Advice on Equipment Purchase
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KevinNM
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Yes, but if his local shop is like my local shop, scubatoys is overwhelming. A new diver has no idea of the range of options that are really out there. And they have them all in stock.
I bought my first gear from @scubatoys in 2004, several phone calls and shipping to South Africa and everything smooth.
I then flooded a Princeton light which was part of a pack of various lights, all my fault. I called asking if there was a way to just buy the single light, they said they would see what they could do. A week later a whole new pack of lights arrived with a note saying Happy Diving.
They will really make an effort to match packages and also help to get a custom package dialled in to your needs.
I then flooded a Princeton light which was part of a pack of various lights, all my fault. I called asking if there was a way to just buy the single light, they said they would see what they could do. A week later a whole new pack of lights arrived with a note saying Happy Diving.
They will really make an effort to match packages and also help to get a custom package dialled in to your needs.
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i'd go to Scubatoys first also - they aren't an Aqualung Dealer but sell most of the other good brands - maybe not Scubapro either.
Buying Aquaiung really locks you into their universe as far as maintaining service intervals etc. (1st year inspect, 2nd year service) whether your gear needs it or not. At least to maintain the warranty and Free parts for Life - which is not really the expensive part of a service - labor is.
And tight inventory control means your dealer (or another AL shop) is where you'll get reg service. As compared to Scubatoys who service just about anything for $59 + actual parts cost.
Titan is a decent reg - been around for decades. The Core is an upgraded Titan if they have any deals on it. I'm almost positive they use the same parts kit, they're so similar. Instead of the Pro HD (man's model) see what they'll do on a Lotus or a Pearl ladies model - they retail for $50 or $75 more respectively - for your wife. It's likely going to be a better fit and possibly even shorter in the torso and bigger in the chest area.
You probably won't find a better price anywhere on that package - Aqualung controls pricing thru their dealers pretty effectively.
A Zoop is a conservative computer and can only be made more conservative. The Aqualung i300 mentioned is a re-branded Oceanic so less so. Diving together it won't matter but you may notice you have a shorter NDL time than others in your group on deeper or more complex dives.
I'm in AZ but buy gear from Scubatoys. I've heard they sometimes offer better deals in person than what's shown on their website - without explaining the whole MAP/MSRP world in dive gear - it's possible.
Buying Aquaiung really locks you into their universe as far as maintaining service intervals etc. (1st year inspect, 2nd year service) whether your gear needs it or not. At least to maintain the warranty and Free parts for Life - which is not really the expensive part of a service - labor is.
And tight inventory control means your dealer (or another AL shop) is where you'll get reg service. As compared to Scubatoys who service just about anything for $59 + actual parts cost.
Titan is a decent reg - been around for decades. The Core is an upgraded Titan if they have any deals on it. I'm almost positive they use the same parts kit, they're so similar. Instead of the Pro HD (man's model) see what they'll do on a Lotus or a Pearl ladies model - they retail for $50 or $75 more respectively - for your wife. It's likely going to be a better fit and possibly even shorter in the torso and bigger in the chest area.
You probably won't find a better price anywhere on that package - Aqualung controls pricing thru their dealers pretty effectively.
A Zoop is a conservative computer and can only be made more conservative. The Aqualung i300 mentioned is a re-branded Oceanic so less so. Diving together it won't matter but you may notice you have a shorter NDL time than others in your group on deeper or more complex dives.
I'm in AZ but buy gear from Scubatoys. I've heard they sometimes offer better deals in person than what's shown on their website - without explaining the whole MAP/MSRP world in dive gear - it's possible.
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Rocketman3
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About 4 years a ago we bought our equipment used. We found people selling their whole kit - the equipment was a few years old - but solid and lightly used. About $400 per kit (w/out wetsuits). That worked well until we both got serious about losing weight. Suddenly the BC's were too big. We got backplate and wings from Deep Sea Supply and really loved them!
Good luck!
Good luck!
BCD - $299
DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package
Regs - $399
DGX Custom - Hollis DC1/212 Streamlined OW Reg Package
Computer:
Perdix AI - $935
Shearwater Research Perdix AI Dive Computer Package
or used Perdix - ~$600 - 700
or Geo 2.0 - $349
Oceanic GEO 2.0 Wrist Computer
The Perdix or Perdix AI is the only one I would say you would never need to replace.
