quality gear??

[MikadoWu]

After years of wanting and desire, I am finally going to get my certification and own gear for diving. I am presently a High School teacher and do not have loads of money to spend stupidly. I have only dived with Atomic B2 Regulators and Zeagle Ranger BC.

Are there any Really Good Brands that last and are as reliable do not charge a premium price?

I am going to need a my own full set of gear, BC, Regs, cold and warm water suits, etc...

That said, if Atomic and Zeagle are the safest and long lasting, I can do that.

 

[meagicano]

I bought everything used (except my regulators & snorkelling gear) in a package deal for dirt cheap. Wing, backplates, computer, lights, harness, 2 big tanks (120L, which a lot of people dive up here), etc. There's a lot of quality dive gear on the Internet from people who bought before they finished their OW & then found they didn't like diving that much. I have a friend with a brand new BCD, an AL 80 tank, wetsuit, mask, etc. who didn't even finish her OW course. The gear is just sitting there, in a storage closet, gathering dust.

I would consider doing the course first, before buying gear. Be sure that you really like diving (you said you are getting your cert but you tried diving - a resort course? a DSD? Will you like diving locally?). See what your instructors and more experienced divers wear. I skipped the jacket style BCD step entirely because my instructor wore a bp/w - I was using rental gear to start and didn't like the feel of the jacket, so he let me try out an extra bp/w he had and I knew that was exactly what I wanted to stay happy diving. Don't rush into a purchase... and when you do decide what you want, try to get a package deal if you're buying it all new. Most dive shops are willing to negotiate a bit.

 

[MikadoWu]

Yes I have done some diving before (I remember 9), couple short runs while in the Marines, and out in some lakes here in Florida. I am native Californian, grew up in the ocean and pools, love the water. Have stay away from gear and licnese for years, as a single father or 2, money very tight.

I have looked at the stuff on the Net and craigslist. I just not sure about buying someone's broke gear.

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2013 at 03:51 PM ----------

I just realized that I should have posted the type of diving I am looking into. My friends here do a lot of open waters in the Florida keys, along with Cave and Wreck diving. They are all very financially well off and never look at price tag, dive shop says buy tis, they do.

 

[meagicano]

I have looked at the stuff on the Net and craigslist. I just not sure about buying someone's broke gear.

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2013 at 03:51 PM ----------

I just realized that I should have posted the type of diving I am looking into. My friends here do a lot of open waters in the Florida keys, along with Cave and Wreck diving. They are all very financially well off and never look at price tag, dive shop says buy tis, they do.

Are you planning to move into Cave & Wreck? If so, it could make sense to look at the equipment configurations and buy what you need once versus twice. Have you asked your friends if they know of any used gear for sale? Tech divers, especially ones that never look at price tags, often have all sorts of extra gear they may want to offload or things that are a few seasons old where they wanted the latest & greatest. Ask around and see what's out there before heading to a LDS and dropping a few thousand dollars. I absolutely would not have been able to buy the quality of gear which I purchased brand new.

I'm not suggesting that you buy "broke" gear - just that you buy gear from someone who no longer dives. The stuff I purchased was incredibly maintained but the diver had been diagnosed with MS and it was time for him to start offloading what he had as he was no longer medically sound to be diving. I just happened to be first to the pickings.

I know what it means to be on a tight budget - that's how most of my diving has been. I used to use hockey tape to get the legs of my hand-me-down wetsuit closed/sealed because the zipper was broken and I would rather spend the money on diving rather than fixing gear. I used that wetsuit for two seasons until I finally bought a new one. I would look at friends who started around the time that I did and see how much money they spent on gear. Brand new steel tanks ($600 each x 2), colour coordinated wetsuits and fins and masks... while I picked up the ugly colours that were on sale, tanks with a bit of lovin', etc. and saved thousands of dollars.

Another point - zipper on my new wetsuit broke (my own fault). I brought it in to get fixed at $30 and skipped diving this weekend while it was getting repaired. Friend asks: "why not just buy a new one? Wetsuits wear out and that's a year old already". Ummm.....

 

[freewillie]

Not quite sure what is your price range. I have both a Zeagle Stiletto BC and a Atomic reg. While my gear is at the higher price end, there are less expensive alternatives for both brands.

There is a Zeagle Scout BC, back inflate starting around $300, much less than Ranger. The Atomic Zx is there "entry" level reg for around $500. The new Z3 is coming out soon, so you may be able to score a good deal at a dive shop for the "older" model.

I purchased an Aeris Travel Lite EX for my daughter on LeisurPro.com. On sale for $175, was cheap enough for me to want to get her a good BC, especially since se is an XS size and sometimes the rental gear doesn't always fit that well.

Short answer is no, you don't have to get either Zeagle or Atomics. They are both very good brands, but Aeris, Cressi, Mares, Aqualung, Scubapro, etc are all very good brands as well. Just about any big name brand company will produce a decent product.

Look for online stores with closeout/used gear offerings. Sometimes the open box demo was an item that was sold, used only few times, then returned. Because not new you get a discount. It's a little like a swap meet, you have to be a little lucky but if you are you can get a good bargain on quality gear.

I know back plate with wings is very popular here on SB, personally I prefer standard back inflate BC. You also don't need to pick up all of the gear all at once. I've done it piece by piece. Besides the wetsuit, mask, fins, next purchase was in order BC, computer, then regulator. I waited over a year before I got my regulator. That being said, having logged over 50 dives I would have paid most of the cost of a regulator anyways, so if you are going to dive on a regular basis it is always nice to have your own gear.

