new to diving need financial advice on what to buy

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evilbacon

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Location
Long Beach, CA
Im very new to diving, and just recently had my first son!:D He is about 2 months old now and is in need of alot of things, so I don't have alot of money to spend. What I need to buy is a BC and regulator and I only have about 200 dollars to spend. Is there anywhere that I can buy both for that price, or should i save more?

Thanks


Evil:D
 
You should have told your son to just stay inside mommy. Imagine solid 9 months of diving with no surface interval!
 
Save more. Use the $200 to rent gear and dive more before you buy.
 
I 'd have to agree with renting for now-then you can get some good stuff later. And congratulations on your son!
 
Depends on what you are looking for. You can get a decent set of Conshelf regs off of ebay for around $50 or so, if you are patient. You can pick up the older style jacket BCs for next to nothing. For example, look at the last listing on this page from www.discountdivers.com. Scubatoys has some good prices on decent wetsuits. I assume that you already have a mask, fins and a snorkel from your class. Weight belts are cheap and easy to come by. Rent your tanks, or start watching out for older steel tanks, which can very often be tumbled and rehydro'd for cheap. I have enough good gear to fully outfit 2 divers, and I haven't spent more than $600 for it all. And that includes $150 for a rebuilt DA Aquamaster double hose regulator. You might also ask if your LDS has old equipment in the back. I've found some real gems in the storage room of one of the shops I frequent. They'll often sell off older equipment just to make room.
If you take the used equipment route, be sure to find a friendly technician and learn about the gear you want. Don't skimp on servicing and inspections. Most used gear is fine if you properly care for it.
 
DivingCRNA:
Save more. Use the $200 to rent gear and dive more before you buy.
Bump...
 
Congratulations! My advice as a father of two (15 and 18) would be to first, keep your priorities on your son. Sounds like you're doing that. Kudos! Second, dive when you have the extra time and money. I'd concur with the others. Spend your money on rental gear and the misc. diving costs for now. If you can pickup a reliable set of used equipment on eBay or your LDS, great. But for now, ease into the sport but leave time and money to focus on your son. Believe me, time flies and they'll be all grown up before you can blink an eye, or so it seems.

Oh, and be careful not to let your hobby drive you into debt. Not a good situation, especially with a young family. Keep your life as simple as possible for awhile.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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