and several that are not-so-good.
I've had good service and good luck with Sea Sports Scuba. They have multiple locations, so they buy a lot of gear and they often pass the saving along to their customers in the form of regular "sales".
While they're not the only shop to do this, I've found their prices to be very competive. In some cases, they are nearly as cheap as going mail order.
they also have a lot of "socials" each year that are a lot of fun for everyone, including kids and non-divers, like my wife. There is a Halloween pumpkin hunt, a "spring fling" and a couple of other functions scattered throughout the year.
Among my dive gear is an Ikelite 6 cell dive light with a flourescent area light built-in, a 3mm jumpsuit, a slap strap and a knife that I won at events they sponsored. A couple of folks in my old dive club won regulators and bcs at these same events.
I've never taking any courses from them, but I like the instructors I've met and find them less "pushy" overall than some other shops. I also like the convenience of the multiple locations.
What don't I like? MMmmmm...it took them 6 weeks to finish the annual on my Oceanic Delta/Scubapro rig. That's WAY too long. In their defense, I think they would have loaned me a rig if I didn't already have a spare. But it WAS an aggravation. My annuals in the past never took as long, so this was likely a fluke.
I also like Pro Scuba on Westheimer. Henry, the owner, is very nice and very knowledgeable. He may be more expensive due to his small size, but he carries some nice gear and I've been on some of his sponsored dive trips, which were well run.
I've been on trips with his students and they seemed well trained and knowledgeable, even on their first "post cert" dives.
