What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular?
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CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
It's not a matter of comparing to the two hobbies you mentioned. Those examples are irrelevant.Kind of disagree there bud... IMO cost is the lesser reason.
Compared to what? Motorcycles, Photography? Only a few ACTIVE Sports / Hobbies are cheaper than diving on the mid-long term. I used CAPS on ACTIVE because of course, collecting post stamps is cheaper but also doesn't require any equipment. Team sports like Basketball and Football are also cheaper but you still need a court or field.
One can pay around 1K to get his basic diving gear and use it for 20 years or more if he dives an average of 30-40 times a year (obviously depending on use and conditions some gear might need replacement earlier).
Certification isn't uber cheap but I wouldn't consider 400-500€ expensive to get certified.
I mentioned Motorcycles and Photography because I do both. A motorcycle license in 2022 costs 1.500€, add another 1.000€ for very average reputable gear and you've already spent 2.5 times more than Diving.
An modern entry level camera with a basic kit lens is around 1.000€ (I'm talking mirrorless as DSLRs are soon becoming obsolete). The moment you decide to buy some additional lenses,, things become quite crazy really fast (I've spent more than 20K but that's another story). Add to the fact that camera bodies become 'old' after 2-3 years as technology advances much quicker compared to diving equipment and you get the idea...
I believe fear of the unknown (huge man eating Octopuses and Sharks), lack of buddies to share the passion, time (you need the whole day to make a proper dive + the post dive debriefing & festivities usually on a tavern) and / or country of residence, meaning ease of access to water.
In Germany, finding warm, salty water is basically impossible so basically either you dive in cold lakes or travel many Km in older to get to the sea. Result: I don't dive as often. When I used to live in Greece I was diving every weekend.
Here's what happens. Many 16-25 year olds would love to scuba dive. They go into a dive shop and learn it's $500 - $1000 to get certified depending on location. Most people also want to own their own gear and the freedom that comes with it. They look around at the gear and start adding up the cost and find that it will cost them another $2k. They haven't even considered travel costs if they don't live on the water or have access to boats or shore diving.
They think about the fact they can hardly fill their gas tank, let alone pay to get certified. So they walk out thinking, "One day when I have more money."
Many lose interest by the time they are better off financially. Or they no longer have that youthful fearless sense of immortality and don't want to risk it. By then they may also have children to consider.
For the rest. They end up following through. Which is why most divers get certified after 30 years old.
There's a million hobbies and activities out there for people to engage in. Diving is one of them and it's on the expensive side of things to do and that is what keeps the sport from expanding (which is a good thing for the environment). When considering this topic you also have to set your diving bias aside.
Don't youngsters use daddy's money for training and then rent kit off of the Local Dive Shop until they can get their own?
Of course it largely depends upon where people dive. Here in the UK it's cold and low vis -- just like north America/Canada. We've an amazing load of wrecks to see, but few will ever get to see that as the barrier to entry is so high.
I started to dive on holidays in the Med. The addiction got too strong and the inevitable happened; thousands spent on kit to dive in the UK.
However, it seems I'm in the minority. Used to be a "member" of a PADI LDS which had a club night once a week. Of the 20 people that turned up, I was one of the few that dive locally, virtually all the others travel "abroad" to do all their diving in exotic locations.
All of the above requires a fair amount of money to follow your hobby. Whilst there's plenty of clubs which can loan kit and don't charge (much) for training, it's a hobby that does need some money even if it's to get to the dive locations and pay for a space on a boat.
Of course it largely depends upon where people dive. Here in the UK it's cold and low vis -- just like north America/Canada. We've an amazing load of wrecks to see, but few will ever get to see that as the barrier to entry is so high.
I started to dive on holidays in the Med. The addiction got too strong and the inevitable happened; thousands spent on kit to dive in the UK.
However, it seems I'm in the minority. Used to be a "member" of a PADI LDS which had a club night once a week. Of the 20 people that turned up, I was one of the few that dive locally, virtually all the others travel "abroad" to do all their diving in exotic locations.
All of the above requires a fair amount of money to follow your hobby. Whilst there's plenty of clubs which can loan kit and don't charge (much) for training, it's a hobby that does need some money even if it's to get to the dive locations and pay for a space on a boat.
