How much have you spent on training and dive equipment?

[Ulfhedinn]

About 5 's and a .

No I cant Justify cause I bet on American Pharaoh.

 

[Akimbo]

I doubt that I could put a number on it with the help of a forensic accounting firm. My dad paid for my first set of gear and the class 60 years ago (age 11). Since then:

1. I built plexiglass and aluminum underwater camera housings in high school that I sold to buy more dive and photo gear. My dad had a small machine shop and I commandeered space in our basement.
2. I was a Navy Diver so didn't spend much of my cash but worked very long hours for very little pay. All-in I spent more than two years in various schools. Not complaining but have no idea how to put a price on it. It was priceless to me.
3. I helped finance and build a sat system to dive the Andrea Doria. Lost money on that project. Some divers in this thread think one of the chambers counts as dive gear:
   
   How bad of a scuba gear hoarder are you?

   What do you like so much about them? That they are much lighter? The 85s are heavier than my HP80s. The other tanks I’ve done SM are HP80s and LP50s. The 80s were what I had most of. They were okay, not ideal. The 85s trim out much better. I can’t go longer - the 85s are about at my knees...

   scubaboard.com
4. I was a principal in a company that made saturation diving systems. We spent over $10 million of our customer's money. Does any of that count?
5. Worked in the commercial diving industry for years. Does any of that count? I have no idea how much I spent or how much of client's money was spent.
6. Organized and worked on several treasure hunting expeditions, all deep and cold water. Not my money but spent a LOT.
7. I lost count of how many dive trips I made for fun. Fortunately I had friends that owned boats that invited me aboard. The statute of limitations have passed so I am safe admitting that I never declared the value on my taxes.
8. I actually paid for a number of tropical liveaboard trips in the last 10 years. Do flights, lodging, and restaurants count?
9. I could probably put a number on DAN and ScubaBoard memberships if I spent the time to sort it out.

It is a complicated question.

 

[TMHeimer]

Equipment-- Gee that's hard to figure over 17 years. Maybe $2-3K? Can't figure much more.
Courses-- Uh, Probably about $2K on courses other than DM and another $500 or a bit more for that?
Justification-- For the regular courses at the time I had plenty of money and after AOW and Rescue I became a card collector to get MSD. For DM, I wound up enjoying the 4 seasons I worked assisting OW courses and probably came out $1,000 ahead (including PADI membership and insurance)-- of course our shop paid $300 CAD to assist an OW course.

 

[Tracy]

I would guess between $500k and $700k. Not sure I could justify it, but you can always make more tomorrow.

 

[PfcAJ]

I’ve got $500 drysuit underwear that I pee on from time to time. I can’t even begin to calculate the cost of all this madness.

 

[Tracy]

I’ve got $500 drysuit underwear that I pee on from time to time. I can’t even begin to calculate the cost of all this madness.

I am with you, I counted one day and found I have over $2k in DIN plugs. I didn't spend that on my initial training, gear included.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I think my first scuba set was $35, used and consisted of a 38 cubic foot tank and a Healthways Scuba double hose regulator (with an automatic reserve built in) in 1959. I upgraded that to a steel 72 in about 1962 (cost unknown) with a Scuba Star regulator ($35, I think). Then, in about 1965, I bought via mail order a Voit 40 Fathom single hose regulator (the Voit version of the original Calypso regulator by U.S. Divers Company) and a steel 80 cubic foot tank, which I kept for a number of years. Since then, I've built up quite a collection of dive regulators, tanks, BCDs (the Dacor Nautilus CVS, times two), masks and fins. I have no idea how much I paid, other than the Sportsways Hydro-Twin II regulator I bought from a friend in the 1980s for $25. But this has been both a hobby and profession (USAF Pararescue) for many decades now, and well worth the expense.

SeaRat

 

[Centrals]

Can you justify the cost?

NO.
The cost of helium is ridiculous so I have given up trimix for many years.
However, scuba diving is the only recreational sport that I can still actively pursuit at the moment so I will stick around for few more yrs until my body tell me to stop.

 

[100days-a-year]

Diving paid for my diving. Including boats, compressors, gear, tanks, vacation diving lodging and rentals and a lot more. All I had to do is kill fish and lobsters in sufficient quantity to make a profit after gear, boats, compressors, travel and licensing costs.

 

[vjb.knife1]

I have probably spent $40,000 on training and gear. But I have worked as a Commercial Diver off and on since the 1970's and made many times that much in salary as well as writing off most of the equipment. And that does not even count the enjoyment that I have gotten from recreational diving, doing a job that I enjoy some of the time and finding valuable items in the water.