More Expensive than I thought

[mathauck0814]

There's always something else. Just build it into your annual budget, like taxes. 1/3 for me, 1/3 for Uncle Sam, 1/3 for the crack - err, I mean diving - addiction.

 

[fjpatrum]

Please, let's not start another LDS v online hijack.

The sport is as expensive or as economical as you wish.

You can spend a lot on brand name gear, or you can do research into more economical choices, or try buy used. Keep in mind many online sites also have closeout specials. Personally I like scuba.com and scubatoys.com.

Local diving does not cost much. Once you've purchased your own gear it's simple cost of air fill and gas to dive site. Most of my dives are local beach dives, doesn't cost much at all. If don't have all your gear rentals fill in the gap.

What I've noticed in dive magazines is they are like car magazines. Who can reasonably afford Ferrari's or Lamborghini's? But we like to read about them. I may not be able to afford trip Great Barrier Reef or Yap but I can put it on bucket list.

Right now it is one family vacation a year and hopefully squeeze in a few dives. In the meantime local diving helps feed the addiction.

I didn't say anything about buying online and there was no intention of a hijack.

My point was that the sport doesn't have to be expensive if you don't want it to be. I've bought a ridiculous amount of gear for a newb with 20 dives. Enough to outfit several divers completely but I have spent less than a lot of people who buy new gear for a single diver.

I prefer to spend my money to go to locations rather than to buy gear. I've also done about 1/2 or maybe a little more of my dives as shore dives, which are free except for the air and gasoline for my car.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

You don't have to hare off to exotic places to do fantastic diving. Honestly, I've seen some videos from diving off the Carolina coast that had me drooling. Yes, they were boat dives, but they were fabulous.

I love shore diving around Seattle, over in Hood Canal, up on Whidbey Island, or even down into California. Pt. Lobos State Park in Monterey is amazing!

You can do a ton of really astonishing diving without spending a great deal of money. Take a look at the long-running thread on the Blue Heron Bridge here on SB. Shore diving, with sea moths.

Oh, and $1300 for acquisition costs isn't bad at all . . . That's a third the cost of a good dressage saddle.

What I've noticed in dive magazines is they are like car magazines. Who can reasonably afford Ferrari's or Lamborghini's? But we like to read about them. I may not be able to afford trip Great Barrier Reef or Yap but I can put it on bucket list.

Right now it is one family vacation a year and hopefully squeeze in a few dives. In the meantime local diving helps feed the addiction.

Like TSandM and freewillie have already said. No diving in not just for the well off, we are a single income family with three kids, a mortgage, and diving on a budget just means you have to look at the diving opportunitys you have close to home. I can't count how many people have asked me "why do you dive around here, there is nothing to see? You have to go to the tropics to see decent marine life". They always seam to take back there words after I show them some pictures my buddies have taken around here. You may have world class diving right in your back yard.

 

[Searcaigh]

28 years since I started and I still buy stuff, last purchase was $600 for a wet dioptre plus $100 for UPS shipping and $60 for import duty

 

[DivemasterDennis]

The phrase "more expensive than I though" applies to almost everything these days. Traffic fines, gasoline, car repairs, tickets to a show or sporting event, even a nice meal out. As for its application to scuba diving, when you consider how long quality gear will last if serviced and cared for properly, while the up front costs seem high over time they even out and scuba, though not cheap, is not any more expensive than many other activites: golf, skiing, bicycling, camping, etc. Once you are outfitted, ( that part is costly) the recurring expenses are not great. Of course, a dive trip to Fiji or the Red Sea is expensive by any standard, but there are alternatives. The Florida Keys offers shallow reef diving with lots of creatures to see, as well as deep wreck diving, and the cost to get there, plus hotel food and diving can be very modest. Some locations in Mexico are also very reasonable as to air fare, lodging and diving. Don't overlook local diving opportunities as well.
Let me close with a caution and a warning: some people (me included) end up acquiring every gadget and thing with a dive flag on it or used for diving. I can presently outfit 4 divers head to toe from the inventory in my scuba room (yes I have a scuba room). You may end up suffering from the same syndrome. I would say that most of us on scuba board are this way. The good news is, its ok. As a diver who drops every extra dime ( and some dimes you don't really have) on scuba gear and diving, you are in excellent company!
DivemasterDennis

 

[divingsiren]

Since I got certified in September (and became instantly hooked!)...I have easily spent close to $1300 or more on diving gear. I was pretty lucky, my parents had paid for the OW class and the initial gear as a gift (fins, mask/snorkel, gloves, booties), but the rest of my gear I've bought on my own. Luckily, my LDS is really great, gave me better deals then I could find online and even had lay away! Now, out of the "staple" gear, I still need a dive computer, AOW cert, flashlight, knife, and maybe eventually tanks. All in all, every dime I've spent of my savings... was worth it. I will admit, as a new diver, who is still overcoming the initial shock to my bank account, it can be a bit overwhelming financially. That is, I want to do so much more--take more trips, get more certification, own more gear...but I have to remind myself that I have all the time to get to all that. Instead, as I live in Florida, I'm fortunate enough to be able to take a lot of local dives! Gas (or carpool!) and tank rentals, and I'm golden.

The calm and ease I feel diving underwater is ultimately, priceless.

Although a few thousand dollars gifted to me by an anonymous benefactor/lottery/will, would be great too... then I could afford to go to SB Invade Coz next year! hehe

 

[Doc Harry]

Dive knife: $20
Regulator: $800
The scuba experience: PRICELESS

 

[rhwestfall]

has it changed? 23 years ago the "theme" was $1,500 to be certified/geared up, and at least that much each year if you were diving... still seems to be possible (without exotic travel)....

so, a little more than $100 a month after start-up if you dive 12 months a year - that covers a local charter here...

 

[freewillie]

I would assume that any local diving has it's own interesting things to see. Each environment from quarries, lakes, and ocean has it's own unique character. Personally I really enjoy the weightless sensation of floating. Add to that the fish and other marine life makes the sport very addictive.

You can spend lots money on really expensive gear like an Atomic T2x at $1200 or more, or you can get Atomic Zx at around $400. Essentially the same second stage and therefore same breathing characteristics only difference is a titanium first stage versus zirconium metal first stage hence the difference in price. There are lots of other examples of saving money without sacrificing performance.

I am fortunate enough to live in Southern California with local kelp diving here in Laguna with lots of different options for beach diving. My daughter doesn't like to do shore entries and only dives from boats. I am willing to pay for the boats for her but will only take her every 2-3 months or so depending on her schedule. Vacations are the exception and we do much more diving then.

You also don't have to purchase all of your gear all at once. Most divers accumulate gear in stages. I'm still waiting to purchase my regulators. I did buy BC, computer, and exposure gear first. For now still renting regs and tanks. I would have had my regs by now but needed to get my daughter her gear first including mask, fins, wetsuit since she is small and does not fit rental gear as well.

Come to think of it, the cost just never ends. Spending time diving and with my kids, priceless.

 

[kimbalabala]

It's funny how many of us seem to be scuba packrats! WHY do we need enough gear to outfit several people?? I'm selling a bc to a new diver (when she gets her tax refund check!) and there's a little part of me that doesn't want to let it go - and I have two other bc's! But if I have to have an addiction this is a good one. In order to be a better diver I've committed myself to getting in better cardiovascular shape - and that improves the quality and (hopefully) the length of my life. If I were a pack a day smoker, with cigarettes at about $4 a pack, that's $1460 a year. That's a lot of scuba money AND I enjoy better overall health. GREAT addiction!