the beach buddy system

Has anyone dove with the beach buddy system (beachbuddy.com). I was wondering how it really worked and if it is worth spending $250 on it. I mainly shore dive and am tired of hiking up hills and stairs with all my gear on my back. Looking for an easier way to shore dive

I saw it demo'd at the Long Beach scuba show this year. Good idea, just ok on implementation. Far from being worth $250 in my opinion. Get it under $50 and I'd probably pick one up.

See you're in LB. There isn't much out there that would help with some of the RPV goat trails like CTC. Good luck in the search anyway.

If you want a buddy for local dives, hit me up.

Scott

I can't imagine that working well for socal shore diving. I mean, we have stairs or "cliffs" to deal with most of the time....lots of sand some of the time (that doesn't look like it would work well in anything other than the most densely packed sand).

Besides that, I personally prefer to put my rig on from the tailgate of my truck, rather than hoist it up from the ground.

One of the few L.A sites that it would come in handy is Marineland, although most either hoof it or use a wagon.

If you prefer a fold-up cart, OSH sells some nice aluminum carts for about $60.

I prefer to use the Tank Dolly. It is easy, efficient and I can load all of my gear on it. Plus it carries 2 tanks and weights. It is available from Shark Bite Scuba online and in some dive shops.

Try wwwcachapteroftibetansherpas.com here.

The fold up dolly found at lowe's or home depot works just fine for the money. Considering the number of beach dives I do, I could hire someone for each one to haul my gear every time. Besides, I'd rather walk into the water with everything and leave anything else locked in a vehicle somewhere...unless I have a nondiver on the beach to watch other stuff.

I've used the folding dolly from home depot. It's not really a solution that takes you all the way into the water as this system proposes it can do. You either have to leave the dolly on the shore and depend on the honestly of your fellow man that it will be there when you return from your dive. Or....run back to your vehicle with the dolly....and worse....leave your gear on the beach until you make this round trip.

I dive in San Diego, CA and I do wonder if this thing can get through the thick sand at La Jolla Shores. I also wonder if the wheel are secure enough with just that bungee cord. I'd prefer that they some how snapped into place. I wonder how much replacement wheels cost.

I also think a lot of San Diego divers would scoff at this just because.

Divers here have a bit of "pride" in their ability to handle tough conditions like relatively cold water, murky conditions. San Diego has some very strong rip currents at some of the rockier entries. Etc. Humping your gear on your back all the way across the beach is how it's done....aaah aahh oooh ooh AHH !

That being said....I'm thinking I might giving this a try. I have managed to snap the ACL ligaments in both my knees. Once from skiing, once from standing up with scuba gear on my back...and again from standing up with scuba gear (tearing out my ACL replacement)!

I had to give up beach dives. Obviously my knees can no longer take it. I know a lot of other guys my age who quietly admit the same. This product might be my salvation.

I just wish two things: 1) that price would come down, 2) I could find a good review from a southern California diver who actually tried it out on a beach dive around here.