Newbie needs help/suggestions

[don Francisco]

Congratulations, you get the prize for posting what may be the first string with such a solid consensus.
Absolutely, RENT what you haven't yet bought. When you're certified & if you decide to continue diving, you can make intellegent decisions about if, when & what to buy. Meanwhile spend your dollars on a great vacation.

 

[Clammy]

You have all you need except you need gloves and booties if you are diving colder water areas. Otherwise, you do NOT need to buy 2k+ worth of gear if you don't want to or need to. You can rent BC, Reg, wetsuit, hood, gauges, and tank wherever they rent scuba equipment. The wetsuit CAN be a hassle due to different sizes and such but that's more a comfort thing and once you actually get the wetsuit on (even if it requires soap and several people), you likely won't have a problem.

I actually ended up buying all my gear 3 months after getting certified but I got the diving bug and I absolutely love it. I did make a few regrettable mistakes but nothing major and if I get something else, the older stuff will be backup gear anyways.

I spent 300+ for my initial required gear but I also had to get gloves and booties as well, and I bought pricey fins.

I would definitely say don't let the dive shop convince you that you NEED a full setup of gear for your first dives. That's just ridiculous.

 

[fisherdvm]

The only addition I would make is a $30 Timex rated to 100 meters. For everything else take your time. Shame on the dive shop for pushing.

safedives to you and your fam
trtldvr
Florida Keys Safe Diving Initiative

Or buy 3 Walmart timepieces for $5 to $7 a piece. You can find the same at Big Lot for $5. Just don't push the buttons underwater. Chances are, they are good to 60 ft.

If your 11 yo is like mine, he will outgrow his fins within 6 months. He's wearing my boots and fins now.

 

[trtldvr]

If and when you are ready to make the investment, I would suggest that you find another dive shop. The one that you have delt with would rather make a big sale now, rather than nurturing a long term relationship. The shop that I took my original instruction from, here in Key West made the same mistake. When, after a year of regular diving (30 logged dives) with different opporators, I decided I liked the brand that the orriginal opporator used best, so I went back and spent $1200 on a complete package (no problem so far), but I decided to do my next dive with them as well, so if I had any questions about the gear, they could answer them. This is where they lost thousands of dollars in future business by charging me full price ($75) for the 2 tank dive. I have no problem paying for the dive, but it cost them next to nothing to put another diver on the boat (the boat was not sold out). I doubt that they ever missed my business and I see and speak to the owner regularly. After all of these years he has never asked why I never dive off of their boat. His loss.

Safe dives
trtldvr
www.divealive.com

 

[adjuster-jd]

With respect to the OP, I am hoping the that $1000 included mask/fins/snorkels plus the cost of the class/pool instruction. That would perhaps be a reasonable fee for 3 people (maybe even a bargain depending on which masks/fins/snorkels were purchased.).

 

[adjuster-jd]

Also, for the OP - when you are scheduling your open water checkout dives, be sure to inform the instructor when making your reservation that you have an 11 year old. If this is a PADI class (not sure about other agencies) they will be limited to a 4 to 1 ratio of student to instructor. Likely they will need to know this in advance so they can adjust accordingly.

 

[aaron9876]

I just finished buying my set of gear about 1 year (and 6 months of it in Australia) later, and am glad that I waited. Remember that gear is only a means, not an end.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

That's it, I'm going to smack diver 85...
Thanks for pointing out the sale price on the Casio, my favorite watch for diving, I don't NEED another one! GAAAAAA....Rabbit....must....resist....urge....to....buy.

I dove one of those for about 10 years before the battery died. One thing you have to keep in mind, you cannot change the battery on a dive watch yourself unless you have some way to pressure check the seal when you replace the back. These Casio's will last so long and are inexpensive enough you might as well replace the whole watch when the battery dies instead of paying to have it pressure checked.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[nn]

I would recommend a wetsuit, too. They provide thermal protection, abrasion protection, and 100% UV protection. A 3mm suit is the standard in the Islands and will work all year around. $1000 for snorkeling gear is perfectly normal if you purchased open heel fins and boots.

Your 11 year old will love diving, maybe not the act of getting to the site or prep, but the act of diving will be loved.

 

[KeysCuda]

Agree with concensus. You don't know what you want yet.
In warm water, non-advanced situations, the goal is dive with as little gear as possible. You can do it with your snorkel package (yeah, $300 per set is on the high end - I poke around the non-penetration parts of Keys shipwrecks with a $25 discounted mask, a cheap snorkel I found on the bottom and $50 fins), plus the basic tank-BC-reg-gauges rig. Look at some of the online sites to get a sense of prices.
Get too much stuff, you'll be so gear-focused, you'll be distracted from enjoying the dive and becoming a better diver. Computer? No need yet, until you start doing repetitive or multi-level dives. To go down to 30 feet and back, pretty much extraneous.