More Expensive than I thought

[bigduke12]

When I started diving I already had a wetsuit I used for surfing. I got a 2nd hand BCD from my instructor. I purchased regs/octopus, mask, flippers, booties, computer, and knife new after shopping around. I think in all it set me back US$ 1 000. All are decent brands.

After the initial outlay is not expensive. Servicing costs are negligible, and if you look after your equipment it will last a long time.
Occasionally I might need to replace something, but that should not be too expensive.

I mostly do shore diving and rent tanks and weights. A rented tank sets me back about US $ 7 and weights maybe US $ 5 for the day.

 

[miketsp]

hell, throw a boat into the mix......... now we are talking money [wasted].....

And then add on a family of divers.....

Until my son left home, everything was multiplied by 3. Now it's just 2.

On the positive side 3 was the minimum load for many boat operators at some out-of-the-way places that we wouldn't normally get to dive unless there just happened to be another tourist diver there at the same time and we rarely had to worry about the quality of insta-buddies.

 

[farsidefan1]

When I certified my LDS told me I had a 10% discount for life there. And I thought I was the one getting a deal - Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Since I live in Utah and am a certified warm water wuss - travel is the budget buster now. Except for upgrading bcd, regulator, new gear bags, photographic equipment, housing .... AAAHHHHHH

 

[turnerjd]

It's not that bad. Over the last nearly 20 years I have probably only spent £2500 - £3000 on diving gear (what's that in dollars? 4500$?).

I started with secondhand drysuit, which after a few years I replaced by new.
Mask fins and snorkel bought new when learning. Still use them.
I bought good regulators new, and they are still good (OK I have probably added £2000 in servicing costs over the years)
My BCD was second hand, had done many hundreds of dives before I got it, and now I have done many hundreds with it.
I have gone through 5 or 6 pairs of gloves, although now I dive more often than not without gloves.
I dived tables for many years, and only within the last few years went onto a computer.
I still have my original torch, although I did recently spend £50 on new batteries for it.
I had a tank that due to moving I had to sell, otherwise I would still be happily using it.

I must be approaching the 1000 dives, and the majority of my equipment is original (although TBH in good condition, but a bit worn now!)

So, my spending works out at around £2.50 / £3 per dive on equipment, and I can for almost for no cost get a dive in, especially shore dives.

Similarly the usual cost is £50 for a two dive boat trip where lead and tanks are provided. If you have to hire equipment, you can easily add on another £50 for hiring suit / regs / BCD for the morning, making my diving much cheaper than it could be.

What I haven't included of course as farsidefan1 says is the travel budget, and this can be the real killer...................

I think if the OP is worried about the costs of his equipment so far he has a big surprise in store for him. The old joke goes "how do you make a small fortune diving?" Answer - "start with a large one".

Best

Jon

 

[fugly]

It all depends. You have to ask yourself “what are your plans for diving?” Once you answer that, then you can get a general idea of what you want and can get out of it.

There are so many other specialty certifications that you can take advantage of and enhance your love for diving. I’m sure many folks already recommended additional courses you can take. You’re a hop skip away from North Carolina which is a good place to find Megalodon Shark Teeth (Dry suit, Nitrox, and Deep is preferred for NC diving.) Plenty of wrecks along the NE coast that are excellent dives and you might find an artifact here and there.

If your sticker shocked, I recommend that you don’t go near rebreathers.

Just my -2 cents.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Thank you all very much for your input and valuable advice. It is greatly appreciated. Diving is truly amazing and I guess with all things, you have to “pay to play”.
Looking back on my purchases maybe I should have waited a few months. Based on the recommendations from my LDS I bought the following equipment from them:
BC-Aeris EX 100
Reg-Aeris AT600, Octo, SPG, Compass
Computer-Aeris XR1-NX

In hindsight I should have waited on the Computer purchase.

In the next few months, my plans are to dive the local lake near my home. This lake is not the best due to the low visibility and incompetent, sometimes Drunk boat / Jet Ski operators. Since my plans are to solo dive with a maximum depth of 15 feet, I am not sure how useful the computer will be.

Once again thank you for all your help.

Where in the state are you? There is good diving in the upstate at Jocasee (there is a thread here about that) and in the Augusta, GA area at Lake Thurmond/Clarks Hill. Charleston, Murrel's Inlet, and Little River all have ocean diving.

You can rent tanks for a while - more expensive than air fills, but depending on how often you dive it may be a good choice.
You can also rent exposure protection until you figure out what is right for you and your diving.

Please rethink the diving solo - a buddy can really help when things don't go as planned. I know of folks who dive both lakes regularly. They can pitch in to help out a newer diver.

 

[Insta-Gator]

As a brand new diver and new member of Scuba Board, I noticed that a majority of the posts involve travels to distant and exotic places. I thought I was knowledgeable in geography, but quite frankly some of these places divers travel to, I have never heard of. This observation and the price of equipment leads me to think that this is a rich man’s sport / activity.

So far I have spent $1,300.00 on equipment and I still need exposure protection, tank, knife, and weights. Where does it end?

It's a poor man's sport. After you spend all your money on gear and travel, there's not much left.... but great memories and possibly some new friends. Hook up with some local divers and the cost if minimal after the gear purchase.

 

[eelnoraa]

So far I have spent $1,300.00 on equipment and I still need exposure protection, tank, knife, and weights. Where does it end?

So you get BC, Reg, computer, mask, fin, snorke, gloves & fins for $1300. Tt is not bad at all, wait until you get your eyes on a drysuit or anything with a blue H on it. the most important thing is the BC, reg, computer are what you want, mask/boot/gloves fits.

What is expansive is brand new divers got talked into buying gears right after OW cert by LDS, then when they get to about 25 dives, they have to sell those gears because 1) they realize diving is not for them, 2) they realize what they purchased are not really what they want.

 

[beester]

I always tell new divers that it is expensive in the beginning. Acquiring all your gear will set you back between 1500 to 3000 €, depending on your bargain hunting abilities. However once you start diving alot most end up with quite a load of equipment. Some stuff is cheap... some is expensive to very expensive (dry-suits, cable-lights, high end computers, scooters, photo or video equipment, doublesets).

That said for me personally the biggest bite out of the leisure budget is holiday. Me and my girlfriend used to backpack alot. Now we dive on holiday. You can backpack in the Philippines for 500€, and you'll be able to enjoy 3 weeks. A 4 day cruise to tubbatah reef will set you back already 1200€. If you want to do an agressor liveaboard on the galapagos this will alone set you back close to 5000€ (if you include flight from Europe). Our yearly dive-holiday budget is basically the same as the value of all our diving equipment together. But hey... you only live once.

 

[Lucas Cordina]

Well, it is expensive at first, considering you have to buy all of your equipment from scratch, that alone will set you back $1000-$2000

However, after purchasing your equipment, all you'll need to pay for is air refills (and maybe some maintenance costs, which, let's be honest, are very cheap).

After buying your equipment the only thing that can set you back money-wise is travelling, which you can choose whether or not you want to do, after all, local dives can never get old!

Keep in mind, diving can be exciting or relaxing, depending on what you decide to do, that's also true in the financial sense, ask any underwater photographer!