trenith
Registered
Hello to everybody!
I recently caught the scuba bug on a vacation to Rosarito when my girlfriend and I went on a Discover scuba adventure to 20'~ at Camp Kennedy. Ever since then I've done nothing but eat, sleep, and breath scubaboard, gue.tv, and everything else I can get my hands on.
I spent at least a week calling every dive shop from Jacksonville to West Palm Beach and over to Orlando that would pop up on google, questioning them about their dive classes, structure, etc. Due to my work travel schedule (different place just about weekly) I'm restricted to having to take private courses initially. I can honestly say that was my first experience with dive shops and it definitely put me on edge when it comes to dealing with them. I've talked to great shops and then of course when you talk to so many you definitely get your handful of ****** ones. I settled on a registering for my OW, AOW, and Nitrox with an independent dive instructor out of Jacksonville and right now, I couldn't be happier with my decision.
After signing up for my classes I continued to spend my time here on SB cruising posts, reading articles across the web, etc. and I have to say - hands down, thank you to everyone here. I was able to make an informed decision about my dive instructor and the equipment I went to get today because of you guys. I appreciate the great wealth of information here because EVERY piece of equipment, I was able to search it for honest reviews before I bought it. When a shop tech or owner started giving me a sales pitch, I was able to cut it off at the pass saving my wallet in the end.
My current diving goals after my AOW is done is just to continue diving weekly around the United States as a I travel however Florida/Savannah, GA are my primary places for the next couple months. Once I have become comfortable enough to take it to the next level I definitely have my eyes on tech diving and cave diving. Growing up in Colorado, cave exploration was always a thing. The adventure to the unknown.
My beginning equipment currently:
Henderson Aqualock 5mm Wet Suit
-I chose 5mm based on the temperature of the Springs in FL currently and reviews of the waters in the GA area. Im currently in California this week and the LDS's here recommend 7mm but stated the Aqualock dove like a 7 which the SB agree'd - so I bought it. It also fit so perfectly. I had tried on probably a dozen different wet suits over the last week till I found this one. So comfortable!
Shearwater Perdix AI
-Knowing I want to get into tech and cave diving, I read a post here on computers that said "Buy the level higher then what you currently are diving and with the next level in mind". I went between the Mares Quad Air and the Suunto Eon before I actually ran into a serious tech diver at the LDS who was like "for the same money you're paying for the Eon, buy the Perdix. Suunto has been trying to break into the tech area and hasnt done it yet they missed it with this one." when I searched SB .... well I got the same answer... Soooo (lol) Perdix AI it was.
Atomic B2 with a Z2 Octo
-Got a steal of a deal on this
Of course I couldn't make the decision without first pretending to send a text message when in fact I just googled "Atomic B2 scubaboard" instead. lol
These were my big purchases for the day - the rest were just boots, gloves, hood, and mask. I still don't have fins yet though. Perhaps I'll find someone in Jacksonville next week to buy some from before I start class. I'm just not sold on what to buy to start with yet and perhaps I might just use my instructors set, who knows.
All in all - thank you again SB for your help that you didn't know you were providing and I look forward to my scuba adventures
PS. Definitely looking for some dive buddies in the Northern Florida/Savannah, GA area since I'll be living in this region off and on for the next 5 months so dont be shy to say hi!
I recently caught the scuba bug on a vacation to Rosarito when my girlfriend and I went on a Discover scuba adventure to 20'~ at Camp Kennedy. Ever since then I've done nothing but eat, sleep, and breath scubaboard, gue.tv, and everything else I can get my hands on.
I spent at least a week calling every dive shop from Jacksonville to West Palm Beach and over to Orlando that would pop up on google, questioning them about their dive classes, structure, etc. Due to my work travel schedule (different place just about weekly) I'm restricted to having to take private courses initially. I can honestly say that was my first experience with dive shops and it definitely put me on edge when it comes to dealing with them. I've talked to great shops and then of course when you talk to so many you definitely get your handful of ****** ones. I settled on a registering for my OW, AOW, and Nitrox with an independent dive instructor out of Jacksonville and right now, I couldn't be happier with my decision.
After signing up for my classes I continued to spend my time here on SB cruising posts, reading articles across the web, etc. and I have to say - hands down, thank you to everyone here. I was able to make an informed decision about my dive instructor and the equipment I went to get today because of you guys. I appreciate the great wealth of information here because EVERY piece of equipment, I was able to search it for honest reviews before I bought it. When a shop tech or owner started giving me a sales pitch, I was able to cut it off at the pass saving my wallet in the end.
My current diving goals after my AOW is done is just to continue diving weekly around the United States as a I travel however Florida/Savannah, GA are my primary places for the next couple months. Once I have become comfortable enough to take it to the next level I definitely have my eyes on tech diving and cave diving. Growing up in Colorado, cave exploration was always a thing. The adventure to the unknown.
My beginning equipment currently:
Henderson Aqualock 5mm Wet Suit
-I chose 5mm based on the temperature of the Springs in FL currently and reviews of the waters in the GA area. Im currently in California this week and the LDS's here recommend 7mm but stated the Aqualock dove like a 7 which the SB agree'd - so I bought it. It also fit so perfectly. I had tried on probably a dozen different wet suits over the last week till I found this one. So comfortable!
Shearwater Perdix AI
-Knowing I want to get into tech and cave diving, I read a post here on computers that said "Buy the level higher then what you currently are diving and with the next level in mind". I went between the Mares Quad Air and the Suunto Eon before I actually ran into a serious tech diver at the LDS who was like "for the same money you're paying for the Eon, buy the Perdix. Suunto has been trying to break into the tech area and hasnt done it yet they missed it with this one." when I searched SB .... well I got the same answer... Soooo (lol) Perdix AI it was.
Atomic B2 with a Z2 Octo
-Got a steal of a deal on this
Of course I couldn't make the decision without first pretending to send a text message when in fact I just googled "Atomic B2 scubaboard" instead. lol These were my big purchases for the day - the rest were just boots, gloves, hood, and mask. I still don't have fins yet though. Perhaps I'll find someone in Jacksonville next week to buy some from before I start class. I'm just not sold on what to buy to start with yet and perhaps I might just use my instructors set, who knows.
All in all - thank you again SB for your help that you didn't know you were providing and I look forward to my scuba adventures
PS. Definitely looking for some dive buddies in the Northern Florida/Savannah, GA area since I'll be living in this region off and on for the next 5 months so dont be shy to say hi!
