Certification is costly
- Thread starter Mr. Ed
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Yes, yes it is. And that’s only the beginning!
Scuba, like rock climbing, mountain biking, golf, shooting, hunting, etc,, is not a good hobby for those with limited disposable income. All others should take up pickleball.
Scuba, like rock climbing, mountain biking, golf, shooting, hunting, etc,, is not a good hobby for those with limited disposable income. All others should take up pickleball.
Still Kicking
Contributor
After I cover my basic necessities -- mainly expenses for diving and boating (an extension of diving) -- all my disposable income goes to luxuries such as food, utilities, mortgage, gas and kids' college tuition.
drrich2
Contributor
Yes, expensive! That said, there are some differences in pattern.
1.) Some hobbies have a high cost of entry (e.g.: a nice set of golf clubs, or a mix of guns for varied hunting (e.g.: rifle and shotgun) - perhaps paired with an off-road capable SUV), but once you're in, the 'cruising' aspect isn't as bed. Yes, there are hunting licenses, etc..., but if you mainly hunt places you can drive to (as opposed to taking a plane trip to trophy hunt on an African safari), it's not as badly expensive. Especially since a family can share resources (e.g.: if your 2 kids take up hunting, each needs a gun, but not their own SUV).
2.) Recreational diving for many of us who don't live near desirable oceanic diving (e.g.: mainly southeastern Florida and coastal California has good diving if you're open to colder water and more exposure protection) - speaking from a U.S. perspective with a strong preference for ocean diving - entails fairly expensive travel (e.g.: airfare, hotel, boat trips).
In other words, even after you're geared up very well, even if you stop buying more gear (e.g.: you don't get into technical diving), to keep active in the ocean diving hobby, it's expensive!
But it would be a defeatist attitude to just accept that and give up. Some people (particularly younger, from what I read) like Blackbeards Cruises trips in the Bahamas. I've seen good prices on Turquoise Bay Resort in Roatan group trips. Cozumel is famous for budget dive trips, and Dive with Martin spoken well of as a fine budget operator. Travel in groups and pack into a room to save. Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City, NC has a 'Dive Lodge' option for cheap accommodation.
U.S. middle class folk can participate in recreational oceanic scuba diving, but it is a sacrifice.
If you only dive where you can drive, it’s quite affordable. Load your vehicle and go!
Nitrox computer certification? Isn't the use of a dive computer covered in the Scuba Diver aka Open Water course? As far as it being a "nitrox" computer; there is no such thing as a currently manufactured dive computer that doesn't do nitrox. Normally, they cover the basics of diving with a computer in many scuba courses (most/all?) using one the shop/instructor provides. Then when you buy one, you know how to use a computer and can get the specifics about the model you bought from the manual. Dive computers are a rare bird in that all I've used come with a detailed and useful manual.
Unless you went in there specifically asking for those three classes, I think they pushed un-necessary training on you.
Most shops around here charge around $350 for the basic course including manuals. You do have to provide mask, booties, fins, snorkel. The rest is "rental gear" that's included in the cost of the course (including tanks of air). The only additional charges tend to be for a boat ride or dive site fee to do check-out dives.
Now cave training, that's expensive. I think I spent a little over $2500 for all the courses (including tec45).
Unless you went in there specifically asking for those three classes, I think they pushed un-necessary training on you.
Most shops around here charge around $350 for the basic course including manuals. You do have to provide mask, booties, fins, snorkel. The rest is "rental gear" that's included in the cost of the course (including tanks of air). The only additional charges tend to be for a boat ride or dive site fee to do check-out dives.
Now cave training, that's expensive. I think I spent a little over $2500 for all the courses (including tec45).
Not true....it may be good enough for some half-a$$ed instructors, however,,,,
That's an issue that has been rehashed over and over. I have to agree, since agencies don't do proper oversight of their agents there are some poor instructors in the world.
Some agencies are a little better than others about dealing with complaints. However, relying on a reactive complaint system is the big problem in my opinion.
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