Hi - I am new and need some advice

[simmonsjr]

At this stage of your diving career, don't even think about cave diving. That activity is way beyond your skill level now.

I agree with you, except for this one statement. It's never a bad thing to know where you want to eventually go, the OP isn't planning on actually diving caverns/caves anytime in the near future, but he does know that he eventually wants to end up there and would rather buy his gear once and then grow into it as his skills expand. That is a mark of level-headedness and maturity and I believe that he is to be commended for taking the time to sit down and plan out what he wants to do with his diving rather than simply jumping in blind.

With that one adjustment being made the rest of your advice is spot on. Only when enough experience is gained to master a skill should one move on to learning an advanced skill that builds on a more basic one.

OP, what branch did you serve in? I was in the Marines and did more than one training stop at K-Bay during deployments. I'm envious though, I never got stationed there.

Jason

 

[Bryan_FL]

Thanks Jason,

That was my thinking behind my gear choice. I don't plan to go cave diving soon, but I like to plan for the future, and I am budget minded, so the bp/w route only made sense. I'd rather have a setup like this that is versatile in many different diving scenarios, than restrict myself, or force myself to buy another set of gear down the road.

I was an IT in the Navy, however I never went out on a ship. I volunteered for a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan, and other than that I spent the rest of my 5 year enlistment on shore duty in Hawaii . I got out to take advantage of the new GI Bill, because I was having a hard time working and going to school at the same time. I plan to finish my degree and go back in as a Pilot.

Bryan

 

[MSilvia]

You might also be able to shave off some of the cost by buying from scubatoys.com instead of scuba.com and leisurepro. They offer a 10% discount for board members, their prices are often better to begin with, they offer free shipping, and they stand behind all their sales.

 

[Bryan_FL]

Actually, I emailed leisurepro.com with everything I wanted, and they ended up giving me about 25ish% off my order as a package deal. Turned out to be way cheaper than scubatoys.

 

[scottcousteou]

Hi Im a dive master and i can tell you, like alot of others out here already are.
Dont get into a buying frenzy rite out of the gate. Get some easy gear, something that will work for just you. put about 50 or 60 dives on it. by the time you get those 50 or 60 dives in your going to know what you want and what will work for you. At that time you can trade up.
buy your gear at a reputable place that will offer you trade ups, like some dive shops. Rite now just pick up the esensials, get some time on them in the water, you dont need anything real techy, just simple easy gear that will work.

 

[Bryan_FL]

I don't know if it's just all of the dive shops that I have been to, but the prices seem to be 150-200% of what you can get them for online. It seems like it would be much more economical to just sell the piece of gear that I don't like, and then buy online again.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

I don't know if it's just all of the dive shops that I have been to, but the prices seem to be 150-200% of what you can get them for online. It seems like it would be much more economical to just sell the piece of gear that I don't like, and then buy online again.

I think you are right, I will also add that there is another part of the on-line vs local shop that isn't discussed much but I have found to be a major price differentiator. Closeouts. The local shops around me carry certain lines of gear and only the current stuff. I buy a lot of gear from scuba toys because I can get the closeout models for huge discounts. I got my BC, regs, pony reg and several wetsuits that way. It's all fully waranteed, new gear, the manufacturer has just come out with a new version, in most cases, it's just colors and appearance, no functional difference.

By doing so I was able to get all the gear I needed to dive for 30% of what the local shop wanted for "basic" gear. I'll dive it for a couple years while I learn to dive, talk to others, figure out where I want to go as a diver, then start looking at more advanced gear.

 

[Web Monkey]

I don't know if it's just all of the dive shops that I have been to, but the prices seem to be 150-200% of what you can get them for online. It seems like it would be much more economical to just sell the piece of gear that I don't like, and then buy online again.

Usually not. eBay will generally get you about 1/2 retail.

If you want a *really* good deal on stuff, find people that took classes, bought everything then had the **** scared out of them on their first dives and never got wet again.

Florida should be crawling with very lightly used gear that you can pick up for very little.

Terry

 

[mowii]

i think you should first rent the scuba gear, check if you are comfortable with it or not and after that you could make up your mind on what gear you should buy, and i think leisurepro has the best prices (as far as i know) i have bought most of my gear from them.
tc and have a safe dive

 

[Bryan_FL]

Usually not. eBay will generally get you about 1/2 retail.

If you want a *really* good deal on stuff, find people that took classes, bought everything then had the **** scared out of them on their first dives and never got wet again.

Florida should be crawling with very lightly used gear that you can pick up for very little.

Terry

Yea, I was hoping to go this route, however ebay and craigslist failed me. Couldn't seem to find decent gear in my size.