So you think scuba diving is expensive!!

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seahunter

Contributor
Messages
352
Reaction score
27
Location
Canada
# of dives
5000 - ∞
Day after day I read posts that include moaning over the 'high' cost of scuba diving.
Where do you people live??

Consider where scuba diving fits in the world of sports. Assume there are 3 groups of sports - benign sports which includes bowling, tennis, golf and similar easy going activities; extreme sports which includes motocross, downhill skiing, sky diving and similar high speed, high risk activities and family fun sports which includes boating, snowmobiling, ATVing and similar exciting but widely accepted and practiced activities.
Scuba diving has all the benefits of each group - it's easy going, enjoys an image of high speed, high risk (although it's actually neither) and it's exciting but acceptable and accessible to everyone including families.
Scuba diving is also less expensive than any of the sports named other than bowling. When compared to the return in excitement and pleasure, there is no other sport that even comes close to scuba.
What other sport can you enjoy 365 days a year, anywhere in the world, day & night?
For an initial investment of less than $500 (the price of cheap set of golf clubs), you can go scuba diving for about $25 a day.
Get all the gear you need for scuba diving, say $1500 (the price of a good set of golf clubs, a nice mountain bike or a ski outfit) and you can dive for $5 a day.

Perhaps not many have priced golf equipment or inquired about green fees lately. Ski equipment is as costly as scuba gear and sure doesn't last as long even if you only use it for 1 month a year. Any sport that involves a motorized vehicle also requires regular investments of large amounts of cash beyond the initial cost of the machine, insurance, maintenance and trail fees.
Heck, $500 won't fill the tanks of many sport boats, won't pay the insurance and trail fees on snowmobiles or replace the tires on an ATV.
A young man in our club just purchased a paintball marker (they don't call them guns) for $2100. With all the other stuff he needs he has over $3000 invested just so he can pay to go into a room and shoot paint at other people!

Let's not perpetuate the myth that scuba is expensive. It's not true and it stops people from trying it.
 
Scuba diving is expensive. Perhaps not as expensive as some other activities, but just because it is less expensive than motor sports/vehicles, that does not obviate the costs involved with diving itself. Certainly diving can be done "on the cheap", just as any other sport, but diving has the highest minimum costs aside from the motorized sports.

Sport - minimum equipment list (can get by beg, borrow, steal or rent)
Running - Shoes
Swimming - Swim Suit
Volleyball - one volleyball and net (out of both teams)
Soccer - A soccar ball (out of both teams)
Ultimate - One frisbee (out of both teams)
Golf - Minimum club set (depends on course, 3 to 5 clubs and bag), golf shoes
Skiing - Ski and boots (can rent)
Bouldering - Climbing shoes
Outdoor rock climbing - Climbing shoes, harness, nuts, cams, rope, slings
Baseball/Softball - Ball, bat, gloves
Diving - Exposure suit, BC, Weights, Regulator, Tank, Flippers, Mask, SPG, Depth gauge
Kayaking - Kayak, paddle, PFD
 
I always thought skiing was expensive...at least until i started diving. I have way more invested in dive equipment that I have ever had in ski equipment. $1500 will get you just about the very best set of ski equipment. In diving $1500 will get you a shiny new titanium reg. But then you need that $1000 air integrated computer, and $800 for a rec/tec BC oh yeah through in another $150 for the octo to match that new reg. If you want to dive year round here that means you are going to need a drysuit so there is another$1000+.

Now of course entry fees for diving can be a lot les expensive, but boats dives are very comparable to the cost of a lift ticket.

In the end if you want to be cheap you can do it with either sport. However, you may never get everything out of the sport that is possible.
 
Oh yeah... "Bass Fishin", you only need a boat (usually $20,000+), tons of rods and tackle, a big truck to pull your boat, and it goes on from there.

Any sport can be expensive if you really want the best, brightest, and most modern of everything.

One thing about dive equipment... once you have it, if you take care of it, it will last a long time and your dive dollar will go a long way.
 
my buddy and I decided that skiiing/snowboarding and diving are somewhat equal.

I understand that you can pay 1500 for a titanium reg... but If you don't buy the most expensive stuff for diving and you don't buy the most expensive stuff for skiiing/snowboarding then you are talking just a little bit here and there.

Skiiing you also have to have warm cothing.. and warm clothing is more expensive then a wetsuit, and probably even a drysuit (I don't know how much a drysuit costs). To keep warm in the winter you are going to need a jacket, skipants, thermals, gloves, etc, etc... And that add up quickly.

