semi-dry, hood, boots and gloves |
| Below about 15 °C (59 °F) | Drysuit with suitable undergarments (needs a drysuit course) |
Check the water temperature for the month you will travel, not the yearly average. Many popular warm-water destinations are several degrees cooler in winter, which is why a 3 mm suit that was perfect in August can feel thin in February.
Safety extras worth carrying
- Surface marker buoy (SMB) and reel or spool: lets the boat see you if you surface away from it. Many operators require one.
- Whistle or other signalling device: a whistle on the BCD is light and costs almost nothing.
- Cutting tool: a small line cutter or shears for fishing line, mounted where either hand can reach it.
- Dive light: essential at night, useful by day for looking into crevices and bringing back color at depth.
- Certification card and logbook: operators ask for proof of training, and some want to see recent dives.
The scuba diving safety tips guide explains how each of these fits into a safe dive, from the pre-dive check to the moment you surface.
A save-a-dive kit
Small failures end more dives than big ones. A zip bag with these items fixes most of them in a few minutes:
- Spare mask strap and fin strap
- Assorted O-rings and a little silicone grease
- Spare mouthpiece and cable ties
- Mask defog
- Spare batteries for your computer or light, if they are user-replaceable
- A small multi-tool
What to buy first, and what to rent
Most divers build their kit over several years. A sensible order is to buy the things that touch your body first, because fit matters most and rental versions vary the most:
- Mask, snorkel and fins. Cheap compared with the rest, and a well-fitting mask improves every single dive.
- Dive computer. You learn one interface, your dive history stays in one place, and you are not relying on a rental you have never used.
- Exposure suit and boots. Fit and hygiene make this the next most personal item.
- Regulator and BCD. The biggest spend. Worth buying once you dive regularly and know what style you like, and once you are ready to keep them serviced.
Renting the heavy items is completely normal, especially if you dive only on holidays and would otherwise pay to fly them. If you do rent, try the gear on before the boat leaves, and check that the regulator breathes easily and the BCD inflates and holds air.
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Looking after your gear
Rinse everything in fresh water after each diving day, dry it out of direct sun, and store it loosely rather than folded hard. Regulators are life-support equipment: follow the manufacturer's service interval, which for many models is about once a year or after a set number of dives. Cylinders get a visual inspection and pressure test on schedules set by local rules, which the fill station checks before filling.
Before each trip, run through this scuba gear checklist with the bag open, assemble the regulator on a tank if you can, and check your computer's battery. Ten minutes at home saves a ruined morning on the boat. Then read how to plan a dive trip for the packing and baggage side of travelling with gear.