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Check the Hog dealer locator b4 you buy one. I'll save you the trouble, they don't have a dealer in West Virginia...although Jim Lapenta - who frequently posts here - is one and he's in PA.
The other thing is that the eBay reg you were looking at is sold by Leisurepro - one of the largest resellers in the scuba industry so they have a lot of other options within your budget - Buy scuba gear, scuba diving and snorkeling equipment, and everything underwater from LeisurePro.com
You also just missed a deal on the Hollis - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hot-deals/511113-hollis-dc3-212-now-only-165-weekend-only.html
Most rec. diving is done with yoke tanks. DIN is arguably better but if you think your LDS is going to have difficulty supplying them, you might want to get yoke. If your plan is to travel later, except for Cave Country in Florida and a few other DIN hotspots, they're going to be arguably harder to find. Not impossible but in places like Cozumel the ratio is probably 99 to 1. So it means limiting yourself to those operators that have them compared to any of them. It's telling that a regular question posted here is where to find DIN tanks on Bonaire - the shore diving capital of the world.
Part of the reason is that DIN doesn't take rental abuse as well. People aren't as careful with rentals so threads can get gummed up/cross-threaded, if the tank is dropped the connection may go out of round etc. For your own private use with your own owned DIN tanks this is probably not as big an issue. Some operators are replacing their valves over time with convertible ones - they're yoke but you can unscrew the DIN plug with an allen wrench and use them with your DIN reg.
There's also a DIN to yoke adapter you can purchase for $20-50 but it adds a failure point and may put the back of the 1st stage close enough to your head that you'll hit it.
I travel to dive exclusively. I've never had a problem getting yoke tanks anywhere.
The other thing is that the eBay reg you were looking at is sold by Leisurepro - one of the largest resellers in the scuba industry so they have a lot of other options within your budget - Buy scuba gear, scuba diving and snorkeling equipment, and everything underwater from LeisurePro.com
You also just missed a deal on the Hollis - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hot-deals/511113-hollis-dc3-212-now-only-165-weekend-only.html
Most rec. diving is done with yoke tanks. DIN is arguably better but if you think your LDS is going to have difficulty supplying them, you might want to get yoke. If your plan is to travel later, except for Cave Country in Florida and a few other DIN hotspots, they're going to be arguably harder to find. Not impossible but in places like Cozumel the ratio is probably 99 to 1. So it means limiting yourself to those operators that have them compared to any of them. It's telling that a regular question posted here is where to find DIN tanks on Bonaire - the shore diving capital of the world.
Part of the reason is that DIN doesn't take rental abuse as well. People aren't as careful with rentals so threads can get gummed up/cross-threaded, if the tank is dropped the connection may go out of round etc. For your own private use with your own owned DIN tanks this is probably not as big an issue. Some operators are replacing their valves over time with convertible ones - they're yoke but you can unscrew the DIN plug with an allen wrench and use them with your DIN reg.
There's also a DIN to yoke adapter you can purchase for $20-50 but it adds a failure point and may put the back of the 1st stage close enough to your head that you'll hit it.
I travel to dive exclusively. I've never had a problem getting yoke tanks anywhere.