adrielnicholas
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Most divers will typically spend between $200 and $300 on their personal equipment, and may spend quite a bit more if they are also purchasing a wetsuit and a personal dive computer.
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@Lateralus: I don't want to sound like a shill for the shop I teach for, but just so you know, Coral Edge Adventures is not far out from DC. Just outside Manassas.
No pressure to buy anything, but I think we have the biggest selection of gear and biggest showroom in the DC Metro area. It's a good place to stop by and check stuff out in person, try stuff on, etc.. We carry almost every brand you can think of. ScubaPro, Aqualung, Bare, Waterproof, Atomic, Zeagle, Dive Rite, Hollis, Oceanic, and on and on. I think we also have the lowest prices around for service, too.
Also, anywhere you go to buy stuff, you are likely to be able to get a much better deal if you buy a package of stuff all together. LeisurePro has a way to put together your own custom package online and then request a quote that is generally a pretty good savings over the sum of their normal prices for the selected items.
I *think* if you talk to one of the owners at Coral Edge, they will also make you an offer on a better deal if you are buying a few things together.
Also, I have seen them make some special accommodations for customers in the past when the customer was serious about buying something but couldn't decide between different things. I dived at Millbrook Quarry one day (just past Haymarket, where we do most of our open water training) with a guy that came into the shop looking for a new reg set. He was debating between a ScubaPro and a Tusa option, IIRC. They gave us a set of each to take out to the quarry for him and I did 2 dives with him so he could try both sets and see which one he preferred.
I'm not saying they will do that kind of stuff always or for everyone, etc.. But, I think they really do TRY to help people and accommodate special requests. And the guy I dived with that day wasn't anyone "special" to the shop. Meaning, he was just some random guy that came in. It's not like he was someone who trained with us or dived with us regularly.
Also, just another FYI, we are having a Buddy Dive day out at Millbrook on Saturday. Just a somewhat-more-organized-than-usual day to try and get people out who are looking for buddies to dive with. We sell a Tusa BCD that is specific for ladies and a number of our female customers seem to really like them. We also use those for ladies in our OW classes. I am SURE if your wife wanted to come and try one out at Millbrook that would be no problem.
Okay, so I guess that all sounded like my shilling for the shop. My apologies. The shop is there and has a ton of stuff in stock to browse and try on. Take that for what it's worth. Like I said, absolutely no pressure to buy anything.
Not into Quary Diving. All our diving happens in tropical waters. Maybe it's something to try sometime.