Startup and Yearly Costs

[CanadaEQ]

Hi all,

I was just curious about how much the startup costs (semi-weekly rentals) and yearly costs (for an average diver) should be expected for a new diver?

Thanks

P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum or if it has been brought up before

 

[Blox]

Hi CanadaEQ,

welcome to the board.

I suggest that you fill out your user profile, so that people can see where exactly you live (and presumably, would dive) so that hopefully someone from the same area can clue you in as to certification costs, equipment purchases/rentals, and the cost of diving in general.

I suspect that you may get a lot of "it depends" answers, because there may be different options available to you. For example around here, diving for a day will typically cost me about USD 50 which includes the boat, 2 tanks, and lunch. On the other hand, if there was (decent) beach/shore diving around here (which is unfortunatley not the case), and I only needed tank fills, and no boat to get to the dive site, I may have been able to get away at just USD 10 or so for the day.

Equipment prices are also ranging - as pretty much for everything you can buy - from basic to top of the line. Also in this regard, information on where you would want to dive would be helpful, so that people can see if you will dive in cold or warm water, which again has implications as to what equipment you'll need.

Good luck with your search for information.

 

[RICHinNC]

Bottom line....it is not a cheap sport.

 

[spectrum]

Hi all,

I was just curious about how much the startup costs (semi-weekly rentals) and yearly costs (for an average diver) should be expected for a new diver?

Thanks

P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum or if it has been brought up before

This is a wide open question and has a lot to do with what you may have, like a wetsuit? And where you plan to dive.

Boat dives away from warm water are usually a bring your own affair, no tanks no nothing, this can vary, so ask. Cost $50-75 for a 2 dive ride. This makes shore diving appealing and as a new diver can keep you interested for a good loig time.

Gear? An air cylinder usually fetches about $10 a day with 1 fill. If can get it filled between dives then dive 2 is about 1/2 price. Fills are generally $4 -$5.
A BC and regulator are likely to run $25/$30 for a day.

There are a lot of threads dealing with what to buy first and those are good thoughts to start processing. It's best to dive as much gear as possible before deciding what you like. The other side of it is that well chosen and frequently used gear will pay for it's self over a short time. I had my money back in a few months for the dives I've made and have no regrets.

Speaking to start-up you will need you basic gear of Mask, Snorkel, Fins and Booties. Expect to pay $175 - $300. for these items. These will be needed for most classes from the start. they need to fit you well so you don't want to be using a bunch of loaner gear.

Annual? When you get cylinders expect to pay about $15 per year per cylinder for a visual inspection and a little more every 5 years for a hydrostatic test of the cylinder. When you have your own regulator and BCD annual service of these itmes usually runs $75 - $100 for the lot.

The whole ball of wax to get geared up? Depends what you choose but for a basis let's say a cold water wetsuited diver with a couple of 80CF cylinders can plan to spend $2000. - $3000. for gear. That's 2 cylinders, primary and alternate regulators, a full console, 7mm wetsuit with 2X core, hood, gloves, BCD and includes the previously mentioned "basic" gear. There is also the used equipment option. Some shops move out their rental/class gear every year or 2 and there are private sales.

Later you may want to spend more for knives, lights, bags and baubbles.

It's not a cheap sport to get into but if you have a good shore diving where you are or a friend with a dive boat it's a pretty cheap sport once you're past the start-up. Even dive destinations seem surprisingly affordable.

In general I'd say rent enough to decide what you want then get into your own gear for your best development, safety and financial sanity. It really stinks to take out a set of retal gear, get to the water and have something go wrong that aborts the dive. This could be visibility, seas, trouble with your buddy's gear, almost anything. Meanwhile you're out a rental fee. If it's you own gear you just call it a day and go eat!

I hope this helps

Pete

 

[cfenton]

I bought my first set of gear, second hand, down in Victoria about two years ago. I think I paid about $1000 altogether (7ml wetsuite, bc, regs, weights, lights etc.). Big mistake. Within 3-6 months I was in a drysuit, and I swore I would still dive the wetsuit in the summer, but I haven't. The water temperatures range from 48-56 degrees, so a drusuit is a smart buy. However the wetsuite did get me started on a small butget. In the end the BC was to big and the regs just plain sucked. I have spent about $10,000 on gear since, but there isn't any need to spend that much if you are sticking to relatively simple dives. I spend $10 to fill my doubles and that gives me a day of diving.

What I am saying is get good gear the first time around and you will save money. Oonce you get set up diving can be affordable or not, depending on what you choose.

Safe Diving,

 

[Blackwood]

Semi-weekly?

If you are diving more than once a week, it is financially worth your while to own all your gear.

 

[BrianS]

Depends what you are comparing it to.

So far, this has been one of my least expensive ones.

Bottom line....it is not a cheap sport.

 

[Blackwood]

Depends what you are comparing it to.

So far, this has been one of my least expensive ones.

Depends on what you buy.

 

[shooter226]

I have found that diving is not any more expensive than other equipment oriented sports such as snow skiing or golf.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Buy what you need for your style of diving-and there is some great gear out there that won't cost an arm and a leg.