Any suggestions for lowering the equipment cost?

[serrada]

I’m looking for suggestions on outfitting my girlfriend most economically for our DIR-F course. I know that might be anti-DIR and I know as a team we should have the same equipment. I need to get her some Jetfins, regulator, bottom timer, SPG, BP/W. Our diving will primarily be single tank diving in tropical waters off Fort Lauderdale.

1) Scubapro Jets $65; Spring Straps $70
2) Scubapro MK25/S555/R295 $470/$131, Atomic Z2/Z2 $379/$200 (I have a Zeagle Flathead VI. I might possible get her a Apeks DS4/TX50/TX20 $468/$150 or Zeagle Flathead VI/Envoy $450/$119), but I think the later is better for single tank hose routing.
3) UWATEC Bottom Timer or a Aeris XR1 Computer (for the class at least used in gage mode). I can get both for the same price ($179).
4) OMS Brass PSI Pressure Gauge $94 (I have a halcyon, but don’t see the point in spending the extra $25 for the Halcyon)
5) I’m up in the air on the BP/W for her? She’s 5’-8” and 140# and wears 10/11# of weight. Budgeted less than $500
6) two reels Halcyon $46, Salvo $44, Dive-Rite $28?
7) two surface markers Halcyon $70, Carter $72, DiveRite $99? (Not sure which size I need?)
8) two knives probably the $19.95 at divegear.com

Also, for DIR-F do we need lights?

For a total of $1565 plus shipping and taxes for her.

 

[Ben_ca]

1) Scubapro Jets $65; Spring Straps $70

Watch Ebay and Craigslist... either DIY spring straps or add those on later

2) Scubapro MK25/S555/R295 $470/$131, Atomic Z2/Z2 $379/$200 (I have a Zeagle Flathead VI. I might possible get her a Apeks DS4/TX50/TX20 $468/$150 or Zeagle Flathead VI/Envoy $450/$119), but I think the later is better for single tank hose routing.

Use what you have... while 99% of the DIR guys out there use MK25s or DS4's the other regs are fine as is... once again Ebay is your friend...

3) UWATEC Bottom Timer or a Aeris XR1 Computer (for the class at least used in gage mode). I can get both for the same price ($179).

Whatever you can find will do for your class.... you will have to calculate your NDL and be situationally aware and not dependant on the computer but as long as it tells depth and time I don't think it'll matter for now

4) OMS Brass PSI Pressure Gauge $94 (I have a halcyon, but don’t see the point in spending the extra $25 for the Halcyon)
5) I’m up in the air on the BP/W for her? She’s 5’-8” and 140# and wears 10/11# of weight. Budgeted less than $500
6) two reels Halcyon $46, Salvo $44, Dive-Rite $28?
7) two surface markers Halcyon $70, Carter $72, DiveRite $99? (Not sure which size I need?)

Ebay for the SPG, and the BP&W... For the rest borrow for now.. most of the guys I dive with here have at least 1 extra spool... also theres some good deals here on SB.... 14$ spools

You might have to replace the line with caveline... YMMV

8) two knives probably the $19.95 at divegear.com

Buy the 4 pack steak knife set from Target... 1.99 I buy a couple and take 20mins to break the tips off and grind.... PM me and I'll send you some next time I go to Target

 

[JessH]

2) Scubapro MK25/S555/R295 $470/$131, Atomic Z2/Z2 $379/$200 (I have a Zeagle Flathead VI. I might possible get her a Apeks DS4/TX50/TX20 $468/$150 or Zeagle Flathead VI/Envoy $450/$119), but I think the later is better for single tank hose routing.

IMHO you can't go wrong with the Atomic, and it happens to be the cheapest. Might want to go Apeks if you plan to do any cold water diving.

4) OMS Brass PSI Pressure Gauge $94 (I have a halcyon, but don’t see the point in spending the extra $25 for the Halcyon)

A naked DiveRite brass 2" SPG can be had for less. Diveriteexpress has it for $72, I think I got mine for even less locally. You will of course need to add a hose but you would probably want to replace the OMS with a shorter hose anyway. Make sure to get a 24" hose for it. I just switched mine and it is much sexier And as I am sure you already know that with the brass spg you don't need a boot. I don't know about the OMS but I really like the fact that the DiveRite SPG glows in the dark. You still need to occasionaly point a flashlight at it to charge it but it makes it much easier to read at night or in other dark situations, especially when you have your light in your left hand. Oh, one last thing, make sure to get an airspool or you will have a bit of trouble attatching the hose.

5) I’m up in the air on the BP/W for her? She’s 5’-8” and 140# and wears 10/11# of weight. Budgeted less than $500

I just got a hammerhead backplate(hammerheadscuba.com) and Oxycheq Mach V from scubatoys and I love it. I doubt you could find a cheaper combo than an Oxycheq wing from scubatoys and a hammerhead backplate/sta combo. Should be about $450 for a Standard wing, ss bp, sta, harness and all that gack.

8) two knives probably the $19.95 at divegear.com

Or you could go with the old DIR classic and just cut up some kitchen knives. The cheaper the stainless steel the better. I currently use sheers, but might add a stake knife at some point.

Remember that you may not actually need every little DIR thing before DIR-F, talk to the instructor about that one. Havn't actually taken it myself.

And of course you may be able to go even cheeper by geting some of it used. Go with my above suggestions and the rig might start looking a little too like mine...