Irrelevant for you... I insist in my position, that cost isn't the biggest factor.
Fear (own & family), time, distance are more relevant factors. Now, if you wish to play with Demographics to make a point, IMO the majority of 16 year old kids that want to go diving are incited by their own parents and therefore the equipment costs absorbed by them.
Hobbies independently of age are competing with other hobbies as you've already recognized. Obviously the 16 - 25 year old that you're mentioning has limited resources so in this case, diving is competing with... an iPhone.
What I said is that all and all, Diving is NOT an expensive hobby especially if you factor-in the amortization of the equipment in the long run. That's why I posted Motorcycles and Photography as an example. Also, limiting the demographics to an age that has less income makes diving costs look worse than they are. Try a weekend of Skiing in the Bavarian Alps as a 16 year old kid and then we talk...
The 30s that you've mentioned are also perfectly fine.
In addition, a newly Certified diver DOES NOT NEED TO PURCHASE any equipment besides his mask for the first couple of years, especially if the number of dives isn't enough to justify the investment. So all and all, after Certification, renting gear 10 times during Summer isn't that much of a hassle. Of course, if they like the hobby and decide to continue, investing that amount isn't crazy at all.
Belzelbub
Contributor
I think a lot of this is location dependent. If you live in an area with good shore diving, then that lowers the costs significantly. Where I live shore diving is not really a thing. West coast of FL has a very gradual slope. From where I normally go, I need to run out at least 10 miles from shore to get to water that's in the 50' range. A bit north of me it's even worse. Rule of thumb there is closer to a foot a mile.
If I want to do a shore dive, I need to go to the other side of the state. Most likely need to factor in a hotel stay as well.
So, all that adds up.
Cost of certification.
Cost of gear and annual maintenance (or rental costs per dive).
Cost of dive site (charter or dive site fees), or in my case cost of boat, fuel, maintenance.
It's not cheap.
The motorcycle example is also location dependent. Just going by what is required here, diving is more expensive. Not saying that the minimum requirement is enough, but it is all that is required.
Motorcycle endorsement on your license (pretty cheap, I think it might have been under $50)
Helmet (or if you have adequate health insurance, this isn't required)
And of course a motorcycle. (My first motorcycle cost significantly less than my dive gear)
NephronRacing
Registered
Any form of racing is expensive. I raced karts with my son, several years back and it was way more expensive than diving. As an avid motorcyclist, it's relatively inexpensive just doing street riding or off-road. Track days are a ton of fun but add to those costs but not nearly what racing will cost you.
I feel like one of the biggest issues with attracting new divers is exposure to the hobby. Many people don't know much about it because it's not a mainstream hobby, especially if you aren't close to blue water. So, if you don't have someone close to you that's a diver, it's not a hobby that you'd likely see as an option. I had always wanted to be a marine biologist so diving was going to be in my future. I got certified the year after I graduated high-school. I did a lot of diving for years and then I got out of diving for a bit because of kids and lack of support/dive partner in my spouse. The same was true for motorcycling with kids and an unsupportive wife. ...which likely explains a divorce and remarriage to a wife that got her motorcycle license and is a certified diver.
I feel like one of the biggest issues with attracting new divers is exposure to the hobby. Many people don't know much about it because it's not a mainstream hobby, especially if you aren't close to blue water. So, if you don't have someone close to you that's a diver, it's not a hobby that you'd likely see as an option. I had always wanted to be a marine biologist so diving was going to be in my future. I got certified the year after I graduated high-school. I did a lot of diving for years and then I got out of diving for a bit because of kids and lack of support/dive partner in my spouse. The same was true for motorcycling with kids and an unsupportive wife. ...which likely explains a divorce and remarriage to a wife that got her motorcycle license and is a certified diver.
Belzelbub
Contributor
Yep. I was lucky. I first got certified when I was 15. I couldn't afford it, but my parents paid for the course. I still couldn't afford gear, or really afford to be able to rent and dive. At least not often.
Unlike many, I knew it would be something that I would do as often as I could, but it wasn't really until I was older that I had enough money to really be able to dive somewhat regularly. By that time I also had kids, and they dive as well, so their certs and gear needed to be able to figure into it.
I used to ride a motorcycle. Costs per hour riding were considerably less than my costs per hour diving (though I really don't want to calculate this).
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