What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular?

[boulderjohn]

To the contrary, higher risk should attract more divers.

A few years ago we had some threads on marketing, and it showed that surveys show this is absolutely not true. Potential divers are interested in a fun and (especially) safe opportunity to see the underwater world. Death-defying adventure is not at all attractive to them.

 

[tarponchik]

A few years ago we had some threads on marketing, and it showed that surveys show this is absolutely not true. Potential divers are interested in a fun and (especially) safe opportunity to see the underwater world. Death-defying adventure is not at all attractive to them.

Because diving gets human leftovers. The top of the crop, the young and the cool, gets into competitive sports, into martial arts, into snowboarding, surfing, motorcycle racing, mountain biking etc. They want adrenaline, they want to prove that they can do this and that. But scuba? Later, maybe.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

A few years ago we had some threads on marketing, and it showed that surveys show this is absolutely not true. Potential divers are interested in a fun and (especially) safe opportunity to see the underwater world. Death-defying adventure is not at all attractive to them.

I talk to a lot of people in my travels since I’m on the road 99% of the time doing my job. I talk to a huge cross section of the working public especially blue collar and trades work people. Occasionally I will do work for the wealthy to extreme wealthy.
I’ve made a personal project out of mentioning scuba and free diving to take a personal mental poll of who dives, where they dive, etc. and that actually started based on that marketing thread you mentioned.
Most of the blue collar worker types that you’d think would be manly and want adventure of diving especially locally tell me there’s no F-ing way they’ll go into that ocean. Some of the wealthy that are scuba divers or former divers mainly travel(ed) to exotic locations but “used to dive” seems to be a big phrase with them.
A fairly small minority of mostly blue collar types and a few wealthy used to abalone dive since that and freediving is almost a separate sport. Not all abalone divers liked the activity though. Getting the food was the main reason they did it and the diving part was stressful and they didn’t really care for it.
But over all it’s really sparse who I find that dives or used to dive both scuba and freediving.
But you’re right, the “fun” part is a huge retainer for people. If it’s not fun why do it?
Nobody really want’s to go out there just to “tough it out”.

 

[divinh]

On Koh Tao, where many backpackers go for scuba diving, the "hot shot" crowd tries to differentiate themselves by freediving.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

On Koh Tao, where many backpackers go for scuba diving, the "hot shot" crowd tries to differentiate themselves by freediving.

Freediving proves a lot more physical prowess and skill.
Anybody can suck air from a tank.

 

[Bob DBF]

Freediving proves a lot more physical prowess and skill.
Anybody can suck air from a tank.

Depends on where one has to lug the tank, how long the surface swim is to the dive site,and what water one is in when sucking the air. You are certainly right if the diver just drops off a boat and dives right there.

I always found that overall free diving was easier, of course I wasn't trying to set records and about 40' was good enough for where I was diving. I could get a bit deeper, but I wasn't a fan. I could certainly move around a lot easier and faster without all the scuba gear.

 

[CT-Rich]

Commitment to diving is probably the biggest hurdle to diving. Diving isn’t a cheap sport, you need training and equipment, so you are dropping $500-700 to get the basic training. Diving is also very location dependent. A lot of people make destination vacations just for diving, that means a week of vacation is committed to the sport. Miss a year or two and your gear ends up on Craig’s List eight years later.

A boat charter requires you to be at the dock early and spend a big chunk of the day for a single dive or the entire day for a two tanks charter. You may get blown out by the weather the day before or get to the site and have crappy conditions. Diving has a lot of uncertainties for each outing with high up front expenses.

Expenses this year, $500 prescription mask, 4 tanks need hydro $150, BCD repair $35, DPV $300. That is without servicing to regulator sets or the Peregrine computer I am thinking about buying. I easily spend $1,000 to $1,500 a year on “stuff” to do 25 to 50 dives a year. Don’t forget gas for the car, air for my tanks, lunches on the road.

Compare that with other outdoor sports. Skiing at least you know what conditions will be like before you leave the house and the basic gear can be had much cheaper and the cost of entry can be pretty low. Kayaking, biking, fishing and camping can all be gotten into relatively cheaply and can be done almost anywhere within a reasonable distance of home.

My guess is when you start to compare adventure travel, scuba starts to rate very favorably to other sports, like kayaking or skiing. But it is cheap and easy to have a kayak sitting in the garage for the five or six times a year you want to go out for a paddle on the local lake. It is much harder to do with SCUBA because gear needs to be serviced, weather and tides also need to be calculated in.

On top of that, a certain portion of the dive community likes to build up the risks associated with diving that make make it seem more like an extreme sport than it really is. There is plenty of diving that is fun, low risk, high reward entertainment and not a death defying extreme sport.

Has anyone ever rated another skier or paddler by how many ski days they have had or miles they paddled? Diving tends towards rating people by experience that probably intimidates newer divers and skews their risk perception.

 

[Belzelbub]

Expenses this year, $500 prescription mask, 4 tanks need hydro $150, BCD repair $35, DPV $300. That is without servicing to regulator sets or the Peregrine computer I am thinking about buying. I easily spend $1,000 to $1,500 a year on “stuff” to do 25 to 50 dives a year. Don’t forget gas for the car, air for my tanks, lunches on the road.

I was going to reply that $1,000-$1,500 each year, seems like a lot. But, then I started to do the math.

I don’t spend nearly that much in gear costs in a typical year. 3 full sets of gear for the three divers in the family. Servicing costs don’t approach that, but other expenses, definitely do.

I have a boat. Diving was the primary reason I bought it. I also have a truck to pull that boat. Registration for trailer and boat, maintenance, insurance, etc. Not to mention fuel costs. Yeah, I’d say I’m way over $1,500 annually even without gear purchases.

 

[TMHeimer]

I spend nowhere near $1,000 per year. Hydros for 4 tanks cost, but that's every 5 years here.
A big part of this thread is about why young people are attracted to things other than scuba (I've often mentioned the majority of OW course student divers at the shop here are maybe 18-28 years old). Young people don't usually have families that are kitted up in scuba gear. It's just themselves they have to spend scuba money on-- like me.
Agree with Bob in that I always found snorkeling way easier work-wise than scuba. I won't call it freediving since the deepest I've dived down was maybe 15'.

 

[CT-Rich]

I spend nowhere near $1,000 per year. Hydros for 4 tanks cost, but that's every 5 years here.
A big part of this thread is about why young people are attracted to things other than scuba (I've often mentioned the majority of OW course student divers at the shop here are maybe 18-28 years old). Young people don't usually have families that are kitted up in scuba gear. It's just themselves they have to spend scuba money on-- like me.
Agree with Bob in that I always found snorkeling way easier work-wise than scuba. I won't call it freediving since the deepest I've dived down was maybe 15'.

I am not really saying it is outrageously expensive, but if you are not doing it more than 6 or 7 times a year, you are still having get visuals and hydros and trips get blown out even though you already rented gear. Competing activities are often lower entry level costs, can be done in more locations and are much less subject to the whims of the weather gods.

The challenge in diving is not just getting people to take classes but to keep people engaged in the sport. OW costs $500, AOW cost another $500 and boat charters cost money. Gear cost money. My dive buddy just informed the gas bill for our recent trip to Cape Ann was $70. Do new divers build social networks of other divers? Staying engaged in a sport is easier if you have a spouse that dives also.