My instructor advised me better to buy good gear up front and maybe spend a little more rather than get something just because of the price only to replace it later. But, you want to do it within budget as well.

Good luck.

 

[grantwiscour]

+1 on taking your time to buy your rig. Try some different gear, rent, etc. Then shop around. I just bought my wife a new dive computer off of ebay.
This guy has some strong deals and good feedback: scuba, dive equipment items in ceascuba store on eBay!

Check craiglist, ebay and even your local pawn shops. Remember that used regs should be serviced prior to use the savings may not be so great after paying for a service.

Good luck on your OW and dive safe.

 

[diversteve]

Look for a discontinued Zeagle Wicked Lite, it's basically a travel version of the Ranger. Like this one - although they only have it in XS. Zeagle Wicked Lite Ranger BCD discounts on sale Zeagle - $325 Not to be confused with the Wicked which is more than the Ranger.

It's a Ranger with a smaller wing (32lb.) and the rear trim pockets are optional (I think they're $42?) It also doesn't have the Ripcord and I don't believe you can add it. It also does not come with the Personal Fit system so you have to buy a standard size. In cold water diving with a lot of neoprene it may not have enough lift. If you dove a standard Ranger, it was a 44# wing. .

Another option is the Zeagle Stiletto, it's a slight compromise in that it won't take doubles but if you never plan to, the rest is functionally the same. Slightly less lift - 35# but it has the Ripcord and optional trim pockets. I know people who dive one in cold California water. It's also a bungied wing which I actually prefer. Zeagle Stiletto BC discounts on sale Zeagle - $599 I had one for short a while, it was as good as my Ranger.

Scubatoys also sells the Brigade - their own hybrid. It's a Ranger harness with an Escape wing. Zeagle Brigade BCD discounts on sale Zeagle - $469

My last suggestion would be a ScubaPro Knighthawk. I went to my dealer to buy one but came back with the Ranger instead. It just fit a little better but I'm pretty tall in the torso. Scubapro Knighthawk BCD discounts on sale ScubaPro - $617

Been to Divers Direct? They've probably got a deal on something. I know in SoFl both brands are popular

The Atomic Z2 is going to breathe identically to the B2 - actually their whole line does. It's $409 new everywhere. $509 (Z2X) if you want the 2nd stage swivel. The price difference vs. the B2 is less Titanium.

You can price a HOG (Highly Optimized Gear) D3 or Edge Epic (their rec. side) for around $300 new. A lot of people here like them. They're a newer line so their dealer network is a little sparse although I'm sure there's more than one Florida. Check diverssupply.com or divegearexpress.com.

Right now there's some good deals on both Cressi and ScubaPro regulators. Both are brands that have been around since the 50's. leisurepro.com or scubatoys.com have them. Scubatoys will have a full mfr's warranty for everything they sell. I'm not sure if LeisurePro is a ScubaPro dealer, they are a Cressi Dealer though.

Whatever you get I suggest you get a balanced 1st stage. The Cressi AC2 and I believe the low end Scubapro are not.

 

[diverrex]

As someone who has bought almost all my gear new, but have bought a few dive computers and regs used, and I have sold off some of my original gear, if I was looking to get good gear at the lowest price I would look at close outs from the online resellers or used gear from active divers. You probably don't want used gear that has been sitting in a closet for years but gear that has been actively used but now is being sold because the diver is upgrading can usually be found for 20-35% of original cost and could easily still last for hundreds of dives.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Yes I have done some diving before (I remember 9), couple short runs while in the Marines, and out in some lakes here in Florida. I am native Californian, grew up in the ocean and pools, love the water. Have stay away from gear and licnese for years, as a single father or 2, money very tight.

I have looked at the stuff on the Net and craigslist. I just not sure about buying someone's broke gear.

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2013 at 03:51 PM ----------

I just realized that I should have posted the type of diving I am looking into. My friends here do a lot of open waters in the Florida keys, along with Cave and Wreck diving. They are all very financially well off and never look at price tag, dive shop says buy tis, they do.

If you are thinking you want to follow them then start doing more research on brands that cave and wreck divers are using. And the types of gear they use. Knowledgeable cave and wreck divers don't follow the advice of a dive shop that tells them what to buy. They listen to their instructors, other divers, and use their own experience to make wise choices.

There are brands such as the one I sell, HOG, that are produced for tech divers and won't break the bank. I have people using them at depths up to 350 feet and thousands of feet back in caves. The regs are equal in quality to anyone else's and you can fix/service em yourself if you want to. I'll even teach you how and sell you the service kits provided you meet a few simple requirements. The BPW's are solid, functional, and simple. What tech gear should be. Not overengineered, over complicated, gussied up tech wannabe stuff.

The owner of HOG is a technical instructor and cave instructor. Not some corporate board that rarely sees the water, if at all.

By the same token there is nothing wrong with used gear. IF you know what you are looking for and looking at. Rarely is it broke. That observation often comes from gear snobs who spend a fortune on expensive flashy gear that the dive shops talked them into. And from those shops who try to perpetuate the mystical "life support" line when it comes to gear. Meaning "we want to profit from you. Don't buy used and save some money you can actually use to dive with."

 

[divad]

My friends here do a lot of open waters in the Florida keys, along with Cave and Wreck diving. They are all very financially well off and never look at price tag, dive shop says buy tis, they do.

In that case, they must have tons of "obsolete" stuff from the dive shop that they can either lend or sell to you. You trust them right?