Thoughts on this package for my 60th birthday

[Richard C from Boston]

Looking to complete my equipment with BCD and Reg. 106 dives, mostly travel, but planning to do my AOW is Boston area. Doing maybe 40-50 dives a year at this point.

ScubaPro Scuba Gear System Package - Wrist

 

[tbone1004]

@Richard C from Boston how did you come to that gear? I think for that money you can do better depending on the type of diving you intend to do, especially if it's a reasonable amount of diving in Bean Town.

 

[GF99/99]

@Richard C from Boston how did you come to that gear? I think for that money you can do better depending on the type of diving you intend to do, especially if it's a reasonable amount of diving in Bean Town.

I second this. Do some research and you will find generally you can pick nice gear on sale or used for fairly very low cost. I know the "packages" are nice for a first time buyer as it has everything and its a one stop shop but what you will find is over time you see the "package" is actually not really what you want and you will end up buying something else latter. Be patient save your money and find out what kind of diving you want to do and if I was you I would buy something used because I don't know a single diver that still dives the first gear they ever bought. After a couple hundred dives I think we all end up buying something else (unless you cant afford it then you just make due with what you have but secretly regret the original purchase and wish you had something else). So save some money and figure your self out.

Also try out as much gear as you can and ask people why they have the setups they have and what they like about them.

 

[markmud]

Looking to complete my equipment with BCD and Reg. 106 dives, mostly travel, but planning to do my AOW is Boston area. Doing maybe 40-50 dives a year at this point.

ScubaPro Scuba Gear System Package - Wrist

Hi Richard,

You have 106 dives (you may want to update your dive count below your avatar).

You must enjoy the type of diving you do right now as you are doing around 45 dives a year.

Scuba Pro makes good gear. Overhaul on SP gets expensive, especially if you miss their service interval. I like Oceanic because it is easier to get service and cheaper for parts.

I actually like jacket style BCDs.

There are many on SB who will tell you that you have to dive a BP/W, use a Shearwater Computer and on and on (I am a Shearwater fanboi).

It is all good gear if you bought it from a reputable manufacturer.

If while on vacation a forklift ran over my dive gear bag and I had to buy a package RIGHT NOW, and that was the only one available, I would be happy with it. I would prefer another brand of regulator, because of service costs; but they breathe very well. I would prefer a few different features on the BCD. Minor stuff.

My Shearwater cost more than that entire package.

Good luck,
m

 

[Richard C from Boston]

@Richard C from Boston how did you come to that gear? I think for that money you can do better depending on the type of diving you intend to do, especially if it's a reasonable amount of diving in Bean Town.

I know this may be blasphemy but I am not that much of a "gear guy." I have rented BCD and Reg a bunch of times in several locations and I don't really pay that much attention to it. I dive Nitrox whenever possible, but that does not seem to drive any of these decisions anymore. I figure it out and we are off. Last April my son and I did 26 dives (9 boat and 17 shore) in 6 days in Bonaire. That is a lot of handling the gear and I could not tell you the brands or models we rented from Buddy.

I settled on this as my perception is that ScubaPro is a top recreational brand. While i already have a ZooP dive computer, I don't love it and it is coming up on battery replacement so I am more than happy to buys a package that includes one.

 

[Richard C from Boston]

Hi Richard,

You have 106 dives (you may want to update your dive count below your avatar).

You must enjoy the type of diving you do right now as you are doing around 45 dives a year.

Scuba Pro makes good gear. Overhaul on SP gets expensive, especially if you miss their service interval. I like Oceanic because it is easier to get service and cheaper for parts.

I actually like jacket style BCDs.

There are many on SB who will tell you that you have to dive a BP/W, use a Shearwater Computer and on and on (I am a Shearwater fanboi).

It is all good gear if you bought it from a reputable manufacturer.

If while on vacation a forklift ran over my dive gear bag and I had to buy a package RIGHT NOW, and that was the only one available, I would be happy with it. I would prefer another brand of regulator, because of service costs; but they breathe very well. I would prefer a few different features on the BCD. Minor stuff.

My Shearwater cost more than that entire package.

Good luck,
m

ScubaPro free parts for life would seem to balance out the maintenance costs, no? I am assuming that dive shop labor runs around the same per stage regardless of brand, but I may be wrong.

I am set on jacket style. We had a bad experience on a Cozumel drift dive that did turn out OK, but there were a few tense moments. We surfaced and there was no boat, actually no boats at all. We bobbed for +/20 minutes before a different boat eventually picked us up. (The dive master did not want to get on the boat from another company, but I made that non-negotiable at that point.) The security and upright attitude of the jacket was very comforting in the waves and chop especially when contemplating a long swim back to shore (at least 1-2 miles is my guess).

 

[Richard C from Boston]

So maybe a better question is, what would you buy for $1200 to $1500 BCD, Reg, Computer?

 

[loosenit2]

@Richard C from Boston there is nothing wrong with what you have selected, it is good quality kit that will serve you well if your goal is primarily recreational travel diving. Scrubapro is an excellent brand, but in fact you do pay a premium for the brand name and that goes throughout the life of the equipment, but that premium also comes with what is probably the best worldwide support network in the industry, you can find scubapro literally everywhere in world.

As you read responses and advise on SB just remember that there is a very strong technical diving bias on this board, nothing wrong with that but not everyone is interested in tech diving. In the end you have to choose tools that do what you want them to do.

 

[lexvil]

If I were buying for me there is nothing in that package I would buy, MK 11 the exception, the c350 maybe, but one the other hand there is nothing wrong with the packaged stuff and you can dive it all for many years and be happy with each.
The c350 has been replaced by the C370 which it seems is a mix of the 350 and an s600 so you may want to ask if they can offer that upgrade if you can get it.

All good gear and actually a good price.

 

[tridacna]

C350 was replaced in 2017 by the C370. I would check the "vintage" of the rest of the equipment. Yes, SP Parts for life program will save you about $100 every service interval (2 years).