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swooley

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Hello everyone from Louisiana, USA. I'm in the process of becoming scuba certified and I have questions about equipment. First of all, I will be a recreational diver that probably takes about 2-3 trips per year, so I'm not real serious yet. I am looking to purchase a mask & snorkel, fins, and wet suit. Obviously I want to find these items at a competitive price. Is there any way I can buy these items online and get the correct size. I know I can find this equipment at my local dive shops, but they seem to be very expensive. Also, is there anything else that I need to take into consideration? Thanks in advance.
 
I may be overly cynical, but I'd be wary of buying diving equipment online. It's probably because I've known a couple of people who have gotten burned that way...it's tough to know what you're getting. I'm fully prepared, though, to be corrected by people with more experience in this area.

However, as a beginning diver, you don't necessarily need to go with new, expensive gear. You can quite often find used equipment with very little mileage on it, that someone is willing to part with for very little cash. The unfortunate reality is, lots of people take diving courses, but quite a few of them don't become regular divers. Someone who goes out and buys all the gear, dives a few times, then has it hanging in the garage for a couple of years would likely sell it cheap. The good news for you is, you're getting virtually new gear at a fraction of the cost. An ad in a local "Buy, Sell, and Trade" could get you the gear you need. My first drysuit was bought used, and it served me well for several years of hard use.

One note of caution, though...before you actually dive with any of it, get it looked at and serviced at your dive shop. If possible, have the equipment specialist take a look at the gear before you lay down the cash.

Happy diving!
 
Do a search on these forums...

Use these terms...

LDS LeisurePro DiveInn Scuba.com

That should keep you reading for quite some time.

When you have decided on a few specific pieces of equipment, come back and ask opinions...but DONT mention where you are buying it from. That will just open the arguments up all over again and your thread will be hijacked.

Then, based on the recommendations from the people here...and your conclusions from reading about those search terms, buy your gear and don't feel guilty about cost or who you buy it from.
 
Hi Swooley,

I am from Louisiana also. Like yourself, I am also in the process of getting certified and thinking about the equipment I'd like to use. The general consensus from what I've seen here seems to recommend renting equipment for a while so that you can experience a variety of different types of equipment and therefore make a better informed decision on what to buy. I don't know if that's possible here because we don't exactly have a dive shop on every corner. I'm getting certified through Houma WaterSports and their inventory is definitely on the skimpy side although they will order just about anything for you. I will try to give the LDS's my business if they will work with me on price. If you do a search on this board you will find that the subject of whether to buy online or local is a pretty touchy subject. I am leaning toward supporting my LDS but you will form your own opinion.

Good Luck!
 
Online vs LDS is a debatable subject. There are items that are fine to buy on line and others there is no way I would buy on line....with the exception that I already owned one exactly like the one I am ordering. Mask fall into this catagory. A mask has to fit correctly. An expensive mask that leaks is worthless and a cheap mask that fits perfectly is priceless. When looking for a new maks I hit every dive shop in town until I fine the one that fits the best, I could care less what brand or price it is. No way I would order it on line. Something like a flashlight is fine to order on line.
Don't overlook good used equipment. You can often find used equipment that has lots of years remaining in it at great prices. Used gear holds it's value fairly well. Buying used, using it for a year or 2 until you understand what you really want/need and then selling it for close to what you paid for it is not a bad way to go. Just get it checked out by a equipment tech before buying.

When starting out, it's almost impossible to make good decision on equipment. Back inflalate or jacket or BP/wing, which suits you best is difficult to answer for yourself until you have some time underwater. Renting or borrowing equipment to test dive is the best way to go. And there are many who take up diving, do it for a little time and for whatever reason give it up. Kind of a waste to buy a lot of expensive equipment only to sell it in a year or so for $0.50 on the dollar. The same goes for equipment you bought only to discover it really does not meet your diving needs/style....something you can only determine after putting in some uw time.

Get certified, rent or borrow for a year or so and if you still like diving, use the knowledge you have gained to make wise purchases. If there is a active dive club near by, join it. It's a good way to meet other divers, look at their equipment and maybe borrow some to do a test dive in.
 
Being new to the board, may I make a suggestion. I have responded to your post in another section, but I noticed you have posted the same or very similar questions in several places. Most of the regulars here read many of the post and answer a lot of them if we have something useful to add. There is no need to post the same or very similar questions in multiple places. Your best bet is to choose the catagory that best suits your question and post there. Welcome to the board and ask away.
 
Local Dive Shop as opposed to online buying.

You know the Internet is fine for buying commodities, like books or dog food, where you don't need advice. I like to support my LDS because the guys there are extremely knowledgeable and experienced, and since I'm a rec diver only, I really value that. . .a lot. The economics are pretty simple, and I know I'll pay more, but I want that LDS to be there a long, long time. Just my philosophical intro.

Fishbait's right, you can find good used gear, but you cannot evaluate it yourself. If you get some from classifieds, ask your LDS if you can bring the stuff there and have them look at it with the seller there and give you an opinion and offer to pay the LDS for the opinion. $20-30 should be acceptable. They'll probably be happy to do that because they'd like to make you happy and have you come back to their store for other gear.

