New to SCUBA - Few Questions?

[PUFFY_SANCHEZ]

Hi all!!!

I am new considering getting certified and I am trying to evaluate if I want to invest the money in the certification and equipment. My fiance and I travel to one or two tropical destinations a year. We do a lot of snorkeling and would really love to step it up to diving. Here are some questions I have:

1. What equipment is required to own? I have read typically you rent just the tank and weights, but I wanted to verify because we wouldn't want to have to lug everything through the airport.

2. Where do you typically buy new and used equipment? There are limited dive shops in my area so I was looking online.

3. What is the price you paid for the intitial equipment you purchased?


I know this is vague and I will have many more questions. Your time is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[paddler3d]

Investing the money in certification is not a bad thing, especially if you vacation in the topics annually or bi-annually.

You can decide later how much gear you want to buy.

For your certification class, you will need 'personal gear': fins, mask and snorkel.

Depending upon where your getting certified, your fin requirement may be different. For instance if you live in Nebraska and are getting certified there, you're likely going to want an open heel fin, which will require booties as part of your personal gear as well. If you live in the Key's, you can use a closed heel fin which requires no booties. A closed heel fin is fin for warm water diving.

Once you are certified, you can rent your BC, tanks , regs and computers at your destinations. If you find yourself diving frequently, it is more economical to own more of your gear. What is typical is most people will own their BC, regs and computer and simply rent tanks.

You can buy your gear online. There are a lot of those. Throw your support to your LDS (local dive shop) when ever you can. They can usually answer a lot of questions and sometimes it makes gear maintenance easier, so on so forth.

Initially, fins run from $50-$120ish, a mask can run from $40-$100, a snorkel can run $20-$40.

I'd also suggest you get a 3mm full wet suit for your confined water (pool dives) and which will also be good in the tropics and that can run from $100-$300.

Until you are experienced, I'd avoid the used gear unless you know exactly what you are looking for.

I've worked with students in the pool that got great deals on their gear on e-bay, but they bought stuff that didn't fit, was inappropriate for the style of diving, from companies that didn't exist anymore so getting maintenance would be hard.

Fill out your profile a bit more and you'll get better answers.

 

[k4man]

First of all, Puffy, welcome to Scuba Board!!

I'm sure you will find many valuable pieces of info here on the posts and archives alike. I will give you my personal opinion and I'm certain that some will agree while others will have their own advice.

Hi all!!!

I am new considering getting certified and I am trying to evaluate if I want to invest the money in the certification and equipment. My fiance and I travel to one or two tropical destinations a year. We do a lot of snorkeling and would really love to step it up to diving. Here are some questions I have:

1. What equipment is required to own? I have read typically you rent just the tank and weights, but I wanted to verify because we wouldn't want to have to lug everything through the airport. If you are only traveling and diving tropically once or twice a year, I would suggest your own mask, fins, and snorkel to begin. A large investment as a non-certified diver may be very costly, should you decide that you are unable to dive regularly. I know that some shop owners are gasping in horror that I'm not telling you to go in and throw down thousands $$$, but that will come in good time Traveling with tanks and weights at the airport can be costly and a real pain. Especially for the beginner, it's much easier to use a reliable dive center at your destination and use/rent their gear.

2. Where do you typically buy new and used equipment? There are limited dive shops in my area so I was looking online.again, a touchy issue here for many who make their living through ownership at a dive center. I won't say that I have NEVER bought used or online equipment but please be careful. In my experience, the few dollars you may save online may not be worth the long lasting relationship of having a caring local dive shop--I'd buy there, even if you must travel a distance to get there. My 2 main dive shops that I do business with are at least 60-70 miles away from home.

3. What is the price you paid for the intitial equipment you purchased?
Again, not to seem vague, but you can spend as much...or little as you wish. While there are good deals around, you want to decide upon the type of diving you plan to do, where, cold vs. warm water, and many more factors. Your instructor will be able to assist you with many of these questions and is a good source of information--just like scubaboard.

I know this is vague and I will have many more questions. Your time is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

have a great time diving and feel free to send a PM--private message--if you have other specific questions!!

 

[Lee Taylor]

1. Mask, Fins, Snorkle

2. Your local dive store OR online stores

3. 2000

 

[rstofer]

I think the $2000 number is just about right. It's a little more if you plan to dive in cold water. Maybe $2500.

