Canadian Buying Gear....need help...

[Gee.Eleven]

Hey everyone,

New user here, doing my dive course this month for the classroom/pool sessions and June for open water dives. I will be going to my LDS for my gear but I'm kind of lost as to what I should/could get for my price range, maybe someone has opinions on here or advice. I know I'd like a backplate and wing setup and my budget is around 2500 (canadian). Right off the bat I know drysuit would be off the table, which is fine, I plan on moving into a drysuit next year. My LDS is selling their rental halcyon backplate/wings and regs for 1200 which is a good price for sure, just not sure if that eats up too much of the budget or if I could finish getting geared out with the rest of whats left.

Any advice welcome!

 

[Marie13]

What model is the the wing? Singles or doubles?

I know other Canadians tell me it’s cheaper to order from the States, even with the exchange rate.

You’d be better of looking for a used BP and wing separately unless you come across a really good deal.

CAD $1200 used seems to be crazy.

 

[runsongas]

900 usd would be about 50% of msrp for a halcyon eclipse and halcyon h75 singles reg setup. if it is in good shape and has been serviced recently, it isn't outlandish.

 

[ontdiver]

Not sure where you are located, but I think you can do much better.

Lots of folks will be looking at swapping out their gear over the next couple of months and you can usually find deals. As an example, a dive shop in Cornwall, ON has some good prices on used gear: Used Gear — O2ToGo Dive Centre There is also Ontario Scuba Swap on FB. You can also find deals on Kijiji, though you need to be very careful with regs and computers.

In terms of regs, you will want to find out which brand your LDS services. This way you will avoid having to ship things out for servicing. If there are a couple of dive shops in your area, this gives you some additional flexibility.

There are a number of great threads on first time gear purchasing. Lots of pros and cons to sort out but don't hesitate to come back to this space if you need advice on narrowing down choices.

While there is a tendency to grab up gear from your LDS - and there are many reasons to do this - getting your best bang for your hard earned dollars means not having to replace inferior gear that was purchased on an impulse.

 

[Gee.Eleven]

What model is the the wing? Singles or doubles?

I know other Canadians tell me it’s cheaper to order from the States, even with the exchange rate.

You’d be better of looking for a used BP and wing separately unless you come across a really good deal.

CAD $1200 used seems to be crazy.

900 usd would be about 50% of msrp for a halcyon eclipse and halcyon h75 singles reg setup. if it is in good shape and has been serviced recently, it isn't outlandish.

It's a single, it has been serviced recently for sure. Its a Halcyon Infinity setup with matching regs, as far as I'm aware they retail for around 2400.

Not sure where you are located, but I think you can do much better.

Lots of folks will be looking at swapping out their gear over the next couple of months and you can usually find deals. As an example, a dive shop in Cornwall, ON has some good prices on used gear: Used Gear — O2ToGo Dive Centre There is also Ontario Scuba Swap on FB. You can also find deals on Kijiji, though you need to be very careful with regs and computers.

In terms of regs, you will want to find out which brand your LDS services. This way you will avoid having to ship things out for servicing. If there are a couple of dive shops in your area, this gives you some additional flexibility.

There are a number of great threads on first time gear purchasing. Lots of pros and cons to sort out but don't hesitate to come back to this space if you need advice on narrowing down choices.

While there is a tendency to grab up gear from your LDS - and there are many reasons to do this - getting your best bang for your hard earned dollars means not having to replace inferior gear that was purchased on an impulse.

I'm not against buying used for sure, my only worry is not knowing what to look for when buying used since I'm a greenhorn when it comes to diving. Thank you for the sites and group recommendations, I'll join the Facebook group for sure. My LDS is big on Halcyon and from what I've read online they seem pretty top notch (price tag to match, lol).

 

[ontdiver]

@Gee.Eleven Do you know any other local divers that could help you with your gear selection? Sure, Halcyon is a good brand, but so are many others. Take your time with this...

 

[W W Meixner]

Hey everyone,

New user here, doing my dive course this month for the classroom/pool sessions and June for open water dives. I will be going to my LDS for my gear but I'm kind of lost as to what I should/could get for my price range, maybe someone has opinions on here or advice. I know I'd like a backplate and wing setup and my budget is around 2500 (canadian). Right off the bat I know drysuit would be off the table, which is fine, I plan on moving into a drysuit next year. My LDS is selling their rental halcyon backplate/wings and regs for 1200 which is a good price for sure, just not sure if that eats up too much of the budget or if I could finish getting geared out with the rest of whats left.

Any advice welcome!

GE...

Assuming you're starting out with a single cylinder set up

Here's a complete system from DGX...divegearexpress.com...for a tad over $1000. CAD...shipping will ad a little...but not much...this would be my choice over the used Halcyon BP/W...

$1038.57 CAD...complete...reg set is DGX Deep Six...back-plate/harness/singles wing/two cam bands/crotch strap...

Only add-ons would be a pocket system...DGX has several pocket systems compatible with this package....

Best of luck...

W.M...

 

[JBFG]

what W W Meixner said.
buying in Canada is ridiculous!
Where are you located in Canada? If you are close to a border it make sense to get a US postal address and get your stuff delivered there.

 

[Ben_3]

D'ont forget to think about customs when ordering out of Canada

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Set up a US post box or find a friend. Go visit, if they don't have a pool, throw the gear in the shower and bring it back wet in a tub. They don't know if it's new or 6 months old and you took it with you for a class.