Your LDS might sell used gear, too. Not all do, but some do. My LDS is fantastic, within 15 minutes of my house, and they sell a boatload of new and used gear, which is ideal.

Also, if you're new, your LDS will likely make you a deal if you buy a whole package from them rather than spread your purchases around. If you go to one place and buy just the regulator, they'll probably give you 10% off if you just ask for it. You'd be surprised what people do if you just ask politely. Most folks don't like to ask. Don't be confrontational, but say to the salesperson, you thought about buying online and made the conscious decision to pay more to support them being there for you for advice, and you believe paying more is reasonable. But you're not made of money, and the stuff is expensive, how about meeting you somewhere in the middle between Internet and their prices, say 10% off? The sales clerk is in the same position as you (unless they're the owner). They can't afford all the toys they want and they're not made of money either. Since you didn't ask with a chip on your shoulder or somehow infer they don't deserve the price differential, you've acknowledged the value they add to the transaction--advice and knowledge, they'll probably give you the 10%.

I'd recommend against spreading your purhases around, though. Go to one shop, find the one you think you'll want to continue to deal with for a long time, and tell them you want the whole enchilade, sans tanks and lead of course (unless you do a lot of local diving. . .all mine involves airfare, so I dont' have tanks and weights). You're going to spend between $1,000 and $1,500 for certain if you're starting from scratch, BC, Regulator & octo, guages, appropriate wetsuit, mask, fins, snorkel, maybe even a second wetsuit if you dive different temperature ranges.

Make the same plea and acknowledge the value of dealing locally I suggested above, maybe indicate you'd have a tough time affording the whole package in one gulp without doing a little comparison shopping or without relegating some of the purchases to online, but you'd really rather get the whole enchilada right there. You might find they'll go way lower than 10% off. Maybe 15% or even 20%.

Americans aren't used to haggling, and it doesn't make sense at the grocer or at Walmart. But buying a whole set of scuba gear at once is a major purchase, and I liken it more to buying a car than buying at a department store, and I haggle like heck when buying a car. . .and it works! Just be honest with the dealer and don't act like they're gouging you at retail prices. They sell most stuff one piece at a time, after all. The Internet sales issue as much an economic reality for them as it is for you, and if you're friendly and trying to work with them on a big purchase, and acknowledge their value added, you'll be surprised at how happy they might be to discount.

Happy shopping!
 
swooley once bubbled...
Hello everyone from Louisiana, USA. I'm in the process of becoming scuba certified and I have questions about equipment. First of all, I will be a recreational diver that probably takes about 2-3 trips per year, so I'm not real serious yet. I am looking to purchase a mask & snorkel, fins, and wet suit. Obviously I want to find these items at a competitive price. Is there any way I can buy these items online and get the correct size. I know I can find this equipment at my local dive shops, but they seem to be very expensive. Also, is there anything else that I need to take into consideration? Thanks in advance.

Well, if you show up to class with a mask you bought somplace else and you can't dive in it because it leaks too bad, what's your plan? If you buy it from the same folks you're taking your class from, they should take responsibility and do what ever it takes to make things work. But...if you got it someplace else they may not feel responsible and likely won't want to inconvenience the rest of the class. You might end up sitting the class out and having to find a way to make it up later. Of course they might have one with them the would sell you and then you would have two (only one that works)

I had one penny wise dollar foolish student show up for a class with a mask he got from wallmart. In the beginning it was fogging so bad he couldn't see. With repeated attempts at cleaning and defogging the PLASTIC lense became so scratched up that you couldn't see through it. He never did finish the class. He saved money though.

If you put in as much energy trying to ensure that you recieve good training you might do ok.
 
=-)
Swooley, dont feel rushed into any decisions to buy the necessary equipment. Take some time to do some homework, ask some good questions to others and then afterwards, to yourself. Having a mask that fits is priceless, but investing alot of money into a snorkle is not. I will let others tell you which brands to choose from, as I dont want to stir that issue up, but I look at it like this: I am going to be in an enviroment, that I was not created/or evolved as of yet to live without the proper life support, therefore I want to have my life support to be of good quality. I am not going to push either way (LDS or Internet), but both can be good sources for providing the gear that you will need to be a safe and equipped diver. Dont let anyone pursuade you to buy, just because they have a strong opinion, or tie to a certain manufacturer. It does not take long to figure out in the dive industry, as well as any sporting industry, that peoples opinions regarding gear are simply that "opinions", and they have formed them from many different sources (some good, some bad, some indifferent). Take your time and get good gear as you need it to progress in endeavor to be certified.

Also, I have found from my short time on this forum, that you can find a wealth of information by searching out your topic of interest. There are alot of good debates that provide a novice with large amounts of information that cant be picked up from doing 2-3 or even more dives per year. Use the site wisely, and you will learn valuable info quickly (again some good, some bad, and some indifferent).

Safe Diving!
:eek:ut:
 
I guess I lucked out. I'm from Orlando and we have a Divers Outlet retail store. I'm stationed out of state and when I want to order something I usually go to their website. Divers Direct I think is one of the largest online retail store. One time I bought a dive bag online and the first time I used it, the shoulder strap tore off. I took it to my local Divers Outlet while I was on leave and they replaced it no questions asked and they didn't even ask for a recipt.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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