My OW class is 400 and includes materials, cert fees, and checkout dives for 2 or more students. Personal gear is not included. Unless the student knows for sure what type of diving they want to do a year from now I try not to sell them a BC, regs, etc.
If they do want to buy their own I first ask them what they want to spend. What's their budget and what can they actually afford? I can put someone in a set of cold water regs and a BC (BPW) that will do anything they want to do as long as they dive for around $1000. Not including a dive computer. Which they really don't need starting out anyway if they have a watch and depth gauge. If they do want a computer I tell them to go to Leisure Pro and buy one that's on sale for under $200.
$2500 for new diver gear is nuts. Even if it's high-end gear because the chances are a year from now you'll not be using it or wishing you had something else.
I get sick of seeing new divers being taken advantage of in this way. Mainly because I was. I did buy a used reg but paid too much for it. Didn't know that at the time. Shop made sure I was not told about online sales, other agencies, and as a result, I ended up spending more than 2500 on a BC, reg, computer, two steel tanks, and other gear that 6 months to a year later was sold or gathering dust on a shelf at home.
As for further training, my Advanced Class is $450 and that is for materials, cert fee, and my time. It does not include quarry or boat fees, equipment, fills, etc. But my advanced class is not a taste or tour of advanced dives. There are minimum entry and exit requirements and each dive gives new skills and knowledge. I pick all six of the dives and each one uses the preceding one as a foundation.
I prefer that students take a rescue class first, however. An advanced class is used by operators and resorts to relieve themselves of liability and put people on dives and sites they often have no business being on. So a rescue cert first is one way to mitigate risk by increasing a divers situational awareness and giving them the knowledge and skills to prevent an accident and if necessary respond to one when it happens.
My rescue class is 2 pool sessions, 2 classroom sessions plus on-site classroom at the dive site, and two days of open water training. I need at least 2 students to make it go and the class is the lowest priced class I offer except for nitrox. The rescue class is 175.00 - 195.00 depending on location and number of students. I don't use it to make money. I use it to reduce accidents and create safer divers. I also don't want anyone to use the "I can't afford it" line to not take a rescue class.
Other classes do reflect the time I need to put in and the quality of the training I feel I offer. I'm not the cheapest in my area but I don't try to gouge people. In my books, I give people a complete and transparent look at my methods and rationale for why I teach the way I do. I have no desire to put large numbers of people in the water or get rich off of doing this. I do want every diver I train to be someone I'd let my kids dive with if I wasn't there. Knowing they'd be in good hands. If I can't say that about a student, they don't get the card until I can.
If they do want to buy their own I first ask them what they want to spend. What's their budget and what can they actually afford? I can put someone in a set of cold water regs and a BC (BPW) that will do anything they want to do as long as they dive for around $1000. Not including a dive computer. Which they really don't need starting out anyway if they have a watch and depth gauge. If they do want a computer I tell them to go to Leisure Pro and buy one that's on sale for under $200.
$2500 for new diver gear is nuts. Even if it's high-end gear because the chances are a year from now you'll not be using it or wishing you had something else.
I get sick of seeing new divers being taken advantage of in this way. Mainly because I was. I did buy a used reg but paid too much for it. Didn't know that at the time. Shop made sure I was not told about online sales, other agencies, and as a result, I ended up spending more than 2500 on a BC, reg, computer, two steel tanks, and other gear that 6 months to a year later was sold or gathering dust on a shelf at home.
As for further training, my Advanced Class is $450 and that is for materials, cert fee, and my time. It does not include quarry or boat fees, equipment, fills, etc. But my advanced class is not a taste or tour of advanced dives. There are minimum entry and exit requirements and each dive gives new skills and knowledge. I pick all six of the dives and each one uses the preceding one as a foundation.
I prefer that students take a rescue class first, however. An advanced class is used by operators and resorts to relieve themselves of liability and put people on dives and sites they often have no business being on. So a rescue cert first is one way to mitigate risk by increasing a divers situational awareness and giving them the knowledge and skills to prevent an accident and if necessary respond to one when it happens.
My rescue class is 2 pool sessions, 2 classroom sessions plus on-site classroom at the dive site, and two days of open water training. I need at least 2 students to make it go and the class is the lowest priced class I offer except for nitrox. The rescue class is 175.00 - 195.00 depending on location and number of students. I don't use it to make money. I use it to reduce accidents and create safer divers. I also don't want anyone to use the "I can't afford it" line to not take a rescue class.
Other classes do reflect the time I need to put in and the quality of the training I feel I offer. I'm not the cheapest in my area but I don't try to gouge people. In my books, I give people a complete and transparent look at my methods and rationale for why I teach the way I do. I have no desire to put large numbers of people in the water or get rich off of doing this. I do want every diver I train to be someone I'd let my kids dive with if I wasn't there. Knowing they'd be in good hands. If I can't say that about a student, they don't get the card until I can.
