Favorite Northern CA dive shop

[Adobo]

Would it be in poor taste for me to cast an anti-vote for wallin's?

They definitely churn out a ton open water divers. And they have a few good instructors. But as a whole, they are not even the best dive shop in San Carlos.

Anywater Sports by far is the best dive shop in Northern California.

 

[Smelly]

Would it be in poor taste for me to cast an anti-vote for wallin's?

They definitely churn out a ton open water divers. And they have a few good instructors. But as a whole, they are not even the best dive shop in San Carlos.

Anywater Sports by far is the best dive shop in Northern California.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Wallins. I do my majority shoping or renting there. But nothing beats Dolphin in Sacramento.

 

[Adobo]

I'll throw out another big vote for Wallin's. My girlfriend and I did our OW certs there, and had a blast - the instructors were great, and very willing to go above and beyond when possible to help people succeed. We've bought all of our gear there as well, and they've been very generous and accommodating. They seem to be primarily a Scubapro shop, but they carry AquaLung and Halycon in-stock as well. I look like a walking Scubapro endorsement now, but only because that ended up being the most comfortable gear for me when testing - I've never had a hard sell pushed on me.

I don't want to sound like I'm doing a sales pitch for the place or anything, but they've definitely made very loyal customers out of us so far.

They might carry Halcyon but I don't know how much they stock. And the last time I checked, they don't raise the topic of backplate and wings to their open water students. They prefer not to introduce it until advanced open water. Hopefully they have a generous trade in policy.

It's hard to blame them given that the profit margin is pretty low on Halcyon gear. Hey, they have to make a living, right?

One thing I will say, two of the best instructors around work out of Wallin's (Sue Bird and Beto Nava).

 

[Noboundaries]

But nothing beats Dolphin in Sacramento.

Amen!

 

[PeterWF]

I got PADI OW in 1990 when Wallin was across the freeway and my son got SSI OW at age 13 in '03 with Sue Bird who was simply outstanding. The facility is excellent and aside from the limited selection mentioned previously, I can't come up with a gripe. We've bought and rented a ton of stuff over the years and they've been outstanding.

 

[TaoH]

+1 for Any Water Sports from me. I started going to AWS when I got certified around 2003 and was living in San Jose. I moved to Fremont last year and I try to go to AWS as often as possible; it's quite a drive to get there now and I'm never on that side of the bay anymore.

Service is great from Frank and staff who've stuck around for a while. I get good fills on my HP100 if I give them enough time to prevent a hot fill and my regs always come back well tuned.

Some of the rookies who've recently joined AWS are helpful when on the sales floor, and are somewhat knowledgeable, they just don't sound like they are divers when trying to help. They could also use improvement behind the service counter. I've gotten hot fills that drop to 3000psi when my tanks cool down and I was in no rush to get out the door. On another occasion, one individual rolled their eyes as if they were bothered when I went to pick up my regs from service.

I'll still go to AWS despite some of the new flaws.

 

[Ca_Ghost]

I like Dolphin Scuba in Stockton. Always been very nice and knowledgeable. They have a great selection too.

Probably going down there tomorrow to see about either a drysuit or one of their Scubapro packages.

 

[Jim Ernst]

I have had nothing but good experiences with Wallins. I do my majority shoping or renting there. But nothing beats Dolphin in Sacramento.

Right on the Money!!

Dolphin scuba rocks!!

 

[rhlee]

Would it be in poor taste for me to cast an anti-vote for wallin's?

They definitely churn out a ton open water divers. And they have a few good instructors. But as a whole, they are not even the best dive shop in San Carlos.

Anywater Sports by far is the best dive shop in Northern California.

I'm all about poor taste...

I'd rather get my gas filled at tire machine at the Shell station down the block than at Wallins. The Shell guy probably knows more about diving too than the retail staff at Wallins.

They do have some really solid instructors though, and it's a wonder to me how they manage to retain them.

Wallins' recent moves to enter the technical diving market are just laughable. They are less than 0.75 miles from my house, but I'll drive 30miles one-way to go to Anywater...

They would be well advised to stick to what they know and do best; that is keep pumping out lots of OW students and fleecing them with $100 snorkels along the way.

 

[Jim Ernst]

I'm all about poor taste...

I'd rather get my gas filled at tire machine at the Shell station down the block than at Wallins. The Shell guy probably knows more about diving too than the retail staff at Wallins.

They do have some really solid instructors though, and it's a wonder to me how they manage to retain them.

Wallins' recent moves to enter the technical diving market are just laughable. They are less than 0.75 miles from my house, but I'll drive 30miles one-way to go to Anywater...

They would be well advised to stick to what they know and do best; that is keep pumping out lots of OW students and fleecing them with $100 snorkels along the way.

Rob....

Are you saying you don't like this shop??

Sorry buddy , Could not resist.