new to diving need financial advice on what to buy

[mccabe]

You wont get a great deal for a $200 (thats me saying in the over priced market of the UK!!!) so do as everyone says, rent the gear, enjoy the sport for what it is and get the kit at a later date!! One issue in buying second hand gear is that you should get it serviced straight away so theres more money you have to shell out!! Dont settle for less, try a few different bits of kit out and save for it.

Congrats on the new born. All the very best.

Andy

 

[superstar]

With the new baby you will have plenty of sleepless nights to spend time shopping e-bay and surfing scubaboard. Whats the babys name?

 

[Damselfish]

I'd say try and save more money first or maybe just try to buy one or the other, $200 is not much to work with. Maybe not impossible and used gear can be good. But I think it's much harder for someone new to be able to pick out the good stuff, than for people who practically do that sort of thing as a hobby in itself. If you're going to do it find a friend with more experience about gear to help. Note that you'd generally need to get a used reg serviced, unless maybe you bought one recently serviced from someone you knew and trusted - and service is going to cut into your $.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Being a new diver, I'd avoid ebay. Unless you've really done your homework and know scuba gear well, it's easy to make a purchasing mistake without some guidance. Some shops will rotate their rental gear out every year or two and sell a reg set for $100-200, so you always have that option. It will cost you about twice what you have for decent gear. And then you might only wind up wanting different gear after you've been diving a while and learn more about the different brands out there. Don't rush into it.

 

[evilbacon]

Whats the babys name?

His name is Jacob; and yes, there are very many sleepless nights with him in my arms. I will probably rent everything first, it is a very exspensive hobby, but everything is second him.

thanks for all the advice!

Evil

 

[superstar]

I bet Jacob would enjoy shoping e-bay with you for a very nice used Scubapro stab jacket and a mk2-190. Very dependable equipment that will be cheap to buy and last many years.

 

[spacemanspiff1974]

You can definately find a cheap BC on ebay to suit your needs. However, it might be better to buy a regulator from an authorized dealer to save money on service costs down the road.

Good luck!!