Hey Craig,

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you with us. Best way IMHO is if you
can go to a shop and try an assortment of gear in your price range
or if you have friends that might have gear you can try. It's hard to
know what you'll like best right out of the box. Fortunatly, most of the
entry level gear today is pretty good stuff. Read everything in the
archieves about starting out in the sport. Some good info there. When
you have questions just ask them. Warm regards, Jim