Supporting my local dive shop(s) is frustrating

[emoreira]

It looks like this thread has morphed from being about the retail environment to a "why would a newbie buy gear for a sport he knows nothing about."



I'm in this situation. I'd rather use my own gear while I am training. It makes no sense to me to train on gear I don't intend to use after I'm trained.

For example, the gear I purchased has a secondary air source in the inflator. I'd like to learn using this secondary air source rather than a traditional octopus.

It's possible I've bought all the wrong stuff, but I doubt it. If I have, you can look forward to some killer deals in the classified section.

You can do whatever you want with the good advise written here. You could buy all the gear you want. Vendors will be satisfied. If you dislike something in the near future, you can publish it here and we will get a nice bargain.
However I would not discard all the good advise written here.
I, as instructor, do not see with good eyes if an OWD student comes to my class with his own scuba gear (I mean BCD and regset). For the reasons written here, but also because I give the same gear to all my students, so the same explanation is good for all. If a student has something disimilar I must spend time with this student and the rest explaining the differences and additions. I do not know if the gear that the student has works ok. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. I would not like the added risk.
A different gear adds distraction to the rest.
Perhaps is just me.
I remember a student that came the last pool session with an Axiom i3 BCD. She just have bought it in a dive store. She didn't know how to use it. Our regs do not have the required BCD hose lenght. All what we have explained about ascending, how to release BCD air during ascend, etc was useless with that BCD. The moral of that session was keep that BCD for your dives and take the pool session with our gear.
Some months later she sold that BCD and bought a "normal" BCD. That was a misinformed purchase.

Furthermore, Integrated octo in the inflator is something that the COVID pandemic has killed. The reason is that if you need to share air with your buddy, you must give the main second and use the integrated octo. With the pandemic, this is no longer "proper" and scuba agencies are advising against. You can use it in your dives, but your instructor could perhaps not allow you to use it in the class.

 

[TMHeimer]

You can do whatever you want with the good advise written here. You could buy all the gear you want. Vendors will be satisfied. If you dislike something in the near future, you can publish it here and we will get a nice bargain.
However I would not discard all the good advise written here.
I, as instructor, do not see with good eyes if an OWD student comes to my class with his own scuba gear (I mean BCD and regset). For the reasons written here, but also because I give the same gear to all my students, so the same explanation is good for all. If a student has something disimilar I must spend time with this student and the rest explaining the differences and additions. I do not know if the gear that the student has works ok. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. I would not like the added risk.
A different gear adds distraction to the rest.
Perhaps is just me.
I remember a student that came the last pool session with an Axiom i3 BCD. She just have bought it in a dive store. She didn't know how to use it. Our regs do not have the required BCD hose lenght. All what we have explained about ascending, how to release BCD air during ascend, etc was useless with that BCD. The moral of that session was keep that BCD for your dives and take the pool session with our gear.
Some months later she sold that BCD and bought a "normal" BCD. That was a misinformed purchase.

Furthermore, Integrated octo in the inflator is something that the COVID pandemic has killed. The reason is that if you need to share air with your buddy, you must give the main second and use the integrated octo. With the pandemic, this is no longer "proper" and scuba agencies are advising against. You can use it in your dives, but your instructor could perhaps not allow you to use it in the class.

I agree with this of course. I imagine it is never a problem to simply require that shop gear be used during the course. Once someone is certified, finding something they prefer should even be easier than before the course since they now know what the shop stuff is like. When I was assisting with OW I used the shop BC because it was the same as the students'. Also, kept chlorine away from my own, which I did use at the checkouts.

 

[pauldw]

10K? 10K! Give me your 10K and I'll get you two outstanding sets of gear, and if there's any money left over I get to keep it (there will be thousands left over, unless I go all Atomics and Shearwater).

 

[Jafo19D]

Wow. Buying $10k’s worth in gear and haven’t been certified? You don’t even know what you don’t know yet. Get a mask, snorkel and maybe fins first but stop there. Ok maybe add a wetsuit if you don’t want to wear something that a stranger hasn’t peed in.

I’m a new diver and right now I’m debating if I made the right decision on not getting an air integrated computer and I didn’t even buy mine till after AOW.

 

[Jimchris]

Upfront, focus on your personal gear such as mask, snorkel , fins, hood, boots, gloves. I say personal because ideally its been properly fitted to you in store by knowledgeable staff, who wants your diving to be comfortable and enjoyable, and have gear that is suitable for the type of diving you want to do.

My personal gear (plus everything else I need for a day, weekend, week of diving) is the best equipment in the world .....to me, because everything properly fits me, and is suitable for the type(s) of diving I enjoy.

