New Diver need advice on purchase idea

[jdetmold]

Hey guys!
So I got my ow cert this year (have been snorkeling and free diving for a number of years) first thing I did was to get myself a good wetsuit, mask, fins, boots, and snorkel

but now I have decided after renting the rest of the gear a few times that i would like to purchase... nothing to expensive but i figured it best to get some opinions of what i was looking at...

so I was looking at this regulator package (copy and paste, i cant post urls yet)

scubagearcanada.ca/product/RG-1007%20Extreme%20Package

and this bc (so far i have much preferred back inflate bcd's (again copy and paste)

scubagearcanada.ca/product/Escape

i dont really know if these are good prices they seemed good compared to local dive shops (keep in mind these are CAD $ as i am in canada) but i would like to avoid ordering from the states as shipping would be more (to get this shipped to me it will cost $30) and i would likely have to pay duty, unless it offers enough savings to balance out shipping and duty


any help or advice would be great!

Thanks!
-Jeff

 

[_Blue]

I remember being in the same situation after my initial certification.

Let me start with your current considerations. I looked at the items and don't recognize the brands so I don't want to weigh in either way on them, you may want to pose those questions in the BC and regulator forums specifically.

However, I can share a few thoughts on how I started to build my equipment inventory. I tend to do most of my gear shopping online. I'd love to support more LDS's and I do patronize them for gear maintenance and service, but when it comes to really great deals the internet just beats them every time.

Anyway. I had mask/snorkel/fins, since I've been snorkeling since I was able to put my head underwater. So I purchased an O'Neil 3/2 wetsuit first, more designed for surfing than diving but the price was right and it's been fine for the last 3 years AND I just feel better about wearing a suit that only I have pee'd in. Then I bought a Sherwood Brut regulator package from LeisurePro (Brut 1st & 2nd stage, Oceanic Slimline octo, Genesis gauges). Then a computer, a basic Oceanic Veo 100. VERY basic, no nitrox, single button, but it does everything I need and gives me WAY more time than tables. Then I found a good deal on a ScubaPro frameless mask (I did use a few LDS's to go try on the 3 models I had narrowed choices down to) which leaks a LOT less than my old (and cheap) US Diver's mask. Last purchase/upgrade was my fins. I found a pair of Aeris Velocity fins online for $20 (USD), which replaced my 20+ year old Tekna Spectra fins.

I'm still waiting to purchase a BCD. I figure that by having the gear I do, my rental costs have been reduced by about 2/3 and I feel better knowing that the major life support equipment is only used by me and I am able to make sure that it's well maintained.

Whatever gear you decide to purchase, just remember that some equipment IS there to save your life and YOU are in control of the quality of that equipment.

Not being in a hurry to purchase my gear allowed me to find gear that I trust at prices that still left me with a few dollars to rent a BC and tanks and use the gear I bought.

 

[NCadiver]

Not knowing what kind of diving you are going to do and where most of your diving is going to be done at and your body type I would pass on this package it an unbalanced piston regulator.

 

[Travus_]

Deals online are great. But and you know aswell as everyone else there is always a but. Some online dealers really are not an authorized dealer. So if you do purchase something from them you would not get the warranty that you would from an authorized dealer. Another thing is what if you do not like it when you get it. What I mean by that is you do not like how it fits, looks, or there are just things that you would like to know of before you bought it. My advice is go to your local shop try some things on first. They should be able to help you out. If you go to the shop that you got your C card from then they do know your personally and I believe that is the best approach to your situation.

 

[dbs129]

Only a couple of months I was in the same situation myself.

Not being familiar with the brand name from the package you had indicated, I again cannot offer any comment.

However, you should consider the following points:

- As you, like myself, reside in Canada, I would not consider any first stage unless it was a cold water regulator (with environmental seal). You may not be diving in the North Atlantic, but keep in mind that you can use a cold water reg also in warm water. It would be too much of a risk to try and use a warm water reg in cold water conditions.
- When you purchase a regulator package, consider that these will need to be serviced. It could end up to be very costly with shipping costs and delays if the regs could not be serviced at your local dive shop. In addition, if you purchased your regs elsewhere, what about cusromer loyalty when it comes to service at your LDS. If they were busy with the loyal customers, you would probably not be on the top of their priority list for service. This could be a problem if they are not many dive shops in your area.
- Finally, try to strike a bargain with your LDS. Most will bend a bit on pricing if they can see customer potential and loyalty, especially if they know you have been looking on-line.

