Need advice on first gear purchase and leisurepro.

Hey I just got my OW last weekend and am taking my AOW this weekend (i'll take all the diving with an experienced instructor I can get) and i'm also considering buying myself some gear eventually or as early as next month.. I've been doing a lot of reading up on gear the last couple of days, have called a few places and here's what I've decided on:

Apeks XTX50 w/ Egress Octopus (the octo is a freebie, some promotion)
Seaquest Balance (or maybe Pro QD..? although everyone seems to rave about back inflate and the Balance)
Suunto Vyper
Suunto SPG/Compass
Bare Velocity 7mm Full Suit w/ 7mm Hooded Vest (live in Quebec)
5mm Kevlar Gloves
Squeeze Knife, Pocket Light, Akona Safety Tube, Gear Bag

If i purchased all of this on leisurepro.com it would cost me around $1775 US with shipping. I found an LDS that can do it for about $2100 US including our many canadian taxes. Although i don't have a whole lot of experience i'm pretty certain thats a great price for a dive shop and i'm pretty sure my choices are sound. I have little ability to try anything before I buy, every shop rents a basic entry level rig, one rents out a 'premium' rig, its a Titan Supreme, Pro QD and Gekko.. but no other choices, doesn't do me a whole lot of good. I did try my instructors Legend LX Supreme and quite liked it, from what I can tell the XTX50 is pretty much the same regulator but costs less. I've also not found a dive shop that would let me try anything in a pool, or compare bcd's in a pool, etc..

So thats that I guess, any thoughts or advice? thanks!

ps. Is there an online aqualung/apeks/seaquest -authorized- dealer that can match leisurepro's prices? I know about Scubatoys.com, DiversDirect.com, and DiversSupplyUSA.com.. but none of them sell aqualung. I like leisurepro's prices but not the lack of a warranty..

I would get the Regulators from the LDS. The rest of the stuff I really have no opinion on. I do prefer to develop a relationship with a Dive shop but if none are worth developing a relationship with then I guess it does not matter.

jg

For a $300 difference, I'd go with the dive shop and get the full warranty and customer support they will offer you. When my husband had problems with his Legend, the dive shop we bought it from immediately worked on it for no charge.

Personally, I bought all of my major gear from ScubaToys, but I have Zeagle and Aeris branding mostly, and I've had nothing but outstanding customer support from ScubaToys.

I would look into the Sunnto Cobra. I think the price will be pretty close as to buying the vyper, spg, and compass seperately. At my LDS it was less.

go with the lds..leisure pro is not authorized and there fore the free octopus option is to my belief not available..ask your instructor what he/she thinks and see what they say about service and warrenties...

Leisurepro won't give you the free Egress. They're not an authorized Apeks/Aqualung dealer so they can't honor the promotion. The Egress is worth like $130 anyway, and LDS sell it for more, and you're actually getting a nicer Octo than if you were to buy a cheapy off of Leisurepro. Leisurepro doesn't carry XTX series either, only ATX. Granted, ATX is still super great, but I'd get the reg from a local dive shop.

Everything else, though, sky's the limit. The gloves, bags, hoods, knives and wetsuits -- you can save a big chunk of money by ordering online. Don't let people guilt you by saying that if you don't buy every piece of your gear from an LDS, they'll all close and all the dive shop owners will be homeless and starve to death and be forced to eat each other in a savage carnival of cannibalism.

Ive bought all my regs bp/wings from Leisure Pro and saved hundreds probably thousands of dollars in the process withouth any problems. I dont care one bit if theyre authorized dealers or not . the savings are fenomenal compared with my LDS.

The $300 +/- saved with LP would be lost in 2 to 5 services depending on how much the LDS chooses to charge you for the otherwise "free" parts. If you intend to maintain the manufacturer warrenty, I suggest you pay the extra now to the LDS rather than latter. If you do not intend to maintain the warrenty, the LP deal may make good sense. But I noticed they are "Out of Stock" on the TX-50. With LP, that is a situation that could go on for quite a while - perhaps longer than you are willing to wait.

whoops, this thread has taken a wrong turn, i wasn't planning on buying from lp to save $300, for $300 i am more than happy to buy from my LDS and get full warranties, etc.. my question was rather, are there any online stores that can sell me what i'm looking for at prices equal to or lower than LP that offer manufacturer warranties? but most importantly, seeing as how i'm a complete novice, how are my gear choices? any poor choices? anything overkill or a waste? should i be happy with that LDS price? thanks!

KansaiKitsune:

Leisurepro won't give you the free Egress. They're not an authorized Apeks/Aqualung dealer so they can't honor the promotion. The Egress is worth like $130 anyway, and LDS sell it for more, and you're actually getting a nicer Octo than if you were to buy a cheapy off of Leisurepro. Leisurepro doesn't carry XTX series either, only ATX. Granted, ATX is still super great, but I'd get the reg from a local dive shop.

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the lp price i quoted included a t20 octo