Cost of dive equipment?

[chillyinCanada]

Tyler Winchell, please tell us more about the course you are planning to take. Is it out of a dive shop? Is it PADI, SSI or some other agency? How did you find your instructor?

I also strongly recommend that you put away the money for gear until you know how much you and your girlfriend, like or do not like diving. How much time you'll have to commit to diving and where you're going to do that.

There's no hurry and no reason that you have to buy all that gear before you know that diving is going to be an enduring love.

 

[Scuba Scott]

If you're on Facebook, there is a scuba swap and shop group with a lot of good deals. You could probably put together a set of equipment for $1K/person.

Thanks for the tip. I just joined. I am always looking for a bargain.
The problem with used gear is that the sellers want what they paid for it. It is worth half.

For 1K, I could outfit you in new gear, not used.

 

[Marie13]

I was being conservative on the $1K/person figure.

 

[longtimer]

I did a quick search and could find no dive shop in the western hemisphere advertising $865 (american) intro level scuba training. It is good for a laugh though, as long as it's just a troll.

 

[guruboy]

GUE Rec 1 will be up there in price. Hopefully that is what the OP was quoted for.

 

[oly5050user]

I would start with looking around for another shop if it is $865 per person. Where are you located? There maybe some board members in your area that can help point you toward a more reasonable price.

How is this over priced? Say $300 for ow class, $110. For text book,dive planner,DVD,log book.ow training dive with gear rental included $270, required ownership of mask,snorkel,fins,boots range $200-$300. Add in a 3mm wet suit for pool and future dive adventures $200-$300.. I tell people can realistically range $800-$1000 to get certified ..add in cost of boat or entry fee to dive location, maybe overnight stay at a hotel motel for certification weekend..I find it better to be realistic and go high than have them be surprised by unexpected expenses.

 

[guruboy]

The general assumption is that the price he quoted did not include equipment or incidentals. Just the OW course.

 

[oly5050user]

Im in hudson valley ny, all other places said 1200 for cert and ow so 865 is best price here

That is a realistic price in NY area. Of course that is not just the tuition but most if not all associated costs such as required personal gear of mask,snorkel,fins,boots,learning materials, training dives,rentals for the dives...usually works out anywhere from $800 to $1,000 +.
Group class here is $300 for academics and pool requirements. Training dives $269 includes ow rentals. Does not include transportation, entry to dive site, overnight hotel stay (it is a 2 hour drive back to Yonkers NY)

 

[oly5050user]

Check out SCUBA New York
Learn to Scuba Dive | Scuba Classes New York | Scuba Certification NYC | Scuba Certification Westchester
The owners of that shop are active on this forum, and they look to have nice set up.
I live in Albany, and my local shop is more then likely to far for you to drive.
You may want to do the 'confined water' (aka pool dives) skills and class room work locally, and then do a 'referral' where the local shop transfers your info to a shop in the Caribbean to do your ocean dives.

Hey! That's where I teach PADI 5 star IDC facility..our instructors teach constantly new classes,unlike other stores that an instructor might teach 2 or 4 classes in a year. I have had weeks where I taught 3 or 4 different courses in a week.

 

[oly5050user]

U gys think freediving for flounder and tog is best instead of scuba?

No way..especially for tog or stripers