Cold Water Dive Gear: A Shopping List for New Divers

Last Updated on April 30, 2025 by Candice Landau

If you’re new to the diving world or maybe even just the idea of cold water scuba diving, this graphic should give you an idea of how you can make this a lifestyle, rather than just something you do every now and then on holiday. By purchasing your own dive gear you will not only be able to dive more (and have the desire to dive cold water) but also to dive more safely.

The information below is not intended to recommend any particular brand of scuba gear, but rather, the equipment essentials needed for cold water diving. Where I have chosen one type of scuba fin over another, simply bears reference to the gear I use, or that I know and not the cold water diving gear that is necessarily right for you.

>> Related Reading: My Current Dive Gear (And Why I Dive It)

I also recommend learning more about the opportunities that scuba diving opens up. No doubt you will purchase more gear as you progress, but there’s no harm in getting a few of the key pieces right from the start, especially if you know what “track” you want to head down. Are you a dry caver looking to become a serious cave diver? Well you may want to speak to other cave divers and do your research. If technical diving sounds like a thing you’d eventually like to try, do the same—I never learned as much as when I spoke to people in my field of interest. Bear in mind, however, that everyone has their personal preferences. If you like something different than the rest, that’s just fine!

When I started diving I had no idea what gear to buy. My dive shop was good enough to recommend and set me up with cold water recreational gear that lasted many year. Substitutions I’ve made, or additional gear I’ve purchased has largely been done as a result of my expanding interests in diving and new gear innovations—so while I may own more fins than I probably need, each of them has their place!

>> Related Reading: How Much Does Scuba Gear Cost?

This guide to buying cold water dive gear is broken into sections. It mirrors how I purchased my own gear, but is not necessarily an order you need to follow. It simply helped me budget. I purchased my gear over the course of a few months, slowly buying what I most needed and then renting the rest from my dive shop. This is a good approach if you’re looking to buy slightly more expensive or specific gear. It’s also a great way to test out different gear, especially if your shop is open to requests.

First, consider your goals

Before you start purchasing dive gear, consider your goals. A recreational tropical diver will have different requirements from a science diver or technical diver. If one type of gear is more expensive than the other, purchase it slowly, in stages. That way you can get exactly what you desire. And, if you don’t know what you want, make a good all-around decision. Buy things that might be useful to both recreational and technical diving like a backplate and wing rather than a wraparound BCD.

Your local dive shop is a good source for asking questions.

>> Related Reading: The Complete Guide to Cold Water Diving by a Cold Water Diver, Not an AI Bot

1. Essential gear items for cold water diving

Fins, mask, snorkel. Many dive shops require you purchase these when you learn to dive. It’s a good idea to buy these from a dive shop directly so they can fit you for them. Amazon is a bad place to buy gear until you know what you’re doing. Support your dive shop wear possible and keep Amazon purchases to things that aren’t easy to buy in a dive shop. And no, this is not my PADI training talking, or any affiliation I have with a shop (I don’t anymore), it’s common sense: I want my dive shop to stay in business, ergo I support them.

>> Related Reading: Gear Review: OMS Slipstream Fin

Outside of fins, mask and snorkel, you’ll also want to purchase safety devices including an SMB and spool, a tank marker light for night diving, a flashlight and backup flashlight and a cutting device. You don’t need to buy a crazy Indiana Jones style knife. Sea Snips or a trilobite cutting device will do. If you do buy a knife, mount it to your harness webbing or BCD. Knives on legs can easily get caught up in kelp or be too hard to reach. In fact, I’ve seen more people become entangled due to calf-mounted knives than have them solve the issue of entanglement.

2. Basic scuba gear for cold water diving

Buying the next level of gear is a good next step. It will help you save on rental costs. You’ll want a good set of regulators (primary and secondary and first stage) that are cold sealed/appropriate for cold water diving. You’ll want an SPG and compass too. Often these come in a set with the regulator, though some people prefer a wrist-mounted compass.

You’ll also want a BCD or wing/harness/backplate setup. If you’re not sure about the future of your diving, I recommend going the wing/backplate route as these systems are often modular, allowing you to switch out individual components. If you don’t like to do a lot of thinking and just want something super simple, a wraparound BCD is best.

I’d also recommend buying weight pockets (often these come with a BCD, though sometimes you need to purchase separate trim weight pockets or tank band pockets.

And, you’ll want a dive computer. If you can’t afford the one you want at this stage, that’s okay. You can hold off until you can. I know I wanted a Shearwater from the start but couldn’t make it happen for monetary reasons. At the time I’d lost my job. I bought a cheaper computer (an Aqualung i300) and used that until I could afford the one I wanted. Some people like to use a transmitter with their dive computer so they can forego the SPG. Personally, I don’t love relying on electronics alone and recommend having both, just in case.