I just outfitted my son-in-law and grandson, upgraded my wife's gear and bought some odds and ends for myself. Total bill: around $10,000. But that included a bunch of tanks - about $2500 of that amount. So, maybe $7500 for the dive gear for the equivalent of 3 people. It could be done for less.

So, dive gear is expensive.

I would be looking to buy my own regulator as soon as possible. I know you only need to provide 'personal gear' for the OW class but I think that I would prefer to use my own regulator as well. In fact, I did use my own gear from the 2d pool session onward. But it depends on how you view the sport. Good regulators are expensive and if you are uncertain of your goals, delaying the purchase might be a good idea.

Then there is the problem that you don't know which regulator to buy. If you think you will EVER do cold water diving, there is no sense in buying a regulator that is only suitable for warm water. But if all you plan to do is warm water diving (> 50 deg F) then you can choose from a wider range of regs.

Then there is the ever popular question about buying over the Internet, sometimes gray-market goods with no factory warranty, pissing off the LDS that you need to service the stuff you bought elsewhere, and so on and so on. Search the board for 'LP' or 'Leisure Pro' to get a feel for this debate.

The reason that there is a debate is that a highly regarded cold water regulator (the ScubaPro Mk17/G250V) sells for $400 at Leisure Pro and about $600 at your LDS. With LP you don't get a factory warranty but LP will handle warranty and repair. Buying at your LDS assures you of local service (of whatever skill level) and a happy owner. Your choice...

Richard

 

[PUFFY_SANCHEZ]

Thanks for all the input. I will try to give everyone a little more information. I actually have a decent snorkel set with fins, snorkel, and mask. The only thing I want to upgrade is the mask. I will only be doing warm water diving. I don't like the cold. I am just trying to get an idea of all the equipment needed. Right now I am pricing the following: regulator, BCD, and mask. What other equipment is essential and won't be supplied on guided dives. Also, can you give me some decent brands of equipment for when I shop around.

Thanks.

 

[SeaHound]

I started diving in 2001 and my gear got completed last year, except tanks and weights which I dont think I would ever buy. I believe the most logical way of going about the gear buying decision is to buy them in the following steps:

1. Mask. fins, snorkel
2. Wetsuit! (I have always had trouble fitting into rental suits and this kills the pleasure of a dive).
3. BCD: Some people would put regulator before BCD but I have never had any problem with rental regulators as there are no sizing issues with regs. BCD involves size issues and affects the "Feel of the dive" much more than a regulator (IMHO).
4. Regs: Owning this is an annual expense because it needs to get serviced. I love the gear that I own and I love my regulator but, if I was going on a dive trip and there was one thing I could drop, it would be the reg. Everything else up on the list has size and fitting issues except reg.
5. Weights + Tanks: These I would never buy because I live in a land locked region and have to travel to dive. If I was living in a dive destination then I might (MIGHT) consider owning these.

Cheers -

S-H

 

[PUFFY_SANCHEZ]

I will continue to ask questions, but is there any good books out there to cover some of the basic information.

 

[Splash-X]

Puffy,

When looking at your mask and fins be sure that you go for quality and comfort over price. A good set of fins and a proper fitting mask will be be the difference from a good and poor snorkeling and/or diving experience.

No one wants fins that make them cramp up and certainly no one wants a cheap mask that leaks because it doesn't fit properly.

If you decide to purchase your fins and mask just be sure to try a vast range of gear to find whats comfortable for you. Each diver is different. Try to avoid packages you pickup at stores where you're unable to try the items on for fit. Here is where a dive shop will provide you the best experience for trying on different styles of gear and a range of masks.

 

[PUFFY_SANCHEZ]

Puffy,

When looking at your mask and fins be sure that you go for quality and comfort over price. A good set of fins and a proper fitting mask will be be the difference from a good and poor snorkeling and/or diving experience.

No one wants fins that make them cramp up and certainly no one wants a cheap mask that leaks because it doesn't fit properly.

If you decide to purchase your fins and mask just be sure to try a vast range of gear to find whats comfortable for you. Each diver is different. Try to avoid packages you pickup at stores where you're unable to try the items on for fit. Here is where a dive shop will provide you the best experience for trying on different styles of gear and a range of masks.

I really don't plan on going cheap on anything, but it is also something I will only be using a couple times a year. I plan to buy a nice mask because they always seem to leak on me.