I Made This Mistake With My Scuba Gear... Twice

I first got certified when I was 17 in a class with my dad.

I grew up in Ocala, most people know it for horses and rolling hills, but underneath it all is the Florida Aquifer. Our well was only about 62 feet deep, and the water we drank every day was crystal clear, better than most bottled water.

Growing up in the 90s, I spent most of my time outside. I’d wander the woods around my neighborhood and eventually found a small cave I used to crawl around in. I called it “Lemonwood Cave.” Years later, I found out it had a different nickname, “Death Trap Cave”, because if you were inside during heavy rain, you could get trapped. Thankfully that never happened to me, but it definitely sparked something early, the idea of exploring places most people never see.

Since I was in Central Florida, I didn’t grow up going to the beach much. Instead, we spent time at the springs: Alexander, Silver Springs, Silver Glen. After I got certified, that’s where I wanted to be all the time. Places like Paradise Springs, about 10 minutes from my parents’ house, became regular spots for me. It’s a sinkhole that drops to around 100 feet, with a cave system that goes deeper.

That’s really where diving hooked me.

Paradise Springs in Ocala, FL

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The Mistake Most Divers Don’t Realize They’re Making

When people talk about buying scuba gear, the conversation usually goes one of two ways:

• Don’t buy cheap gear

• Or buy the “best” gear you can afford

But in my experience, that’s not the real problem.

The real mistake is this:

People end up stuck with gear that doesn’t actually work well for them; either because they rushed into it, or because they held onto it for too long.

I’ve done both.

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How It Started for Me

After I got certified, I started working at a local dive shop and began putting together my own setup.

I wasn’t thinking long-term. I wasn’t thinking about progression. I just wanted to get in the water.

So I pieced together gear that technically worked but it wasn’t really built around the type of diving I was interested in.

At the time, I didn’t think much of it.

But I was making things harder on myself than they needed to be, and I didn’t fully understand why.

Where That Leads (If You Don’t Catch It)

When your gear isn’t right for you, it doesn’t always fail in an obvious way.

It shows up as:

• Feeling slightly out of control in the water

• Having to work harder than you should

• Struggling with trim or buoyancy

• Finishing dives more fatigued than expected

A lot of divers assume that’s just part of learning. Sometimes it is. But sometimes it’s your gear working against you.

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The One Thing You Should Get Right Early: Your Mask

There’s not much gear I’d tell a new diver to obsess over, but your mask is one of them.

If your mask doesn’t fit, everything else becomes harder. I’ve seen more dives cut short or ruined because of a bad mask than anything else. And it’s almost always avoidable.

Don’t pick a mask because it looks good or because it’s expensive. Pick the one that fits your face.

Try it on without the strap. Inhale slightly through your nose. Make sure it seals naturally and doesn’t feel forced. If it doesn’t seal in the shop, it’s not going to seal underwater.

New masks come with a residue on the lenses from manufacturing. If you don’t remove it, your mask will fog constantly, no matter what you use. This is one of those small things that makes a big difference, especially for new divers.

A fogged mask doesn’t sound like a big deal until you’re underwater dealing with it the entire dive.

Don’t Assume Your First Mask Is “The One”

A lot of divers find something that works and never revisit it. But as you get more experience, you may realize something else fits better or feels more natural.

It’s okay to change things.

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Don’t Rush Into a Full Setup

One of the easiest ways to end up stuck with the wrong gear is trying to buy everything upfront.

You don’t know enough yet to make those decisions confidently, and that’s normal.

Start with:

• Mask

• Fins

• Exposure protection

Then build from there as you actually gain experience. Rushing this part is how people end up with gear they outgrow quickly, and then keep using anyway.

Gear Doesn’t Fail All at Once. It Drifts

This is something I didn’t understand early on. Gear rarely goes from “perfect” to “broken” overnight.

It drifts.

It becomes:

• Slightly less comfortable

• Slightly less efficient

• Slightly more work to use

  
  

And because it still “works,” people keep using it. That’s how you end up adapting to your gear instead of your gear supporting you.