You can probably get the Geo for even less if you call or email LeisurePro and ask for a better price. They seem to go on sale somewhat regularly for around $289.
The Cosmiq may or may not ever need to be replaced. It has a Li-Ion non-user-replaceable battery (I think) and it depends on a smartphone for some things. As long as the company is around (to handle battery replacements every few years) and continues to maintain and update their software for newer smartphones as they come out, the Cosmiq should be fine. But, the company hasn't been around very long and I don't think they have yet established themselves sufficiently for me to assume that their computers or the company itself have long-term reliability. That, plus the fact that a smartphone is required for somethings (where I want my computer to be 100% self-sufficient) and the fact that they currently lock you into using their dive logging software - there is no export or other means to get your dive log from the dive computer into any other dive log software except the Cosmiq proprietary software - is why I would personally stay away from the Cosmiq.
I would take the above BCD, regs and any of those 3 computers I listed before I would buy that AquaLung/Zoop package. I absolutely would not buy a jacket-style BCD like that AL Pro HD. If sticking with an integrated BCD (versus the Back Plate / Wing setup that I and everyone else has recommended), I would insist on a back-inflate style, like the AL Zuma that someone mentioned.
I have the Perdix AI and an Oceanic Atom, which is the same as the Geo except with air integration. They are great computers. I have those same Hollis regs except mine has the DC3 1st stage, which is not quite as nice as the DC1 in that package. I have been very happy with my Hollis regs. They work at least as well for me as my Dive Rite XT regs. And my BCD is the same type as what I linked, just not the exact same brand. I wouldn't use any other style of BCD.
Just my $0.02.
DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package
Regs - $399
DGX Custom - Hollis DC1/212 Streamlined OW Reg Package
Computer:
Perdix AI - $935
Shearwater Research Perdix AI Dive Computer Package
or used Perdix - ~$600 - 700
or Geo 2.0 - $349
Oceanic GEO 2.0 Wrist Computer
The Perdix or Perdix AI is the only one I would say you would never need to replace.
You can probably get the Geo for even less if you call or email LeisurePro and ask for a better price. They seem to go on sale somewhat regularly for around $289.
The Cosmiq may or may not ever need to be replaced. It has a Li-Ion non-user-replaceable battery (I think) and it depends on a smartphone for some things. As long as the company is around (to handle battery replacements every few years) and continues to maintain and update their software for newer smartphones as they come out, the Cosmiq should be fine. But, the company hasn't been around very long and I don't think they have yet established themselves sufficiently for me to assume that their computers or the company itself have long-term reliability. That, plus the fact that a smartphone is required for somethings (where I want my computer to be 100% self-sufficient) and the fact that they currently lock you into using their dive logging software - there is no export or other means to get your dive log from the dive computer into any other dive log software except the Cosmiq proprietary software - is why I would personally stay away from the Cosmiq.
I would take the above BCD, regs and any of those 3 computers I listed before I would buy that AquaLung/Zoop package. I absolutely would not buy a jacket-style BCD like that AL Pro HD. If sticking with an integrated BCD (versus the Back Plate / Wing setup that I and everyone else has recommended), I would insist on a back-inflate style, like the AL Zuma that someone mentioned.
I have the Perdix AI and an Oceanic Atom, which is the same as the Geo except with air integration. They are great computers. I have those same Hollis regs except mine has the DC3 1st stage, which is not quite as nice as the DC1 in that package. I have been very happy with my Hollis regs. They work at least as well for me as my Dive Rite XT regs. And my BCD is the same type as what I linked, just not the exact same brand. I wouldn't use any other style of BCD.
Just my $0.02.
ps. Shearwater computers have a 2 year warranty and the warranty is transferable. No paperwork required. That is why I would not hesitate to buy a Perdix used. They haven't even been out for 2 years, so any one you buy will still be under warranty.
Every other computer manufacturer that I know of only warranties their computers to the original owner, with a receipt from an authorized dealer. That would make me a little hesitant to buy any other computer used. It would just need to be a really good deal.
Every other computer manufacturer that I know of only warranties their computers to the original owner, with a receipt from an authorized dealer. That would make me a little hesitant to buy any other computer used. It would just need to be a really good deal.
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