Cudabait:
Look, I agree with Dee....she's pretty rerliable.
That's the impression I keep getting from reading past posts around here.
Like I said in my first post, I'm try to get people's experiences at these dive shops for more than just repairs/overhauls, I fully planned on giving several a call regarding their techs and price. I'm just looking to learn from other people on who they would recommend to rent tanks or buy gear or take classes with that's all. I'm an information hound.
You bring up some good points on the old gear cudabait, but let me share some of my thoughts and you can straighten me out if I'm way off, ok?
First, the gear is in excellent shape. The BCD is a US Divers Aqualung Cousteau that if it didn't have the big old style metal clips I would have thought was brand spankin' new, seriously it looks immaculate. The reg, a US Divers Aqualung Micra+, shows a little more use though. I'm not an experienced diver (yet) but I am an engineer and I view a BCD and reg as extremely simple devices with few moving parts and therefore few failure points. The weakest points as I see it would be the seals/o-rings, which appear to be easily replaceable and serviceable. So the gear is in good shape and I see it as easy to bring up to spec.
Second, I would like nothing more than to go out and buy a scubapro reg and some BP/W configuration but with our first baby coming soon, my wife would absolutely KILL ME if I spent any kind of serious money on my new obsession (I'm spending quite a bit just doing the diving in Kauai and now Cozumel). I therefore have two choices, make due with the old gear that appears to be a reasonable alternative based on my reasons above in the previous paragraph or not dive. I'm really hungry to get wet so I don't like option 2.
Lastly, I only plan on using this gear at the local dive spots, TL mostly since it's like 20-25 min away. (I'm renting a BCD and reg on my upcoming Cozumel trip.) After the gear is serviced, I will use it in the pool first. I wanted to spend some pool time working on my weight & trim and practicing my skills anyway since I haven't yet dove freshwater, so it would be a good time to get familiar with the gear and make sure it's going to keep me alive. The local dive spots seem to be pretty tame environments, if any problems arise they should be easily manageable. Once I get some more experience and have a better understanding I'll start investing in some new gear and will start doing some tougher dives (rigs, flower gardens).
Whew :11: . Now cudabait or anyone else for that matter, having said all that, do you see any major flaws in my thinking? Am I heading for trouble? Anyone have any positive experiences with the LDS they would like to share (renting or buying)? Or negative and would prefer to PM me.
-Ryan
