Shave head or pull out hair?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

When I find a deal my, chosen shop explains “not an authorized dealer” so I keep looking. I found package in my range listed as “authorized dealer” but not even the manufacturer would verify if he was really an authorized dealer.

Let me ask you this: Who cares? If you find a deal you're happy with, what difference does it really make if the dealer is authorized?

If you buy used gear, it isn't from an authorized dealer. What's so terrible about buying new gear that way?
 
You NEED a mask snorkel fins and booties to learn. Buy quality (except for the snorkel, buy a tube) Take your course, and THEN start worrying about gear...how do you even know that this is for you?

This all started with this shark tooth, I found it shin deep in the surf. So how do I go farther/deeper to see and find more? well I found a wetsuit cheap and found the water still way to cold to go past my chest. I found a dive shop and asked about wetsuits and found out i wasted cheap on a old 3/2 when i need a 7mm but then i would need weight and maybe a light (dark in the kelp) and it all sno-balled from there.
As a kid i watched sea hunt and pretended to be Lloyd Bridges when ever in the water. Rentals are for vacations, If I cannot sleep a mask, fins, boots, gloves, suit, weights, light, snorkel, and hood is pretty much the least I need to go adventuring(comfortably). I'm not waiting for the dive shop to open to rent so I need all this (no mater what).

Many people around here take laptops to the local coffee house and sit and surf the net. I would rather sit offshore and sift for shark teeth or collect shells or take pictures. Is this for me? No! being under water for our kind is unnatural and goes against the laws of nature. But I still want to do it. Why do you do it? This tooth I found came from a large flesh eating sea creature that thinks we might taste good. But I still want to do it. Why do you do it?
I found another thread of a guy asking about moisture in his tanks (double 130s) and he got a lot of grief asking what he needs that rig for (he doesn't) he wants it.

I would feel better having my own equipment!
But if I get it, I will get grief, charged more for inspection/service and have to go elsewhere to take the course. Unless I buy lesser equipment in this shop for the same price I could get mid range equipment for online.

I think my biggest complaint in a safety oriented industry is that I must first take a greater risk because of cost and then work my way to a safer level.

Just like I don't want to join the multitude of unlicensed uninsured motorists on the road, likewise I do not want to be an uncertified diver

Renting is for vacations and I cannot afford a vacation
Renting is for the rich and I am not rich
I have x amount of dollars and if I were certified I could get everything I need plus some. But to get certified and get what I need just to get certified is almost half again as much.
WHY?
i say greed piss on safety
 
Let me ask you this: Who cares? If you find a deal you're happy with, what difference does it really make if the dealer is authorized?

If you buy used gear, it isn't from an authorized dealer. What's so terrible about buying new gear that way?

if the dealer is not authorized, i can't afford the added cost for maint/repair warranty etc.

I just can't bring myself to buy used life support. If you can afford it more power to ya.
 
...
Renting is for vacations and I cannot afford a vacation
Renting is for the rich and I am not rich
I have x amount of dollars and if I were certified I could get everything I need plus some. But to get certified and get what I need just to get certified is almost half again as much.

The reason some folks are suggesting you rent is to SAVE you money. You can get all the advice in the world about what to buy, but it all comes down to what YOU find most comfortable and natural. The way to find that out is to rent different gear in different styles from different manufacturers. If you buy something on a recommendation and you end up not liking it, you'll have to replace it and you'll have bought that piece of gear twice.

One thing no one has commented on--you said that you want to make money (a living?) diving. Have you actually looked at the feasibility of that? There are numerous threads on ScubaBoard that can give you information on what to expect. From what I've read, it isn't pretty.

I'm not trying to throw cold water on your dreams, making sure they are anchored in reality. :slick:
 
The reason some folks are suggesting you rent is to SAVE you money.
(saving space)
what to expect. From what I've read, it isn't pretty.
(saving space)
I'm not trying to throw cold water on your dreams, making sure they are anchored in reality. :slick:

Until I get employed again I have a fixed amount to spend. What good is a cert if I can not dive? If I rent (spend) and don't get "needed equipment" for use after certification, I will have a very dry cert.

No, scrubbing boats is not pretty and the likelihood of getting a better job is not pretty especially for a nubby.
My current position (beach bum) is quite ugly and may require the redistribution of funds making all this a moot point.
 
