Greets from Central California!

[teamgs]

Hey John,
Thanks for all the information! That's a good point about the wetsuit. One of the guys going uses a 3mm shorty, and his wife, who is always cold, uses a 3mm full, and they dive Maui every year. The past few days, I have been doing just what you were suggesting, and predicting our amount of diving per year. With our new baby, and all our other hobbies, I cannot see diving more than one multi-dive trip per year (two at most), at least for the near future. This does cause me to lean toward the rent everything side of the argument, with the possible exception of a wetsuit.

Again, thanks for the opinion!

Regards,

Gary

 

[RIDIVER501]

welcome to the board

 

[murphdivers286]

Welcome Aboard!!!

It's addictive, but who cares?!?!?

Good friends and good info. What could be better???

P.S. - If you have not already done so, please fill out your profile.

Buy you equipment a piece at time. I did. I had to put my reg on layaway. I hated making payments and then walking out of the shop without my reg, but that last payment was nice. Even though my wife may it for me. At least it was a surprise when I got home from work.

 

[cintiachaneton]

I ´ve been in Maui and it was great diving there! Also Honolulu ...I recommend to rent your equipment (sorry I speak spanish!) and not to buy it, even when you do so for the first time, usually you get another that fits you better, I know rentals are not very good but at least try to know better about your equipment.
About your clothing, It will not be cold so a short suit that may be you used for water skiing or something like that will help! Usually the fins hurt a litle bit so do not forget if you rent them to use socks! Till you get your own things.
Have fun!!!
Cintia.

 

[icyman]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Wristshot]

Gary,

Glad I gave you some good things to think about.

Unfortunately, with a new baby, chances are that diving will drop lower on the ever-growing list of priorities. No sense spending a ton of money on dive gear only to have it collect dust in the attic (bad place to store gear, but I was just making a point) I hope that you get to dive (almost) as much as you want to, but it probably won't happen.

On the othe rhand, if you decide to rent for now, then that gives you the opportunity to try different brands and models of gear, to look at different set ups and to compare features. If you find a deal somewhere that is just too good to pass up, then you can jump on it.

One other thought: lots of shops put together package deals, and most have a big sale at least once a year. If you aren't in any huge hurry to spend your money this instant, you can look, listen and learn, then buy when the sales hit.

If you rent for now, that means you have to plan just a little bit more because you will need to arrange to pick up gear and return it. This adds time when you are diving at home. While on a dive trip, you will have to pick up rental gear, but it might not be more time and effort. I end up schleeping a ton of gear and I spend a lot of time each dive trip rinsing after every set of dives. Just a couple more things to complicate the decision making process.

But hey, everyone knows that as soon as a baby arrives, your live is irreversibly changed for ever. New challenges and rewards replace the old.


Wristshot

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Greetings,
A whole group of us turned 40 this year , and will be making a trip to Maui over the Labor Day week. I have been there twice before, but never have been diving.
My wife and I, as well as my brother and a friend are going to get certified in the next few weeks, and the LDS was even kind enough to have the instructor do our pool work in our own pool!
We will be taking guided dives with 4 friends who are experienced divers, and 2 others who are certified but not regulars.
I am now going through the standard " buy or rent", "what brand of gear?", "wetsuit?", etc. questions.
I am leaning towards buying the required stuff, and a wetsuit, and renting everything else for this trip. Is this a sound plan?
I have a wetsuit purchased for my jetskiing in Tahoe, and the Cali coast, but I am not sure it is functional for scuba. It is a full suite, but with short sleeves, and long sleeve "gauntlets" that can be pulled on to give more arm protection. This is more a surfing suit, I think.
Any thoughts on our next steps?

Regards,

Gary

Hi from Matt,

Welcome to SB! I came here to look for help with my scuba diving dream and the response has been fantastic. So, I know you will enjoy being a member here.
There are a lot of nice and informative scuba divers. It's a good place to meet other divers and share experiences and dreams. Take care from Matt. :scubadive