Scuba gear guides, organised by what you need.

How we recommend

Our picks are categories of gear, such as dive masks, open-heel fins or surface marker buoys, never particular models or brands. Each pick says who it suits and what to check before buying. We do not publish hands-on reviews of products we have not tested, and we do not rank individual products.

We do not quote or compare prices. The buttons take you to current listings so you can compare for yourself. Product links are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no cost to you; that never decides which categories we include.

Training comes before gear

Scuba is learned in the water with an instructor, and the course decides what you use and when. PADI's blog (2016) says owning gear is not usually necessary to start diving or to join trips, although on liveaboards and in remote areas a diver may need at least a mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit of their own. Why certification matters and getting started cover that first step.

Some kit is life-support equipment: the regulator, the buoyancy compensator (BCD) and the dive computer. For these guides we follow three rules:

• Your training and your instructor come first. How to set up, check and use a regulator, BCD or computer is taught on a course, not on a web page.
• Regulator servicing is for trained technicians. PADI (2015) says a regulator with an internal problem should go to a certified technician, and DAN Europe (2022) says makers usually require servicing by authorised dealers or trained technicians with approved parts.
• A marking is not a safety promise. We never say a product is certified or safe. Where a product carries a marking, such as EN 250 on a regulator, we explain what the body that defines it says it means. DAN Europe (2022) stresses that a CE marking confirms only that minimum requirements were met.

Where to start

• New to diving? Read the beginner gear guide first. It covers personal kit from mask to wetsuit, what PADI says about renting, and what can wait.
• Mask, snorkel and fins? See masks and fins. PADI calls fit the deciding factor for a mask.
• Staying warm? The wetsuit guide covers thickness, styles, hoods and gloves, and why a dry suit needs its own training.
• Life-support gear? See BCDs, regulators and dive computers, each with the standard that applies and what it does and does not cover.
• Being seen? The lights and SMBs guide covers primary and backup lights, surface marker buoys and audible and visual signals.
• Flying to dive? The travel gear guide covers bags and what aviation and security bodies say about cylinders and lithium batteries.
• Buying for a diver? The gift guide sticks to items that need little or no fitting and are not life-support equipment.

How we handle claims

Training agencies, standards catalogues and diving medicine bodies are our primary sources. Where a maker or retailer describes its own products, we label it as a claim. Where sources disagree, as they do on how a wetsuit keeps you warm, on wetsuit thickness for a given water temperature and on regulator service intervals, we give each version and who says it. Standards are named with their edition, such as EN 250:2014 for regulators and EN 13319:2000 for depth gauges, because standards are revised from one edition to the next. Rules and recommendations are summarised as of October 2026; the current text, course materials and the instructor take precedence over this summary.