~Jess

 

[Web Monkey]

I’m looking for suggestions on outfitting my girlfriend most economically for our DIR-F course. I know that might be anti-DIR and I know as a team we should have the same equipment. I need to get her some Jetfins, regulator, bottom timer, SPG, BP/W. Our diving will primarily be single tank diving in tropical waters off Fort Lauderdale.

Not to get too personal, but . . . Does she actually have any desire to do all the training, or does she just want to drift around a warm sunny reef with a jacket BC, and AL 80 and a snorkel?

Shouldn't she be making her own decisions and buying her own gear?

Terry

 

[Jasonmh]

I’m looking for suggestions on outfitting my girlfriend most economically for our DIR-F course. I know that might be anti-DIR and I know as a team we should have the same equipment. I need to get her some Jetfins, regulator, bottom timer, SPG, BP/W. Our diving will primarily be single tank diving in tropical waters off Fort Lauderdale.

1) Scubapro Jets $65; Spring Straps $70
2) Scubapro MK25/S555/R295 $470/$131, Atomic Z2/Z2 $379/$200 (I have a Zeagle Flathead VI. I might possible get her a Apeks DS4/TX50/TX20 $468/$150 or Zeagle Flathead VI/Envoy $450/$119), but I think the later is better for single tank hose routing.
3) UWATEC Bottom Timer or a Aeris XR1 Computer (for the class at least used in gage mode). I can get both for the same price ($179).
4) OMS Brass PSI Pressure Gauge $94 (I have a halcyon, but don’t see the point in spending the extra $25 for the Halcyon)
5) I’m up in the air on the BP/W for her? She’s 5’-8” and 140# and wears 10/11# of weight. Budgeted less than $500
6) two reels Halcyon $46, Salvo $44, Dive-Rite $28?
7) two surface markers Halcyon $70, Carter $72, DiveRite $99? (Not sure which size I need?)
8) two knives probably the $19.95 at divegear.com

Also, for DIR-F do we need lights?

For a total of $1565 plus shipping and taxes for her.

Some good advice so far. Here are a few more ideas:

- you don't need lights for the rec version of DIR-F, so you don't have to worry about those.

- Get the jetfins, but to save some money you can get the spring straps later, they are not required for DIR-F

- On the pressure gauge, you can get a great one for 75 bucks here: http://www.techdivinglimited.com do a search for part: Gauge-TDL-TECH-SPG-S
They are JUST like the halcyon, I have both and can't tell the difference.

- For the BP&W, check this out: http://www.deepseasupply.com/page12.html
Complete setup with Hog harness for $445... less than what you budgeted.

- Spool for $20 bucks: http://www.deepseasupply.com/page20.html
Another way to save money would be to get one spool and SMB, and share it for the class. Most instructors will let you share, or will let you use theirs.

- Knife: http://www.techdivinglimited.com search for Knife-DIR $16 bucks for knife with Sheath.

- Do you know anyone else that you might be able to borrow some equipment from?
If you had to you could always rent the regs for the class, and just put on your own hoses.

Good Luck

 

[hunter991]

I am a dealer can can definately help you out one some of your items. Regs, Spg, knives, spools, backplates. I can get you better pricing than all the stuff you listed. Let me know if I can help.

Consider the Salvo regs, you can save alot of money there. Smaller amounts on the other stuff.

Brent

 

[serrada]

Thanks all. This is just the kind of information I was looking for.

Not to get too personal, but . . . Does she actually have any desire to do all the training, or does she just want to drift around a warm sunny reef with a jacket BC, and AL 80 and a snorkel?

Shouldn't she be making her own decisions and buying her own gear?

Terry

Yes, she's very excited. She read the DIR-F book in two days. I have to keep my mouth shut about diving and she stays interested. She just got her OWA in June and has 18 dive, but wants to be an DM/instructor. I know it probably kind of soon for her to be taking DIR-F in some peoples eyes, but IMHO she'll probably do better them me b/c she doesn't know any better yet. I mainly want a partner to practice the skills with when we both fail the class (30% pass rate and all).

At this point she could care less about brands and the such. She just want here own gear and I happen to be the one buying it for her.

 

[serrada]

Remember that you may not actually need every little DIR thing before DIR-F

Good point and maybe as stated I can get away with one SMB and Reel as other stated but,

talk to the instructor about that one. Havn't actually taken it myself.
~Jess

Good point and maybe as stated I can get away with one SMB and Reel as other stated but, I'm kind of trying to avoid this and having almost all of our gear first. Where I'm taking the class everything is top dollar Halcyon and SP MSRP and they won't discount even with taking the class. At my LDS I can get SP and Apeks 10%, Apeks and Zeagle 30% off and on the other stuff I can get online much less as others are pointing out.

 

[Web Monkey]

Cool.

I wasn't trying to mess things up; I just wanted to make sure you weren't pushing her where she didn't really want to go.

Terry

Yes, she's very excited. She read the DIR-F book in two days. I have to keep my mouth shut about diving and she stays interested. She just got her OWA in June and has 18 dive, but wants to be an DM/instructor. I know it probably kind of soon for her to be taking DIR-F in some peoples eyes, but IMHO she'll probably do better them me b/c she doesn't know any better yet. I mainly want a partner to practice the skills with when we both fail the class (30% pass rate and all).

At this point she could care less about brands and the such. She just want here own gear and I happen to be the one buying it for her.