Hi, new Divecon candidate with some gear Q's

[Sprocket]

Hi,

I recently started my divecon at a local shop down here in Adelaide, so far we've done the first 5 chapters of theory, and will be in the pool for the first time next week.

A couple of reasons I picked this particular shop are:
a) It's one of the only SSI shops around down here and I enjoyed having a yarn with the staff. I'm new to Adelaide and they knew the owner of the shop I was diving though back in Sydney.

b) The owner is a mad keen cave diver and all the staff are tech/cave divers, and it's sort of expected I will go down that route too, which I'm more than happy to do. From what they've told me, they train OW students with secondaries on necklaces and long hose primaries.

A couple of nights ago the owner/instructor brought up the issue of gear. . . They deal for Scubapro, Halcyon and Inspiration. None of my gear is any of that and none of it is tech at all (Aeris regs/computer, Zeagle Ranger, Bare drysuit, etc). He's happy for me to use hire gear for teaching for now, but expects me to switch eventually.

He also suggested that if I'm real keen on caves, I may as well look at potentially getting a teaching/rec setup and a tech setup. Even went as far as suggest he could probably do an inspiration unit at cost and training in exchange for me working, cause the more of his staff using them the better it is for the shop, and if was looking at rebreathers it's easier and cheaper just to start tech training with one.

Being a scholarship funded PhD student, the pospect of having to dump that much cash on gear in the near future is a bit daunting, and probably not possible. I'm happy to switch over, but I was wondering what's a resonable expectation regarding buying gear from the shop you teach at and a reasonable time frame for switching over?

I'm thinking I'll try my best to get into scubapro/halcyon kit for teaching, dependant on how much teaching I'm actually doing and what sort of cash the shop will charge for it, and hold off on tech gear until I've done a bit of tech training.

Anyway hi all, and sorry for the introductory essay. Lots of thoughts bumping around at the moment...

 

[scubadiver888]

I know for most retail sales they offer staff a discount and insist they wear current clothing when working at the store. The thinking is that it looks bad if the staff doesn't believe in what the store is selling.

It is a little more different for scuba gear. First, scuba gear lasts longer. Second, it is less of a fashion statement. Third, even with a discount it can be quite expensive.

My shop is PADI and SSI. They pretty much wear whatever. They try to encourage staff to buy gear from the shop but they understand that (a) if you have perfectly good gear from somewhere else, why replace it and (b) sometimes you can get something cheaper from somewhere else.

The owner offers things like, you can buy on the gear on installments. If the gear costs $500 then maybe give her $50 a month for the next 10 months. Until the gear is paid for she keeps it at the shop. When you are going diving you check the gear out as if it is rental equipment.

I have heard that DIR and possibly GUE dive schools are very specific about gear configuration but your LDS is SSI. If my gut tells me the owner is using this as an excuse to sell more gear then walk away and find somewhere else. If the owner is willing to work with your limited budget then keep the old gear as backup and start working towards the new stuff.

On a side note, I'd be uncomfortable with getting my DM and learning rebreathers. I'd want to dive open circuit around people using rebreathers for a while just to see what issues they encounter. Additionally, they can get quite expensive. If you are working with Discover Scuba, Open Water and maybe Advanced Open Water then you have no advantage using a rebreather. You might even have issues. For example, I have seen the occasional student run low on air at the safety stop. Instructor or DM will share air with them. If you are on a rebreather, are you going to carry a pony for student low on air situations?

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

I would stick with your original thoughts. To start out with teach rec diving in Rec gear. It will be what your students will be encountering as they start out in the diving world so its better to familiarize them with it. If you start teaching a significant amount of tech courses then I would invest in a set up but until then rent. Its a costly set up even discounted. As for the rebreather issue I would completely agree with scuba diver888

 

[boulderjohn]

Our shop allows all instructors to use the shop gear while instructing. Pretty much everyone owns the same brands the shop sells for their personal gear, but we prefer to wear out the shop stuff while working for them, and the shop doesn't mind. If your shop requires you to wear your own gear, then you don't have a lot of choice. (I'll get back to this.)

If they sell Halcyon, my guess is that the technical instruction will be GUE. You will have very specific gear requirements, and you will be buying very expensive equipment. I can't emphasize this enough: full tech gear for cave diving is extremely expensive, and Halcyon is just about the most expensive you can get. Your primary flashlight alone might cost you more than your recreational BCD and regulator combined-- and then you will need two backups.

So, if you are going to be required to buy shop gear for the dive con work, my suggestion would be to forget about the tech training for a while. If you are really keen on the tech stuff, then forget about the dive con work for a while. I would not try to do both at once. If you are really going the dive con route, concentrate entirely on that until you really know what you are doing and have saved up enough $$$ for the tech.

 

[Crowley]

Also don't forget that the cave diving itself won't come cheaply. The equipment is expensive, the training can be expensive and if you're diving rebreathers or trimix then the diving will come at a price also. Depends what sort of cave diving you're doing. If you're pootling into big open caves at recreational limits with little penetration then none of the tech stuff is necessary (you will need some training and some other bits and pieces). On the other hand, if you plan to go to the cenotes in the Yucatan then you will need a LOT of expensive stuff!

Have a look at what's right for you now. I agree with the others and suggest that you stick with the rec stuff at the moment to suit your budget. You can buy relatively inexpensive basic packages - scubapro for example market a 'rental package' of BC, regs and guages etc which whilst very basic indeed, is hard wearing, decent gear. I know a bunch of instructors who are teaching using exactly this stuff.

Also don't forget that if you're conducting or assisting with basic recreational courses then your students will be wearing basic rental gear. You can't teach confined water skills with a rebreather, and although you can do all the required skills whilst wearing tec equipment in the pool, it's something that most of your divers may never encounter again, so it makes sense to teach in the same stuff your students are using. In the open water, you can wear what you like (generally speaking). Plenty of instrcutors conduct their courses this way - basic rec stuff in the pool then they take their wings and stuff out into the ocean.

Don't be tempted into cave diving just because the shop expects it of you. It can be extraordinarily risky and it is a niche diving activity for those prepared to take the risks and expense. Find out more about it and try to get a more objective perspective from other people along with your gung-ho mate!! Investigate the training and equipment requirements and start saving your $$$ if you're still interested. You don't have to be DIR/GUE to dive caves, but I suspect that most people you might dive with will expect it of you.

Good luck!

C.

 

[Diver0001]

Anyway hi all, and sorry for the introductory essay. Lots of thoughts bumping around at the moment...

This is similar to my situation in a way. My "normal" gear is tek but the shop I work for has a tek allergy and doesn't like me to teach in it or to even mention tek diving to students... It's their business, I have to respect that so in my case I had to make sure I have a jacket, regulator and single tank for teaching.

But anyway, about your situation. You need to put your budget limitations on the table so they understand *why* you can't just re-configure everything straight away. Otherwise they may conclude that you're dragging your feet bacause you don't *want* to do it as opposed to not having the money right now.

This sounds like a very interesting group of divers/instructors. If I get to Australia I think I'll check this out.

R..