Man this is an expensive sport!!

[Warhammer]

Well guys, I'm broke again. My wife and I went to pick up her new Henderson Gold Core 5mm jumpsuit today and ended up buying her a complete set of gear. Whoever said Phil at Dive Sports in Decatur, AL was a low pressure salesman was dead wrong. The rent must have been due and he found prey! No seriously, I think we got a pretty good deal on the gear. Here's what she got:

• Seaquest Diva LX
• Suunto Vyper console w/SPG
• Aqua Lung Titan with LX 2nd stage
• Aung Lung LPO octo
• Henderson 5mm Gold Core full
• Atomic Splitfins
• Henderson Gloves
• and a few other odds and ends

The Aqua Lung LX 2nd stage is apparently a brand new design. So new, it's not even on the website yet. It looks like a baby Apeks TX40. My wife loved the small design and the way it felt. She also liked the Titan due to it's size. And I think these will serve her well within her scope of diving. Since I knew nothing about the LX reg, Phil told me if she didn't like it for any reason, just bring it back within a year and she could exchange it or if she didn't find anything else he had that she liked, then he'd give her a full refund on it and/or the complete reg set. Now that's what I call service! But I'm as broke as a convict.

 

[Rick Murchison]

If your bride is anything like mine, and every other woman I know of who has bought a Diva, there is *no way* she'll ever part with it.
One of the funniest things I've seen was last year when a couple came to our annual spring sale.. a lady was looking for a BC - I let her try on a Diva and she refused to take it off until her husband had paid for it. And I don't even work for the shop! (part time instructor - no sales)
Rick

 

[large_diver]

Warhammer,

You're such a big advocate of the Cobra I thought for sure you would buy one for your wife ;-)

No matter how broke it leaves you, nothing is more fun than buying new scuba gear (except sex and diving itself). I'm still trying to devise some sort of offshore bank account scheme to hide from my wife the amount of cash it will take to buy a new Atomic B1 reg, octo and Cobra computer (non-diving wife).....

Hope your wife enjoys the new gear.

 

[Rick Murchison]

large_diver, there are two ways to handle this delicate situation. You can pre-pay - a new Thomasville dining room suite would be nice - or, at twice the price, you can render "payback" later, in which case a new reg & computer could cost you the dining room and new wall-to-wall carpet. Or a car. Your choice..
Rick

 

[Mario S Caner]

Warhammer, WooHoo! new gear is always cool. The bring it back if you don't like it gaurantee is usually a 30 day, but they may have changed it. It's something the manufacturer, Aqualung calls their Cousteau Guarantee.

 

[mike11]

Its hard to resist going crazy buying gear. I am about to buy my first set of gear. I was at the dive shop today, and just about lost it seeing all those awesome new regulators. When your out of the dive shop, its like "I want this and this for $300 each, no more." In the dive shop its like "OHHHHH, look at this, that looks neat, I HAVE TO HAVE IT, who cares if its $500 more than I wanted to spend! I'm getting it! MUST HAVE NEW EQUIPMENT!" I noticed that today at the dive shop. Don't feel bad Warhammer, I'm a newbie and almost suckered into buying about $2000 more than I can afford right now. New gear is already fun to look at, I just hope that my head doesn't explode when I am ready to buy equipment.
Mike

 

[bio guy]

1 Year?? That's an awsome guarantee. I have never heard of a shop (manufacturer) giving one that long. Good arrangement.

 

[Atomox]

I am curious, did you try diving any of the gear before you purchased it? If not how do you know that it is really what you want?

Brad

 

[Warhammer]

Did she try it first? Answer is no, reason is this. The BC she absolutely fell in love, and as Rick said, I doubt if anyone could take it away from her.

The wetsuit she was estatic about also, and it fits really well, which is the biggest thing with a wetsuit.

The fins, well she just took my word for the fins, which I have and like. She needed some new ones, so.

The Viper is the same as the Cobra with the exception of air intergration. She doesn't like air intergration, I tried convincing her otherwise but to no avail. I own the a Cobra and she has played with it a good bit, but not actually dove it.

The regulator was the big and the only if, and to be honest I wish she could have tried it first. I expressed this concern and that's the reason Phil offered to take it back, for up to a year, no questions asked.

He also told her if after she dove the gear and she didn't like some or all of it, for any reason, she could return it as well. So it was a buy it, try it, and if you don't like it, I'll take it all back kinda deal. I was willing to do this only because I know and trust him. But that's his guarantee to all his customers.

 

[Dee]

Sounds like a good set of gear. And you're right, 1 full year's money back guarantee is SOP with Phil. But he's so good at matching divers with gear that fits their needs, I bet he doesn't have to pay off very often!

A Phil Ellis Dive Sports fan...
http://www.divesports.com/