When I recently purchased my reg set and BCD (Oceanic Cruz BCD, oceanic GT-3 with CDX-5 first stage, Oceanic Slimline 2 octo, and Oceanic Swiv Navcon console), my LDS practically matched the price I could purchase the same items on-line ($1054.00 plus tax), and I would have to pay the additional cost of shipping and the Canadian Customs duties and taxes on-line - thus, cheaper at the LDS in the end). In addition, I have established some customer loyalty with the LDS.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Interesting, first time I have seen an aropec regulator...Taiwan company that makes stuff for others and now seems to be selling under their own name. They make some major junk, and what seems to be nice stuff.

While it depends on what you want the regulator for... my general view would be no...it is not a cold water regulator and if you travel with it and need any parts, good luck with that.

The BC...does not appear to be that bad...I would be willing to take a chance on it....might replace the inflator though.

However this stuff is low cost for a reason... it is not high end stuff on sale..does not mean it will not work, just that if you need any parts... you may be on your own.

I own an off brand deco regulator... I don't travel with it... don't use it in cold water and expect that one day I may not be able to get parts... but for what it does, it works.

 

[jdetmold]

well I made my purchase and didn't get a single item on my list. thank you all for steering me away from my first list as I am very very happy with the gear I bought and not sure I would have been as happy with the first list.

The BC in my first list I had in fact tried in the pool and liked it, I had not tried the regulator but wanted some opinions on it before I bothered spending a few hours in the car to try it.

So I was traveling recently and had the chance to try out a Zeagle Ranger and i loved it!!! so i was browsing online and found the Zeagle Brigade and Delta 4 FDX 10 Regulator Package at scuba toys. the Brigade had great reviews on the scuba toys site and i searched for it here as well and everyone seemed very happy with it, and as a plus I have used the Delta 4 before and was happy with it as well. I had no experience with the Pro Plus 2 and wasn't planing on an ai computer at this point but the deal seemed quite reasonable.

I printed it out and ran to one of the 4(!?!?! how on earth does Calgary a land locked city support 4 dive shops?) the one that I will get my service at and they could come no where close to the price of the package deal offered through scuba toys, but said that they carry all the brands from the package and can service them. so I wound up only purchasing a tank from them.

I was going to purchase weights from them as well however they were charging 5$ a # hard and $6.50 a # soft! so I skipped the weights and as I spent a few years working at a car dealership I stopped by on my way home and picked up 30#'s of used tire weights and made my own.

thank you all again for steering me away from the first list of items I was looking at so far I have only used my new gear once in the pool but hope to get out and use it very soon. thinking about doing the AOW next month pending the recovery of a minor surgery latter this month.

-Jeff

 

[Cruisin Home]

I am very suspicious of this low cost stuff from non-name brand source.

As a veteran cold water diver get the Sherwood, particularly Brut.

Like Oceanic vest, got the back inflate recently, great vest from a great company.

I am sure you can find Canadian source to buy this from. Your LDS will probably match any on-line price you can get. Do some homework. This stuff can last you 20 years or more if you buy it right.

Dont buy the stuff you saw, just dont.

 

[Hatul]

I'd go with the Zeagle Stiletto rather than Escape, as the Stiletto has the preferred parachute weight release.

The rest of the stuff there is non-brand name, as someone else stated, just pass on it. Go with ScubaPro, Aqualung or Apeks. And skip the depth gauge and just get a computer.

Adam

 

[jdetmold]

I am very suspicious of this low cost stuff from non-name brand source.

As a veteran cold water diver get the Sherwood, particularly Brut.

Like Oceanic vest, got the back inflate recently, great vest from a great company.

I am sure you can find Canadian source to buy this from. Your LDS will probably match any on-line price you can get. Do some homework. This stuff can last you 20 years or more if you buy it right.

Dont buy the stuff you saw, just dont.

Thanks but i already made my purchase and got nothing from that first list(see the post above yours)

I'd go with the Zeagle Stiletto rather than Escape, as the Stiletto has the preferred parachute weight release.

The rest of the stuff there is non-brand name, as someone else stated, just pass on it. Go with ScubaPro, Aqualung or Apeks. And skip the depth gauge and just get a computer.

Adam

As for the Zeagle I got the Brigade (from scuba toys) it has the ripcord release.

here is a url for the package I went with seemed like a good price and the LDS said they couldn't come near matching it.

scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=Package4