Basic Scuba Equipment Cost

[spectrum]

$2000. give or take $500 should get most divers up and running with decent but not entirely extravagent stuff. The come then lights, additional cylinders, flag, and a host of nickel and dime accesories to go with the seasons.

Pete

 

[Ed Palma]

This thread put things into perspective for me. I scrounged around for most of my stuff 2nd hand (BCD, reg, steel tank) and got new stuff (wet suit, mask, snorkel, fins, gloves, SMB) and had them serviced to bring them all up to spec. My total cost? around $500. Have I used them? Yep, no problems with it.
Do I think its risky? Well, considering some of the rental stuff I've had to put up with...

 

[HammerNoMore]

This thread put things into perspective for me. I scrounged around for most of my stuff 2nd hand (BCD, reg, steel tank) and got new stuff (wet suit, mask, snorkel, fins, gloves, SMB) and had them serviced to bring them all up to spec. My total cost? around $500. Have I used them? Yep, no problems with it.
Do I think its risky? Well, considering some of the rental stuff I've had to put up with...

I could easly put together a cold water diving rig for $1500 without going the ebay route. Assuming cold water meant a 7mm and not a dry suit. In that case it'd be a little over $2k.

You can get a reg, bc and nitrox computer for < 1k easy if you don't have to have what the "in-crowd" is using. That leaves plenty for exposure protection and, if necissary, a tank.

 

[drbill]

The numbers given above are certainly not out of line... I'm just glad I equipped myself at pre-inflation prices or by buying good gear off friends or E-Bay. I couldn't afford to start over fresh!

BCD (X-Tek and wing) $250
7mm wetsuit $125
7mm hooded vest $30
reg (Mk10 G250) $200
used steel tank $150
Aladin Pro Nitrox $350
mask, booties, etc $200

$1,305 if I did the math right

 

[Pez7378]

What do you estimate a full set of gear (for colder water diving, e.g. full wet suit with hood) should cost? just have a raw number for what you think a basic suite of gear would (or did) cost.

Much Much more than I can afford or about $5000+

crap, I forgot lights!!! add another 2000 for primary and backups....Maybe I should re-evaluate what I want vs. what I can afford.

 

[TheRedHead]

And the scooter is another 5 grand, Pez.

 

[redacted]

If money is tight, used gear could get you in the water for under $1000. But it takes time and knowledge that most new divers won't have.

Mask, Fins, Snorkle, Booties: <$100
BCD: $50
Regulator w/guages $300 (including servicing)
Wet Suit: $150 - $300
Tank: $100
Computer: Save the $150 & dive tables for a while

 

[nwbrewer]

I'm with Doc ed. Used gear when properly serviced is perfectly diveable. What's the difference between a reg you bought two years ago, and had just had serviced, and that same reg, bought used, and just serviced, assuming of course the reg tech does his job?

Reg setup - $250
Wetsuit - $75
BCD - $125
Jetfins - $10
Tank - $80
Lights - $40
Watch - $50
other Misc gear - ~$100

All total almost $700, and so far it has served me well. You just have to be willing to rent gear a while until you can find some deals on the gear you want.

Jake

 

[TheRedHead]

I think you have to know what you are doing with regulators or could end up with one that doesn't have enough LP ports for an alternate. I looked into used Apeks, but the free parts for life makes a new one cheaper in the long run. When I was a new diver, I didn't know much about equipment and would have likely ended up with bad purchases. It is hard to go wrong with used Jetfins though.

 

[redacted]

I looked into used Apeks, but the free parts for life makes a new one cheaper in the long run.

If you are going to follow the mfgr's service requirements, keep the reg long enough, and pay that annual labor charge; then new with free parts is almost surely the way to go. Apeks is an every other year rebuild, if you take good care of it, so the inspection which is done without disassembly should not be too expensive. It only gets cheaper in the long run if you abide by the conditions and keep the reg long enough.