3. Exposure protection for cold water diving

Many dive shops do not rent drysuits out. If you live in an area where this is a problem, you’ll probably have to rent a thick wetsuit until you can afford to buy a drysuit. Drysuits are often the most expensive purchase a cold water diver will have to make, running anywhere from $1,000 through 5,000.

The nice thing about having your own gear is you’ll know how to dive it, meaning you’ll know how to weight it, meaning your buoyancy will improve! You’ll also likely fit it better. If you intend to do cold water diving actively, go the drysuit route, not the wetsuit route. You’ll stay warmer, be able to dive longer and be more comfortable on the dive. Frankly, I find 7mm wetsuits deeply uncomfortable.

>> Related Reading: Gear Review: BARE XCS2 Drysuit

You’ll want to buy a hood, gloves and boots (if your suit doesn’t come with them pre-installed). You can go the dry glove route as you get more comfortable, or of course, opt for it from the start. It does give you more dexterity.

4. The finishing touches you’ll want for cold water diving

Tanks and weights are the easiest things to rent and borrow. Tanks, especially are the items many shops will have plenty of as they’ll be used to renting those out. Unless you plan on doing a lot of diving, I recommend renting those until you’ve decided you’ll get enough value for the money spent. After all, your tanks will need a VIP each year and a hydro every five years, depending on the country you live in. That costs money.

If you find you’re ready, buy an assortment of weights in the configuration you desire. My configuration has changed over the years. Today, I don’t use a weight belt but rather have a stainless steel backplate and single tank adapter weight, as well as weights in my pockets. When I was learning to dive I had pocket weights, ankle weights, and a hefty weight belt.

5. Gear that’s nice to have for cold water diving but not essential

This could be a pretty long list but I’ll keep it short. I think this includes a reel, a backup spool, a backup SMB, a backup mask, a lift bag, a goodie bag, a strap for fins, and an action camera.

A few additional notes on specific cold water diving gear

Fins: There is no single “right” or “best” fin, just the fin that is right for you. I use OMS Slipstreams because they don’t make my feet buoyant and because they offer me the best performance for my finning style (frog kick). Other people in my diving community prefer the Scubapro Seawing Novas and yet others, the Atomic Split Fins. The best course of action is to try a number of fins if you can so that you can figure out what feels best for you.

Mask: I use a low volume mask because it’s easy to clear. I also prefer a frameless mask so I have a little more visibility. The first mask I ever bought (a TUSA) is now a very handy back-up that I keep in my drysuit pocket, in spite of not being the easy low-volume one I now use. If you care more about color and appearance, that’s just fine too—it doesn’t take much more effort to clear a regular mask.

SMB/DSMB: Your first purchase will likely be an SMB (or safety sausage) inflated orally. This is great—it’s small and easy to keep in a pocket, or attach to your BCD with a bolt snap. Once you progress, you may want to try other options, like a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy attached to a spool and inflated from depth. You can choose one with an open end (you add air from a spare regulator), or one with a stainless steel nipple that can be inflated orally, or using your drysuit hose. Suffice to say, a regular old SMB will get you started just fine!

BCD, Transpac, or Wing, Backplate, Harness Package: For this category, I truly recommend trying different options. While I like the simplicity of a BCD, I hate the size of the D-Rings on most of them, (apparently women don’t need to carry a lot of gear?!). Wing/backplate/harness systems, however, offer abundant and oversized D-Rings, making clipping things off a lot easier.

Once again, consider your goals. Scientific and technical divers typically use backplates, wings and harnesses. Many recreational dive shops nowadays sell both recreational BCDs and wing/backplate/harness packages, so there is something for everyone. Do your own research, interview your mentors. Many recreational divers are switching to backplate wing systems due to their modular nature. Today, I dive this system and have a carbon fiber backplate for travel (it’s really light). I love that I can disconnect it all and roll it up tight.

Thermal Protection: I dive a dry suit (as do most people in the Pacific Northwest) but it is still possible to dive a thick wetsuit (7mm) with a farmer john over it for added warmth. Dry suits can be personalized at the start, or over time—what I chose to do when I had someone from our dive shop add pockets and suspenders to it.

Note: dry suits can be purchased in a number of different materials. Try a couple of different options. I have a crushed neoprene dry suit because I get cold super easily.

Scuba Tanks: Of all the gear I recommend purchasing last, it’s your tanks. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s about as expensive to fill a tank as it is to rent one. Secondly, you’ll have to pay for annual maintenance on your tanks. I prefer steel 80s and steel 100s as they are heavy and mean I can subtract loose weights. Others prefer aluminum tanks. Again, there’s no right or wrong.

About the Infographic

This infographic was created by Candice Landau for Scuba Scribbles and for the benefit of scuba divers looking to buy their first cold water diving gear. Please feel free to use and share it with attribution—the links back to my site really help!