First off, I think that this board needs some regional sections. You know region specific places where people who are local to that aarea can post with others in the same area. You could do dive meets, sell and trade items with people in your own area! And generally just talk about the dive conditions in places where you are interested in. Eg, a Southern California section, Bay area section, midwest section, etc. Im sure this is not a new thought around here but I thought Id post it anyway. It would also be good to have a section for people to post about dive shops and their experiences with them. This will help others who are looking for a decent place to plunk down a few croaners.
Ok here we go, Ill try to keep this simple and short...
I have been looking for a BC for my wife for a little while now and got most of my reviews from this board. She tried on a couple based on opinions from this board and then decided which one she wanted. She decided to go with the Zeagle Zena. Since she is quite petite (5'0 and 100 lbs) she needed something as small. Zeagle made an XS and it just so happened that Liburdi had an XS that someone ordered and no longer wanted (I know I know, it was a sign from God himself!) But Im getting a little ahead of myself. The first thing I did was to look online for either used BC or something cheap from an online source. I did find a couple of places that had the Zena's for around 300 dollars but they didnt have the size she needed and we were in hurry to get something before our Catalina trip.
So I find out from Zeagles website that Liburdi is an authorized reseller and Liburdi confirms that they do in fact have the Zena in stock, so off we go!
The first thing that you see at Liburdi is their glass enclosed pool in which they do there pool dives for instruction. The dive shop itself is of a pretty decent size and is quite clean. Joe Liburdi, the owner, is a famous underwater photography and has a full service photography department here at the dive shop. When we first walked in to Liburdi we were greeted by a dive master by the name of Zack (I think) and the first thing he wanted to know was what our names were. This surprised me as Im used to just being helped out of my money. At least this guy took the time to learn our names before asking us to empy our pockets =). Zack was very knowledgable and new of all the questions that people have had about the Zena, and about Zeagles in general, including the back inflate design tipping you over, and of the ripcord system. After acually seeing all of the festures, I dont know why such things have genereated so much heat. Anyways, after trying on the Zena and a couple other BC's (Diva) Susan, my wife, decides that she likes the Zena best and the XS is fitting her perfectly so far! Zack then informs us that we can come back and Susan can dive in the Zena to make sure that it fits and works well enough for her. Then Zack also informs us that there pool is full of SALTWATER and is not just a clorinated fresh water pool, so we will be able to figure Susans weights acurately.I was pretty amazed at this! I dont know how many dive shops actually have salt water pools, but its the first one Ive seen. So, we come back on a saturday with all of Susan's gear and she suits up and gets wet.
After her little excursion we decide to go ahead and buy the BC. The prices at Liburdi are also very good! Even though we didnt get a price as low as some of the online "unauthorized" resellers, Liburdi did give the BC to us for 424.00 which is about 76.00 cheaper than retail. I also weasel another 10% out of Zack when I decided to replace my old US Divers fins for a spiffy new set of Atomics.
Well, we had a very good buying experience with Liburdi and I will continue to shop there even though are by no means the closest dive shop to me. Oh yeah, their rental department is also top notch. The rent out Zeagle gear!
Well, thats about it, overall we were very happy with our experience at Liburdi. Very friendly staff and very good gear for sale and for rent. If you are in the Costa Mesa area and are looking for a good dive shop Liburdi has my vote!
Sorry this was so long!
Nick
Ok here we go, Ill try to keep this simple and short...
I have been looking for a BC for my wife for a little while now and got most of my reviews from this board. She tried on a couple based on opinions from this board and then decided which one she wanted. She decided to go with the Zeagle Zena. Since she is quite petite (5'0 and 100 lbs) she needed something as small. Zeagle made an XS and it just so happened that Liburdi had an XS that someone ordered and no longer wanted (I know I know, it was a sign from God himself!) But Im getting a little ahead of myself. The first thing I did was to look online for either used BC or something cheap from an online source. I did find a couple of places that had the Zena's for around 300 dollars but they didnt have the size she needed and we were in hurry to get something before our Catalina trip.
So I find out from Zeagles website that Liburdi is an authorized reseller and Liburdi confirms that they do in fact have the Zena in stock, so off we go!
The first thing that you see at Liburdi is their glass enclosed pool in which they do there pool dives for instruction. The dive shop itself is of a pretty decent size and is quite clean. Joe Liburdi, the owner, is a famous underwater photography and has a full service photography department here at the dive shop. When we first walked in to Liburdi we were greeted by a dive master by the name of Zack (I think) and the first thing he wanted to know was what our names were. This surprised me as Im used to just being helped out of my money. At least this guy took the time to learn our names before asking us to empy our pockets =). Zack was very knowledgable and new of all the questions that people have had about the Zena, and about Zeagles in general, including the back inflate design tipping you over, and of the ripcord system. After acually seeing all of the festures, I dont know why such things have genereated so much heat. Anyways, after trying on the Zena and a couple other BC's (Diva) Susan, my wife, decides that she likes the Zena best and the XS is fitting her perfectly so far! Zack then informs us that we can come back and Susan can dive in the Zena to make sure that it fits and works well enough for her. Then Zack also informs us that there pool is full of SALTWATER and is not just a clorinated fresh water pool, so we will be able to figure Susans weights acurately.I was pretty amazed at this! I dont know how many dive shops actually have salt water pools, but its the first one Ive seen. So, we come back on a saturday with all of Susan's gear and she suits up and gets wet.
After her little excursion we decide to go ahead and buy the BC. The prices at Liburdi are also very good! Even though we didnt get a price as low as some of the online "unauthorized" resellers, Liburdi did give the BC to us for 424.00 which is about 76.00 cheaper than retail. I also weasel another 10% out of Zack when I decided to replace my old US Divers fins for a spiffy new set of Atomics.
Well, we had a very good buying experience with Liburdi and I will continue to shop there even though are by no means the closest dive shop to me. Oh yeah, their rental department is also top notch. The rent out Zeagle gear!
Well, thats about it, overall we were very happy with our experience at Liburdi. Very friendly staff and very good gear for sale and for rent. If you are in the Costa Mesa area and are looking for a good dive shop Liburdi has my vote!
Sorry this was so long!
Nick
