Configuration opinions please ?

[BartBe]

Hi all,

Last week I finally did my first OW dive and i loved it...
I was a bit 'shocked' (lol) when I saw how much I had to pay for my rental gear though... :/

My diveshop charged me 25 Euros (about 29$) for the gear (Wetsuit, gloves, lamp, weightbelt, BCD, regulator, tank)

Now i'm not a great mathematition but if i go diving ones every week (with a few exeptions) that would be about 1500 $ over the year (not counting admittance to dive sites, boat or anithing else)... see where i'm getting at ?

So after this first rental experience the little voice in the back of my head shouted 'WOW, hold on... 1500 $ renting or 1500 $ buying ?' The answer is easy i guess...

I didn't count on buying this soon and thought i would rent for a while to know exactly what i want but i can't help to think that it's a waste of money as i'm gonna have to buy eventually anyway.

So i plan on buying now (just have to blackmail someone for the money... will probably be my dad

So this is what i thought :

BCD Scubapro Master Jacket 552,79$
Regulator Scubapro MK25 / S600 499,35$
Octo Scubapro R390 150,03$
SPG 64,15$
Wetsuit scubapro 463,92$
Gloves Scubapro 55,27$
Weightbelt Scubapro + 12,5 kg weights 121,41$
Uwatec smart pro wrist 592,24$
Bag 238,85$
Light 730,60$

What is your opinion about this setup guys... and what about the price my diveshop gives me... don't start raving about the light, it's belgian manufacturing and its kind of realy nice

at first i would wait for the computer and light so for now that would be a total of about 2.146,00 $

I know it's all scubapro but it's my LDS main brand and i wanted to go for scubapro anyway. after comparing a bit i don't see why not.

So let's hear it

 

[flw]

BartBe once bubbled...
Hi all,

Last week I finally did my first OW dive and i loved it...
I was a bit 'shocked' (lol) when I saw how much I had to pay for my rental gear though... :/



So i plan on buying now (just have to blackmail someone for the money... will probably be my dad


Just don't let my daughter know, whe might get (more) ideas!


So this is what i thought :

BCD Scubapro Master Jacket 552,79$
Regulator Scubapro MK25 / S600 499,35$
Octo Scubapro R390 150,03$
SPG 64,15$
Wetsuit scubapro 463,92$
Gloves Scubapro 55,27$
Weightbelt Scubapro + 12,5 kg weights 121,41$
Uwatec smart pro wrist 592,24$
Bag 238,85$
Light 730,60$



As long as the wetsuit fits properly, then fine.
Can't comment on the bcd, as I've never seen one - have you considered the backplate/wing thing - if so go for the simplest, most clutter free model on the market - you really do not need pockets or heaps of d-rings, you won't ever need most of them.

on the regs, personally I favour the Apex/zeagle range - I've got 6 or 7 with the oldest being almost 12 years old, all of which have been heavily abused, and all of which are still as good as new breathing wise - they are cheap to buy and maintain and almost bombproof.
The uwatec smart pro might be better replaced with a suunto vyper or similar, and which will work in gauge mode, which you might want in the future.
If the light's a greenforce, they are so heavily over-engineered even I've not managed to break either of mine yet, which is more than I can say for the EE light I used to have

 

[BartBe]

The light is a greenforce... i realy like them and they seem to be well manufactured

Could u elaborate a bit more on the computer... why suunto and not uwatec ? I don't know the difference and to be perfectly honest here... this one has been decided on for looks (this is where people start shooting me ) as i don't know anything about the computers.

The rest of the gear has been decided on with more expertise on the matter

 

[flw]

BartBe once bubbled...
The light is a greenforce... i realy like them and they seem to be well manufactured

They are that's why I got a second one



Could u elaborate a bit more on the computer... why suunto and not uwatec ? I don't know the difference and to be perfectly honest here... this one has been decided on for looks (this is where people start shooting me ) as i don't know anything about the computers.


To be honest, in you're first year or so, it won't make any odds which you get, it's only really if you start to move towards decompression and longer diving that it does - being in Belgium I assume sooner or later the N Sea wrecks will beckon - the uwatecs make an assumption that in cold ( ie less than 10deg C) more deco will be needed, regardless of how warm you really are, so you cannot switch the function off.
The suunto can be used with air/nitrox or as a gauge - which for square profile dives is a benefit ( not so much for holiday reef stuff) - the uwatec will simply lock you out declare sos and go to sleep for 2 days.
I just checked divers warehouse's prices - and the vyper is listed at 320 euros versus 466 euros for the uwatec - vat paid - which makes your prices look very high?!

 

[Washy]

BartBe once bubbled...
Hi all,



BCD Scubapro Master Jacket 552,79$
Regulator Scubapro MK25 / S600 499,35$
Octo Scubapro R390 150,03$
SPG 64,15$
Wetsuit scubapro 463,92$
Gloves Scubapro 55,27$
Weightbelt Scubapro + 12,5 kg weights 121,41$
Uwatec smart pro wrist 592,24$
Bag 238,85$
Light 730,60$

Rental gear is v.expensive in the long run - however I think those prices are a bit expensive even for Europe!

Check your local dive magazines/shop for a dive exhibition. The UK has one coming up in November. I bought BCD and full octo rig for myself and my wife at a dive show (from an authorised dealer) and saved about £400 ($640) on these items alone.

