I signed up for my class today and bought my gear

[Diehl]

Hi All I went to my LDS to sign up for my open water course. So I spoke with the instructor and she was very nice and knowlegable. A friend of mine from work is taking the class with me, so we started talking about equipment. She said since we were Paramedics for the County we live in we would get a big discount. So here is what I bought. I just hope its not crap :06:

The BC I bought she said it looked like it was used once so she gave it to me for $169 It listed for $399 Its a Malibu from Aqualung. I hope its not something I will have to upgrade?

My Regulator which I know is not crap is the Aqualung Titan LX 1st and 2nd stage

She gave me the Octo for no charge its a Octo USD flat

My Computer is not the wrist kind but has my pressure guage with it. Its the Gekko Combo and they through in a $60 compass for free. It listed for $499

My Fins are the Tusa X-pert Zoom split fins which list for $169 at the lds She gave them to me for $100

Moral King Bootie $45

Lirica Mask from Mares $49

And she through in the books for the Nitrox class but I still have to pay her for the upcoming class because I did'nt want to go over my credit limit on my card She also gave us a storage bag.

I told her I would get a cheap Snorkle myself

My Reciept said I saved $524

The bill came to $1286

Is this a good setup??

 

[Wendy]

I wish you hadn't bought your gear before you even took the class. Take it all back and rent for awhile and decide for yourself what it is you want and what you will be comfortable with. You can rent different set ups and see what you like best.

When you say you up you won't have to upgrade, what are you hoping for in your dive training?

 

[Doc Intrepid]

You must have been wearing bright clothing and pulled into the parking lot in your ambulance, as they saw you coming from a long, long way away!

(Relax. Kidding.)

Equipment is "good" to the extent that it meets your needs and holds up well over time with reasonable maintenance. The stuff you bought will likely do just fine at the stage you're at. (Uh, you got nothing 'free', bud...)

Different folks feel strong about this or that, but generally so long as it isn't unsafe the gear you have will perform reasonably well.

Most divers wind up with a drawer or closet (or garage) full of equipment 'mistakes'. If you're lucky you'll be able to ebay your 'on second thought' issues. If you're not, you'll learn expensive mistakes like the rest of us. Its an equipment-intensive sport and darned few divers (who dive regularly) wind up three or four years after getting certified with the same gear they started with.

That said, most people consider it prudent to get certified before picking up gear, because they get an opportunity to experience a wider selection of equipment that way. Since you already bought the stuff, its a done deal. Quit worrying about it and just enjoy your course. Oh, and welcome to the board.

Doc

 

[crpntr133]

I do have to agree, rent first and buy later. Who says that you will even like diving? Yes it was a good deal and not junk. I have seen many that do this and end up selling their equipment the following year.

 

[Diverwilliams]

I agree with Wendy on this one. I work in a dive shop and we let you try any equipment you purchase. If you are not happy you get all your money back or we will let you try something else.
Aqualung has nice equipment but I don't believe that the bcd is weight intigrated. I may be wrong on that. The last thing you want is to deal with a weight belt. The prices that I see are price good so you did ok not a big discount though. I would ask if any of it could be exchanged or returned if you did not like it. Titan LX is an excellent regulator and you will like the Gekko it is a good computer. Super price for the fins easy on the legs. A good snorkel is important so don't buy junk.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Price all that stuff on LP

Suunto Gekko ($349.00)
http://www.leisurepro.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&ProductID=SQTGKC

Titan LX Reg ($245.00)
http://www.leisurepro.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&ProductID=UDRTLXR

Tusa Fins ($129.00)
http://www.leisurepro.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&ProductID=TBTF8L

Mask Lirica ($29.00)
http://www.leisurepro.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&ProductID=MRSML

Booties ($46.00)
Can't find them

BC ($169)
Don't know about this......could have been used 500 times.

Thus a total of $967 +tax&shipping

I would agree with Wendy, who knows what you want to do in the future. On the other hand, that is pretty good stuff for REC diving and you got some good prices from your LDS. Congratulations!!!!!

 

[Diverwilliams]

Need to figure the price of BCD, Octopus and Nitrox text with that.

 

[Wendy]

about the BC, the lady at the store didn't know if it was used or not? Doesn't she work there? If it was used, how much and when was the last time it was serviced? Are they goign to pay to service it for free before you dive it since they sold it to you as used? I would not trust any gear I didn't know the history of, your life depends on it.

I almost forgot....split fins...ugh...take those back too. If you ever paln on doing any wreck or cave diving those will not be good, entanglement hazard.

 

[northcoast_diver]

I will give you the dive store owner's view (I am not a dive store owner, but I know a few).

Rental gear is cheap, old, and performs poorly. Therefore by buying your own gear, you get better quality. The dive store owner is therefore glad you bought your own gear. All the way to the bank.

The others above have given you the view that most of the rest of us believe -- that it is better to rent your gear, and dive with rented gear, for awhile, before you buy.

For $500 you have gotten an expensive air-integrated computer. It will teach you a lot of things. Stores love to push expensive dive computers onto their customers. They are happy now. And you will be happy with the computer, since it does a lot of nice things. You probably did not need this particular item, at this cost level, but now that you have it, it will become one of your favorite toys.

At some point, after you are certified and have gotten skilled at scuba, you will have to ask yourself why do you do it. Right now, you are doing it to discover it. Then, however, you will have to evaluate what you like about actually doing scuba.

Some like to take photos. Others like to hunt food. Still others like to dive reefs and wrecks and into caves. The answer to that question will determine what gear you will need. And right now you actually have no way of knowing that.

You live in a beautiful state, for scuba diving. You have coastline and you have caverns and caves, all of which are spectacular sites to dive. Its a good state to discover scuba in.

Hopefully you will have a great instructor and good D/Ms who will teach you to enjoy learning about scuba. And hopefully you will take to scuba well, especially since you made your purchases already. As the others have said, there are a lot of unknowns still, and it was somewhat early for you to buy. But you will be happier with your new gear. You may however be changing a lot of it someday soon.

Good luck thoughout your learning phase.

 

[fashionablylate]

split fins...ugh...take those back too. If you ever paln on doing any wreck or cave diving those will not be good, entanglement hazard.

I have split fins too, and I have to agree. I am new to diving, and already I've seen the possibility of a problem with entanglement. I watched someone with the same fins come down a decent line, and watched their fin slip right into it. I've also seen someone in a tow situation have their reg yanked out of their mouth because the other person's split fin slid around the regulator hose.
I'm staying with mine right now, because I have other things I want to spend money on, but I'm looking at the Cressi Rondine A fins to replace the split fins I'm currently using. I'll definitely replace them before doing any serious diving.
-Andrew