Complete Scuba Package for Beginner

Hey,

First off I am new here and do not know much about scuba. A couple days ago, I went to the local scuba shop for the first time to fill up my tank which I had been using for paintball refills..I got there, and stayed for three hours talking to the owner and looking at all the cool stuff Now, 4 days later, I have sold my paintball stuff. To fund my hopefull new hobby. Scuba diving....I guess I should call the local place first...

Like I said I dont know much and am looking to purchase a COMPLETE PACKAGE, with everything I need besides the tank to keep it easy....WHERE DO I START, whats the best place to look? I WANT USED ONLY! I do not want to pay for new gear...Since, I am new and its so expensive....

If anyone would like to help me...SPEAK UP...I dont know what all gear I should make sure that the package has...good companies..any help

Thanks

Kane71270:

I guess I should call the local place first...

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I would definately give the local place a call and find out what they recomend. I'll also add that it's unusual, but not unheard of for a student to complete a dive course on their own equipment (I know because I completed mine with full kit - I had a birthday in the middle of my Open Water course and one thing led to another).

You will be much better off in the long run, if you use the local place to start training and to get to know the people there, some may have equipment for sale or the store might have ex-rental/ex-school equipment going. Whatever you buy make sure it works, you don't want to find out it doesn't when you need it.

But don't just buy the stuff, jump in a lake and try to learn it that way because you will die (I'm not saying you had that in mind, but you talked about buying equipment and not about getting training). The training manual should detail all the equipment you will need and far more eloquently than I could. Good luck with the training.

Dave's right. Call up your local shop, sign up for open water classes and dive a couple dives before you decide you want to spend money on gear. I paintball too, so I understand the prices aren't far spread if you're playing on tournament levels, so price probably isn't going to scare you away quite as quickly as the "average" person. Either way, I strongly reccomend actually diving before you spend the money on the equipment, plus your shop will probably let you toy around with some different gear on different dives, so you can probably narrow down what you're looking for a bit.

I'm taking my Advanced Open Water from my LDS soon and they've agreed to let me try out just about anything they have in the store for a dive to see if I like it. There are plenty of different styles of just about ever piece of equipment, so seeing what fits you best is going to take priority over what you can find at the lowest cost, at least I'd think it should .

Back inflate vs. Jacket style BCDs seems to be one of the biggest debates between divers, obviously it's all preference, but there's a heated (and good-natured) war going on over which BC style really is better. Try out some equipment, ask the people at your shop anything that comes to mind, they should be more than willing to help.

Hey thanks for the advice,

The shop does to training, and has a pool in the place so maybe they would let me try some stuff out. Its too late now, but what do these courses cost and is it just a one time thing?How long to they generally last?I live in Louisiana and wanna be ready in 3 weeks before I go to missouri. We are going to tablerock lake and have gonethere for along time. It looks like a good place to dive and I have always wanted to find my slingshot under the dock from when I was like 10 lol.

Thanks for your help,

I did play tourny ball, and expense was one of the reasons I got out of it...Sold my EGO

Ohhh man, I dream of getting an Ego. I have a Black Magic.

On the topic of if you can be ready in 3 weeks or not, that depends largely on your shop and how they schedule classes. I have two shops locally, one has fixed dates for their classes, two weeks per year they do Open Water. The shop I go through will schedule classes any time someone wants them, more or less.

I'm certified through PADI, and I'm not sure how prices vary from one agency to another, but Open Water instruction through PADI varies some in itself. I got certified on Maui for $189 if I recall. My LDS charges $300 for the same certification, the other local shop is about $350 I believe. Shops in different areas will obviously charge different amounts, but some may have a higher cost due to more intense instruction, more experienced instructors, etc. As you can see, the price will vary pretty dramatically from shop to shop though, even when certifying through the same agency.

As for buying equipment and having it in-hand inside of three weeks, that may be a tight objective. You may be better off renting from a shop in MO if you can find one nearby. The thing about buying used gear is that just about all scuba gear has to undergo scheduled maintenence, so say you get regs that haven't been serviced in two years, and your tank hasn't had a visual inspection in three years - you're going to need to pay to have your shop service your "new" gear, and wait for that.

Like I said, you may want to rent for such a close date, IMO three weeks from introduction to certified and owning gear is a little ambitious (though FAR from impossible). Another bonus to renting is that you'll be able to try more gear that your LDS potentially didn't have for you to try.

Edit: Forgot to mention. PADI Open Water can take anywhere from three days to a couple weeks, depending what you have open in your schedule and what your shop can do. Call up your shop, ask about getting OW certified and ask if they have a website

The course price depends on the agency your dive shop is affiliated with. Mine was SDI so it cost me about $450 for the course with required dives. Most other agencies are less than that. Dive shops too have a say on the price. I think I heard someone quote $350 one time for PADI. Your dive shop would have to answer that one. I think its safe to say you'll be paying less than $450. Don't get discouraged without first having a good talk with atleast one of your nearest diveshops. Be safe and have fun. Got to warn you. Once you start, you're hooked.

Your open water course will include gear, so don't buy it at first. PADI OW will run from $175-$600. It's the same course but some places just charge more. Once you get you feet in the water and get some idea about the equipment, watch/put and add in the local paper. People get out of diving all the time. I got a end of garage sale deal on weights, two full regulator set ups wet suits, bags, ect for $25. Have any used reg serviced and you should be good to go.

Please don't buy your gear yet (if ever). You should buy mask snorkel and fins and rent the rest for now. If you need to buy something buy yourself a divewatch/computer that has log functions.

The rest will come as you need, if you like it. Sometimes travel to good places is easier when you rent. You will have plenty of time to buy stuff like the bcd, regulator and gauges. they will keep making them.
Just my advice. Have fun.

Thanks for all of your help,
I guess I made a quick decision selling my gun. Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end..I am going to take it slow..I already have a brand new scuba tank....So its just the vest regs, and all that good stuff that I need...When I say good stuff that means I am clueless I ll go to the shop tommarrow and see if I can get anymore good info.

sometimes diveshops have good deals on used gear. might as well check it out.