Holding Onto Gear Too Long

Just because your gear still works doesn’t mean it’s still the right gear. I ran into this when I got back into diving after some time away. I tried to reuse a lot of my old setup from more than a decade ago. At the time, it seemed logical, if it worked before, it should still work now.

But diving, and gear, has changed.

There are better designs now. Better configurations. Better ways to set things up. I primarily dive sidemount, and that’s a style where small details matter a lot. It takes some dialing in to get it right.

When I jumped back in with my old setup, I could feel it immediately. The dive just didn’t feel right. My trim wasn’t where it should’ve been. Everything felt a little harder than it needed to be.

Nothing major, it just wasn’t enjoyable. And that was enough to tell me something needed to change.

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A Lesson I Learned Early (And Had to Learn Again)

I got into cave diving pretty early. I was 18 when I did my intro to cave class, I actually spent my 18th birthday in a cave.

At the time, I was all in.

But looking back, I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was. I was using gear that wasn’t ideal, my technique wasn’t where it needed to be, and I didn’t fully understand how everything worked together.

On one dive in the Devil’s system, not very far back, I had a moment that made me step back. Between a regulator that wasn’t performing well, inefficient technique, and just breathing way too hard, I ended up taking a CO₂ hit. It got my attention quickly.

Nothing serious happened, but it was enough to make me realize I needed to approach things differently. Not long after that, I drifted away from diving for a while.

What Changed When I Came Back

When I came back to diving almost a decade later, I slowed everything down. I stopped assuming I had things figured out.

I started:

• Asking questions

• Getting input from people with more experience

• Trying different setups

• Paying attention to what actually felt right underwater

  
  

I also stopped trying to force old gear to work just because I already had it. And once I approached it that way, everything improved.

Starting Over (On Purpose)

One of the bigger decisions I made when I got back into diving was to start my cave training over again. I was already cave certified. But after being out of the water for that long, I knew I wasn’t the same diver I was back then, and honestly, I probably wasn’t as solid as I thought I was even when I first did it.

So instead of trying to pick up where I left off, I went back to the beginning. Not because I had to but because it was the right way to do it.

I wanted to rebuild everything:

• Fundamentals

• Awareness

• Comfort in the water

• And how I was using my gear

And I’m glad I did.

Why That Matters

There’s a tendency in diving, and really anything, to not want to go backwards. But sometimes going back a step is exactly what moves you forward.

That reset gave me a much better foundation than I had before. And it made everything else, gear choices, trim, efficiency, fall into place a lot more naturally.

One More Mistake I Almost Made Again

Even after all of that, I still almost rushed it again.

I was excited to be back in the water, and with how easy it is to buy gear online now, I started ordering things quickly. At the same time, I was still trying to make parts of my old setup work.

And again, it didn’t feel right. The difference this time was I caught it early.

I stepped back, asked around, tried different setups, and paid attention to how other divers were configuring their gear. And I put my pride aside enough to admit I didn’t have everything dialed in.

After that, things started to fall into place.

What This Means for You

You don’t need to have everything figured out right away. But you do need to pay attention.

If something feels off, it probably is. If your gear is making things harder, it’s worth looking at.

And if you’re not sure, it’s okay to ask.

Diving should feel controlled, smooth, and enjoyable, not like you’re constantly compensating for your setup.

Final Thought

Most of the mistakes I made came down to the same thing:

I either rushed into decisions… or held onto them for too long.

If you take your time, pay attention to fit, and stay open to adjusting your setup as you learn, you’ll have a much better experience from the start.

If You’re Thinking About Getting Into Diving

If you’re in the Jacksonville area and you’re:

• Thinking about getting certified

• Trying to figure out what gear makes sense

• Or getting back into diving after some time off

We’re happy to help. Sometimes a quick conversation before you commit to training or equipment can save you a lot of frustration and wasted money.

Our goal is to help you get started the right way from the beginning.