Both require a similar amount of lugging around.

Granted you could rent stuff for both occasions, but in that case you will still need to buy warm clothing. You usaually can't rent a jacket or snowpants. But you can rent a wet/dry suit.

So it sucks when you do four of the top most expensive sports.
Diving
Outdoor Rock Climbing
Golf
Skiiing (not nearly as often as I would like, maybe twice per year. I just rent a snowboard.)
 
of anything ive spent money on in 21 years of my life.. diving ISSS the most expensive..(so far..)

i spent a couple thousand bucks on initial dive gear and certification, and i dont even have a drysuit or tanks! (mid-range gear, not high end!) and whats diving w/o pictures to show off to friends and fam? it "forced" me to buy a camera and uw housing, which adds another 1000$ to the bill..

then... dive trips! $$$$ ~1500 for less than a week on a liveaboard.. i have to do at least 3 a year to shut my scuba withdrawal symptoms up..add airfare
i also have this obsessive-compulsive-scuba-gear-shopping-disorder i know not i alone suffer from! must be an average of $100/month spending on scuba-related gear either to upgrade or replace something broken, or something or other..batteries, silica gel, lanyards, spring straps, blablabla

also, the higher up the padi/naui/etc ladder u go, the more you gotta spend for classes and books, checkout dives, plus if you do the DIR thing you gotta buy new gear ...


jetskiing... $5000 to buy it, then you pay for gas. thats it!

bungee jumping.. <50$/jump wahoo!

snowboarding.. my snowboard setup costs 800$, outerwear is $500. theres a photographer on the mountain so i dont need a camera..or disposable is fine. if u go alot..season passes are 300-1000$. motel room split amongst friends = 10-20$/night. (are there motel-type liveaboards?)

skydiving is relatively cheap... couple thousand to get certified but only 10 bucks a jump after that..

the only thing i can compare to diving is learning how to fly a plane, (is it a sport?) cuz its like 6000 bucks then you rent it for 60-80/hour (more for bigger planes) if u dont have ur own plane. but then you can always charge people who ride with you hehehe

so, in conclusion, i think diving is expensive!

----my $.02 (do u take visa?)
 
the continuing ed adds to the cost as well, equip. maint., air...

I thought skiing was expensive too, until diving.

Only difference, once your gear and classes are paid for, you can shore dive pretty cheap. Try skiing or golfing on a given day for under $50, no way... Yeah, boat dives rack up the $$ but there are at least free alternatives most of the time.
 
Frankly speaking i'm quite neutral after seeing comments from various divers. But from my point of view, is that the cost of SCUBA diving varies at different countries. For me, it cost about $1500 just to get basic equipment (inclusive of Reg & BC). Cost per diving trip really depends where you live and where you dive. For me it cost about $300 per trip (5 dive) to enjoy diving in malaysia, so i dont find it that expensive.
 
seahunter once bubbled...
What other sport can you enjoy 365 days a year, anywhere in the world, day & night?
For an initial investment of less than $500 (the price of cheap set of golf clubs), you can go scuba diving for about $25 a day.
Get all the gear you need for scuba diving, say $1500 (the price of a good set of golf clubs, a nice mountain bike or a ski outfit) and you can dive for $5 a day.

I was with you till you said anywhere in the world....while of course the diving is wonderful down here in the Caribbean....even with crew discounts I can't dive for $25 a day....shore dives just aren't an option most times....so on the boat we go.

As far as gear....I spent well over $1500 on gear, and while I have good gear...there isn't a piece of titanium anywhere near me. I won't get into how much I've spent/plan on spending on my photo gear.

If I had any living expenses....I couldn't dive near as much as I do....to me, that qualifies as expensive.

Peace,
Cathie
 
seahunter,
I disagree...having once been a rock & ice climber I can tell you that diving is way more expensive. A rock climber can get outfitted for about $1000 (with harness, carabiners, shoes, ropes and nuts for lead climbing) and then go for pretty much just gas fees per trip.

On the other hand, scuba diving requires certification costs, and gear expenses and a drysuit if you dive in the Northern latitudes - especially if year round. I'm a newbie and I have probably well over $3000 in my rig: Wings, harness, BP, STA, 2 regulators, octo, comp, compass, drysuit, fins, knife, hood, mask, camera, pony, spg's, bolt snaps, P valve, reel, flag/float, guidebooks, Nitrox course, annual maint of gear, tank. Charter fees if one doesn't own a boat.

It sure isn’t cheap....
 
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