A good BC would be around €320. I have a Mares Abyss reg with a proton octo and suunto SPG (which houses depth gauge and compass) and paid about €340 for the lot.

I've been pricing up an new wet suit myself and am looking to pay about €185 for a 5mm full length suit (even the titanium shadow combi set is less than €300!)

If you're buying all the stuff at once - insist on a discount.

Posting on this board have debated LDS vs internet purchases in the past. Buy a reg from the LDS, the rest you can shop around for. I've personally had great service from DiveInn (scubastore) and TGI Diving so check those out first before committing youself to a large purchase.

Enjoy,

Washy.

 

[jbichsel]

but I have seen this done at some shops here in the states.

Approach your LDS with this proposal:

Tell them you are wanting to buy your own gear, but not sure on exactly what models/brands. Explain that you want to buy through them, their brands, but you want to try different models to find what fits best, features you like, etc.

Propose that a portion, say 50%, of your rental fee be applied to your purchase once you decide what you want. If you decide not to buy their brand, they owe you nothing, get the full rental price.

If they are open to this, they may adjust the percentage applied, but it can be a way to allow you to try more gear, yet start an account towards owning your own.

Just an idea.

 

[Diver0001]

BartBe once bubbled...
Hi all,

Last week I finally did my first OW dive and i loved it...
I was a bit 'shocked' (lol) when I saw how much I had to pay for my rental gear though... :/

My diveshop charged me 25 Euros (about 29$) for the gear (Wetsuit, gloves, lamp, weightbelt, BCD, regulator, tank)

Now i'm not a great mathematition but if i go diving ones every week (with a few exeptions) that would be about 1500 $ over the year (not counting admittance to dive sites, boat or anithing else)... see where i'm getting at ?

So after this first rental experience the little voice in the back of my head shouted 'WOW, hold on... 1500 $ renting or 1500 $ buying ?' The answer is easy i guess...

I didn't count on buying this soon and thought i would rent for a while to know exactly what i want but i can't help to think that it's a waste of money as i'm gonna have to buy eventually anyway.

So i plan on buying now (just have to blackmail someone for the money... will probably be my dad

So this is what i thought :

BCD Scubapro Master Jacket 552,79$
Regulator Scubapro MK25 / S600 499,35$
Octo Scubapro R390 150,03$
SPG 64,15$
Wetsuit scubapro 463,92$
Gloves Scubapro 55,27$
Weightbelt Scubapro + 12,5 kg weights 121,41$
Uwatec smart pro wrist 592,24$
Bag 238,85$
Light 730,60$

What is your opinion about this setup guys... and what about the price my diveshop gives me... don't start raving about the light, it's belgian manufacturing and its kind of realy nice

at first i would wait for the computer and light so for now that would be a total of about 2.146,00 $

I know it's all scubapro but it's my LDS main brand and i wanted to go for scubapro anyway. after comparing a bit i don't see why not.

So let's hear it

I have a couple of hints for you from someone who dives in the same waters you'll be diving in:

1) Spend less on a jacket and buy a 10 or 12 litre tank. Aqualung, Mares and Cressi all make nice jackets for around €300 which will free up enough budget to buy a tank.

2) You don't need a wetsuit. You need a drysuit if you want to dive year round. I log several dives in December and January every year with water temperatures around the freezing point. My coldest ever was -2 (yes, minus 2). If you buy a wetsuit you'll be sitting out from November until March every year. Your call but you made your budget based on diving all year so you should take this into account.

3) You don't need 12,5 kg of weight unless you weigh like 140kg or so. I dont even wear that much lead with a drysuit on. Do a few dives with your gear first, get all trimmed out and find out what you really need. Otherwise you're just paying for lead you'll never use.

4) most divers around here don't use a bag to transport their gear for local diving. They use a plastic crate box like the ones you can buy at stores like Blokker or Marskramer (or whatever you have in Belgium that's the same). A box to carry your stuff in will cost you €15 instead of 200 and you can spend the extra on a suit. Buy a bag when you want to travel with your gear.

5) Greenforce lights are very nice. It's your call but I'd would seriously suggest rethinking that one on the short term. If you spend €250 on a UK D4R or something along these lines then you'll have a good enough light for all your local diving and together with my other suggestions, you'll free up almost enough budget to buy a drysuit instead of a wetsuit.

6) try everything together in a pool before you buy it. Don't buy and then try it or you've lost your power to say "no thanks" which is your best bargaining chip.

7) I don't see mask, snorkel, boots and fins on the list. Do you already have those?

8) For local diving you absolutely *need* a compass. This is not an option.

9) Likewise, you *need* a knife. There's too many nets in the water around here to dive without one.

10) You want a nice computer but do you need it? What do you think of a Suunto Favor or Mosquito instead? The Mosquito is a nice computer and you'll save enough to buy a download kit for your PC. Also, Oceanic make nice computers that are a lot cheaper than the Uwatecs. Just a thought.

Hope this gives you some food for thought.

R..

 

[DennisS]

You might want to do a price comparison with an online outfit just to give you an idea of the price range. You could order online or negotiate with your local dive store. I see that Diveinn.com has the scubapro master for 335.38 pounds under the UK listing. If you are buying that much gear you should be able to negotiate a package deal.

 

[BartBe]

Does anyone have some more comments on the masterjacket for me ? it's supposed to be really good and comfy... ???