antblck
New
Hello Scuba Board community!
I'm currently looking forward to buying scuba equipment before starting my DM training but I feel like I'm kind of in a predicament. First I want to say that I'm looking to buy my equipment in person (for best fit etc).
Home for me is Virginia, USA and there is limited diving but I plan on continuing to dive for a very long time (and hopefully be moving someplace by the beach sometime soon). I won't be back in the US though for a few more months and I'm currently based out of Pondicherry, India where there is a dive center (Temple Adventures) which is very nice and a ScubaPro shop. However, I'm worried they won't have much variety and I'll be paying more than necessary. In the next week I will be going to Thailand to gain experience and complete the number of dives needed for DiveMaster. My plan was to buy all my gear (Wetsuit,bcd,booties,fins,mask,reg,bp/w, ect) there since there would be lots of options with shops and I automatically assumed the prices would be wayyy cheaper (considering high demand and competition)…. However, I recently read that actually they might cost more because of shipping/commissions/and because they can? (is this true? this was about Ko Tao) And so now I'm rethinking it and wondering if I should wait and just rent till I get back to USA? Buy in Pondicherry? Or buy someplace else in Thailand? (Also note I plan on completing DMT on this side on the world)
Where would it be cheaper to buy in Thailand? Bangkok? Phuket? Are there perks/cons to buy gear in these places? Also considering I don't live in Thailand it's not like having a strong connection to a certain LDS will benefit me for maintenance considerations etc…
Thank you so much for taking time to read my little ramble and I really appreciate what your more experienced views are...
I don't know why I'm over thinking this so much… I'm probably making this more complicated than it has to be.
The reason why I'm so desperate to save money is because I still have to pay for University (and it's not cheap in the US) and buy scuba equipment was an unforeseen expenditure (that I am of course willing to pay… after all, it's an investment… much like education)
I'm currently looking forward to buying scuba equipment before starting my DM training but I feel like I'm kind of in a predicament. First I want to say that I'm looking to buy my equipment in person (for best fit etc).
Home for me is Virginia, USA and there is limited diving but I plan on continuing to dive for a very long time (and hopefully be moving someplace by the beach sometime soon). I won't be back in the US though for a few more months and I'm currently based out of Pondicherry, India where there is a dive center (Temple Adventures) which is very nice and a ScubaPro shop. However, I'm worried they won't have much variety and I'll be paying more than necessary. In the next week I will be going to Thailand to gain experience and complete the number of dives needed for DiveMaster. My plan was to buy all my gear (Wetsuit,bcd,booties,fins,mask,reg,bp/w, ect) there since there would be lots of options with shops and I automatically assumed the prices would be wayyy cheaper (considering high demand and competition)…. However, I recently read that actually they might cost more because of shipping/commissions/and because they can? (is this true? this was about Ko Tao) And so now I'm rethinking it and wondering if I should wait and just rent till I get back to USA? Buy in Pondicherry? Or buy someplace else in Thailand? (Also note I plan on completing DMT on this side on the world)
Where would it be cheaper to buy in Thailand? Bangkok? Phuket? Are there perks/cons to buy gear in these places? Also considering I don't live in Thailand it's not like having a strong connection to a certain LDS will benefit me for maintenance considerations etc…
Thank you so much for taking time to read my little ramble and I really appreciate what your more experienced views are...
I don't know why I'm over thinking this so much… I'm probably making this more complicated than it has to be.
The reason why I'm so desperate to save money is because I still have to pay for University (and it's not cheap in the US) and buy scuba equipment was an unforeseen expenditure (that I am of course willing to pay… after all, it's an investment… much like education)