Simple point here is to highlight a few things regarding entry cost for diving.
The forum is a massive amount of excellent information on what to get for diving gear. Maybe you won't get a BI/W Bcd now that you just start diving, but at least you know it exists, and its pros. You also know that even if you get a jacket one today, the chance you'll spend another 500$+ in a few year to get that "pro BI/W is high ! Same thing apply for every piece of gear you are thinking about buying when you are ready to get to this step.
Now here is the fun. All of this is EXPENSIVE ! And also varies a lot. Attached picture and excel table makes a list, probably not exhaustive, but hopefully close to what you will go through within a year. One of the point being: there are a lot of stuff you don't count but that adds up quick !
I tried to low ball (cheapest stuff, but good and enough) to somehow luxury (high column). In the middle is more reasonable, and also close to what I personally spent or know I will probably spend.
1800$ - 4000$ - 8000$ is the range. And once again, for people just thinking and exiting about buying their first gear looking at a cheap 'scuba package' at LP for ~400, don't forget the rest !
Last comments about renting vs buying right away: it is the $$-entry level you can afford to spend. I'll also add that I don't like wearing a rent wetsuit, but eventually, what will take me to get all the gear is to be able to show up at the beach and go, without spending an hour or more at the dive shop, and then the next morning, have to take it back because the surge conditions were not good enough to get in the water... That would have been the compelling factor.
Thanks to all the experienced divers who are posting all the advices on X/Y/Z gear all the time. This is huge value. (note that after you pass this step of gear benchmarking, getting to the real diving post and experience story is much more fun !)
The forum is a massive amount of excellent information on what to get for diving gear. Maybe you won't get a BI/W Bcd now that you just start diving, but at least you know it exists, and its pros. You also know that even if you get a jacket one today, the chance you'll spend another 500$+ in a few year to get that "pro BI/W is high ! Same thing apply for every piece of gear you are thinking about buying when you are ready to get to this step.
Now here is the fun. All of this is EXPENSIVE ! And also varies a lot. Attached picture and excel table makes a list, probably not exhaustive, but hopefully close to what you will go through within a year. One of the point being: there are a lot of stuff you don't count but that adds up quick !
I tried to low ball (cheapest stuff, but good and enough) to somehow luxury (high column). In the middle is more reasonable, and also close to what I personally spent or know I will probably spend.
1800$ - 4000$ - 8000$ is the range. And once again, for people just thinking and exiting about buying their first gear looking at a cheap 'scuba package' at LP for ~400, don't forget the rest !
Last comments about renting vs buying right away: it is the $$-entry level you can afford to spend. I'll also add that I don't like wearing a rent wetsuit, but eventually, what will take me to get all the gear is to be able to show up at the beach and go, without spending an hour or more at the dive shop, and then the next morning, have to take it back because the surge conditions were not good enough to get in the water... That would have been the compelling factor.
Thanks to all the experienced divers who are posting all the advices on X/Y/Z gear all the time. This is huge value. (note that after you pass this step of gear benchmarking, getting to the real diving post and experience story is much more fun !)
