Nor Cal shop to test gear?

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a dive shop San Francisco northward that has a good selection of rental gear and a place to try it out. My primary goal is to try a back-inflate BC or BP/wing setup, but my closest LDS only rents regular jackets. Basically, I just want to get in a pool with one of these things and mess around, get the feel for it, see if it's my cup of tea before buying a BC. Does such a place exist?

Thanks for any ideas.

Gregg

 

[DENNISDIVES]

Contact Anderson Scuba in Pacifica---Pool's on site. Tell them Dennis Sent you.....
650-355-3050

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Contact Anderson Scuba in Pacifica---Pool's on site. Tell them Dennis Sent you.....
650-355-3050

Hey thanks, Dennis. I'm waaaaay up in Humboldt County, but hopefully I can get down there sometime soon, if I can't find anywhere closer.

Gregg

 

[davidbusse76]

Hey thanks, Dennis. I'm waaaaay up in Humboldt County, but hopefully I can get down there sometime soon, if I can't find anywhere closer.

Gregg

Dolphin Scuba in Sacramento might be a little closer. They have a pool, and their staff is generally helpful.

 

[coreypenrose]

Dolphin Scuba in Sacramento might be a little closer. They have a pool, and their staff is generally helpful.

2nd that. I spent the better part of an afternoon in their pool playing around with my new drysuit and the staff was very supportive while I worked out the kinks with my new toy.

 

[boomx5]

Dolphin Scuba in Sacramento might be a little closer. They have a pool, and their staff is generally helpful.

If you are interested in trying a bp&wing over at Dolphin...give Patrick a call and he'll help you out. Patrick is a good friend and dive's the same setup as me, so he should be able to fix you up.

 

[jumsted65]

Dolphin's a great shop. I bought a buncha gear there. Trouble is, I asked Patrick to try out different bp/wing setups in the pool. I was told no, their pool is almost always busy. I even phoned ahead and asked if there would be a good time to do so. Nope. I didn't press it and am happy with my purchase. Still, I think they should have gone out of their way to let me try the gear before shelling out the cash.

Nothing against Dolphin or Patrick. That's just what happened to me. I'd recommend them any day. Let me know if you have any luck trying stuff in the pool. Maybe I forgot to say Please

 

[Bob3]

heh heh heh... I was about to recommend Dolphin as well: http://www.dolphinscuba.com
Use the phone, folks are usually too busy to look at email.
1-(800) 436-5744
My buddy has a pool we can use if you don't have any luck buttering up or bribing the folks.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

FWIW, in case someone else ever finds this thread of use, the folks at Pinnacles Dive Center in Novato were really nice and let you test gear in their pool.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Woah...upon further experience with Pinnacles, I have come to the conclusion that they suck really REALLY bad. Avoid them like the plague.

If you get certified with them (as my brother is doing), you cannot use any gear unless you buy or rent it from them. And their prices suck bad. There's a lot more to this story, but I won't bore you. Avoid Pinnacles Dive Center like the plague.

Gregg