> I would rather rent a reg than buy a cheap one.

Hate to tell you this, but based on my (small) experience, rental gear IS cheap! Although for reputable operators, this probably doesn't make a difference - cheap regs are not necessarily unsafe regs, they're just not all tricked out or the best breathers.

I feel your pain on the expense and confusion of buying your first equipment. I did what some others here have recommended - I bought boots, fins, snorkel, mask and then figured the rest out over time. Still don't have "everything" but now have reg and computer too.

The nice thing about having your own mask/fins is that you can use your non-scuba free time to snorkel in all of the great places you'll go without renting that simple stuff. Just find a beach and go. Usually right in front of the hotel!
 
I'm probably way out of my lane here, but I am in the same boat as you Oxy. I have yet to get certified, but I have been looking at gear. Not necessarily because I'm going to buy right away, but I'm trying to learn about it all, aside from the basics that I will buy for the certification class.

Past that, I plan on renting equipment at first. I don't see why you're hung up on buying it instead of renting it. My other hobbies are shooting and rock climbing, I also use to play paintball competively across the states. There is a reason that ranges rent out weapons, for people to try before they purchase it. You may not like how the particular caliber, grip, recoil, feel, or whatever feels, in which case renting saved you money because you didn't buy it and decide you hate it. Like some previous posters have said, buying quality is always better than buying stuff just to buy it because it fit the budget. This is huge for people that buy AR style rifles and attend classes versus those who just shoot. There are the AR's that work fine for plinking a few rounds here and there, but when you attent a class and shoot 2,000-3,000, the extra money spent on a quality rifle that is up to spec as far as military standards goes pays off in the end. Climbing is somewhat similar, I definitely want to try on a harness before I buy it because it's something I'm going to be hanging in and wearing a lot. I've also borred draws and such to see what I preferred and were easier for me to clip/un-clip into a wall. In the end, I'd say borrowing/renting equipment is definitely the better way to go. Sure you may spend money on something you won't own (have you ever rented an apartment?!), but you'll learn what fits you and works the best for you. As far as paintball goes, what I'm referring to is now shown on ESPN and such, we jumped into getting sponsorships from companies before we fully learned about the guns or whatever they were giving us, sometimes it was more of a pain than anything else and we shouldn't have done it. The only good thing about that was at the large events we'd play, the companies always had techs and reps there to give us new stuff or repair it.

Again, I'm probably out of my lane here merely because I am in the same boat, but I can tell you from other hobbies, jumping straight into things without getting a feel for all of the equipment out there is not smart at all.
 
I hate to get practical on you, but... figure out what you need for the type of diving you will do! It's easy to get a nitrox computer and a dry suit and a backplate/wings, and on and on so that you don't have to start over for tech. If you're rich. But if you just want to go into the sea where you found that tooth and look around, used stuff that the local dive shop had been renting (and servicing) is fine. Analog gauges... you're probably not going to get into a deco dive, especially at 50 feet with a 80 cubic foot tank. I don't think you could. So... wetsuit (5-7 mil, I think), enough lead to sink said suit (20 lbs?) mask, fins, BC of some sort (any sort.. it really depends on what sort of diver you are and what sort of diving you do.. try a few kinds. Borrow, rent, whatever. Or just use your first one forever), take a course, rent a tank and jump in. If you love it, and it sounds like you will, you'll amass a collection like the rest of us.
 
Contact Scubatoys they are on ScubaBoard ... check there prices out they do not sell gray market. At least you'll get a, "feel".
 
Well I have amassed a large amount of data pertaining to SCUBA. All at the expectancy of a insurance settlement that would have paid for it all. 1. still no settlement. 2. Several years ago I sustained ear damage in an accident not related to diving. I may not be able to dive after all.
My stubbornness and wanting the best I could get for the money may have been a blessing in disguise.
Had I rented equipment to get certified I would have had to rent every time I wished to dive from then on. So my thinking was to use the money to get equipped so diving would only cost the price of a fill. All the research led to pressure compensation and the condition of my ear. In a nut shell "I can dive at a great risk". If I ever get this check I will be getting a surfboard instead.
I am going to miss not knowing what I am missing.
 

Back
Top Bottom