 

[jonhall]

Too bad about your LDS's. I had 3 pretty close to me (1 closed a couple of years ago) when I purchased my gear - there are now four. One LDS was, and still is, well stocked with various manufacturers gear. The one that closed had very little gear but is where I wound up getting my BC and reg. I guess I'm a little old fashioned as I wanted to see the gear I was interested in and try it on - I don't see me ordering online, even though prices are generally better, if it is an item that comes in sizes (1 set of my fins were an exception.) I still use these first time purchases: mask (1998), 3mm wetsuit (2008), shorty (2012), and BC/reg (2010.) Only changes have been fins, boots, and snorkels. Just saying that if you purchase your gear now, chances are you'll use it for awhile which seems logical to me.

the gear I purchased has a secondary air source in the inflator. I'd like to learn using this secondary air source rather than a traditional octopus.

It makes no sense to me to train on gear I don't intend to use after I'm trained.

The secondary air source is the type I have, since 2010. Paired with a travel BC, I got them for the lighter weight when traveling. One needs to consider the type of diving they will be doing and base gear choices on that, at least a little bit.

Regarding training/learning on gear you intend to purchase/use I'll share my experiences starting with a question:

Question: In an OW course, is there a requirement or required skills that must be taught with an octo?

I (with wife and son) didn't know how much we were going to dive after taking OW, so I wasn't going to invest in a bunch of gear. As it turned out, after our course, we went to Grand Cayman (the reason we took the course) for our checkout dives. On the 3rd dive my son (12 at the time) had ear problems and couldn't get down and thus didn't do the last checkout dive either - never became certified. My wife, after about only 35 dives had an ear issue and no longer dives. No money spent on gear except mask, fins, snorkel, and a wetsuit for my wife.

Since I rented for the first several years of diving, I was glad to have used an octo. It's pretty easy to switch to the air source (breathing through a 2nd stage is the same.) Since I have 1 set of gear, unlike the serious divers who, on trips, take backups to their gear, if there is a malfunction, I know I'll be renting the dive ops gear, so its good to have experience with the octo. Was lucky that I could find remedies for 2 issues I had on trips, one with a hose and one with a power inflator on the air source, and continue using my reg during dive trips. Have also been on a couple of trips in which I didn't take my BC/reg and wound up diving. It's nice to not look like a rookie if you have to set up your own gear.

 

[ssssnake529]

You can do whatever you want with the good advise written here. You could buy all the gear you want. Vendors will be satisfied. If you dislike something in the near future, you can publish it here and we will get a nice bargain.
However I would not discard all the good advise written here.
I, as instructor, do not see with good eyes if an OWD student comes to my class with his own scuba gear (I mean BCD and regset). For the reasons written here, but also because I give the same gear to all my students, so the same explanation is good for all. If a student has something disimilar I must spend time with this student and the rest explaining the differences and additions. I do not know if the gear that the student has works ok. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. I would not like the added risk.
A different gear adds distraction to the rest.
Perhaps is just me.
I remember a student that came the last pool session with an Axiom i3 BCD. She just have bought it in a dive store. She didn't know how to use it. Our regs do not have the required BCD hose lenght. All what we have explained about ascending, how to release BCD air during ascend, etc was useless with that BCD. The moral of that session was keep that BCD for your dives and take the pool session with our gear.
Some months later she sold that BCD and bought a "normal" BCD. That was a misinformed purchase.

Furthermore, Integrated octo in the inflator is something that the COVID pandemic has killed. The reason is that if you need to share air with your buddy, you must give the main second and use the integrated octo. With the pandemic, this is no longer "proper" and scuba agencies are advising against. You can use it in your dives, but your instructor could perhaps not allow you to use it in the class.

Our open water class is just two students, me and my wife. So, I'm not worried about other students with different gear. All the students in our class will have the same gear.

Everything you say simply convinces me that practicing with my own gear before I get certified is important. If modest differences in gear cause big problems and distractions in the basic OW class, and the explanations and techniques that you are taught can be useless when applied to different types of gear, then I certainly want to train with my own gear. When I finish my OW certification, I want to be certain that my gear works well and that I am comfortable and familiar with it. I don't want to learn new techniques and find out that my gear doesn't work when I'm in a less controlled environment.

As for the inflator/regulator combo, it was my instructor's dive shop that recommended it. Indeed, the staff of three out of four of my local dive shops recommended it and use it themselves. If it turns out I don't like it, replacing it with (or adding) a standard octopus shouldn't be too hard.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Our open water class is just two students, me and my wife. So, I'm not worried about other students with different gear. All the students in our class will have the same gear.

Have you talked to your instructor about equipment choices?

Everything you say simply convinces me that practicing with my own gear before I get certified is important.

Are you buying an air compressor too? As no one is going to rent you tanks or fill your tanks without you first being certified.

 

[Searcaigh]

As for the inflator/regulator combo, it was my instructor's dive shop that recommended it. Indeed, the staff of three out of four of my local dive shops recommended it and use it themselves.

That's a red flag for most SB members .....

 

[lostsheep]

5K per diver and an integrated inflator / regulator combo?

Run, run away as fast as you can. They are scamming you.

ETA: it does sound a lot like you’re mind is made up and you’re just dying to waste money. Go ahead , no one here can stop you but your not gonna hear what you want to hear from us.