I bought some GEAR!! Ughh, please make me feel good about the $thousands I dropped!

[stevezak]

Ya know how in life ya go into the car dealer, TV store, etc. And "for a few dollars more you can get .." Well, that was me, WITHOUT any pressure from the dive folks at the shop. I just kept seeing what I could get and before ya know it, ughhh . So, here's what I got. And before you read this, you have to know that I haven't EVEN dived yet, I'm going to Cozumel this Sunday.

Oceanic Delta III Regulator. The most common sense purchase of all of them. On sale, with student discount, about $318. It seems like a great reg and tested high. Good company, etc.

But THEN ... BCD = Scubapro S tek (Vtek??) back bouyancy with alternate air source integrated with BCD inflator. I believe in my Dive Instructor's notion that if anyone is out of air, they are coming at yours in your mouth, and so your alternate is right there. Plus less hoses. And I purchased with one goal, (besides quality-safety-etc) STREAMLINE!! Ok, that was about $618 with discount and octo integrated with LPI.

But then, after Dacor Tiger Fins, which are great and about $180 before discount, and Shadow mask, which is HIGHLY rated and $79 or so - then comes the dive computer.

I got the Aladin Air Z-02 UWATEC $950 - my discount (so about $850). This thing is air inetgrated, nitrox ready, hoohaaa, it even makes you orange juice before the dive.

Did I do wrong, was I over zealous? was I a bad boy? Help??

Steve

 

[Mario S Caner]

Congrats Steve, the gear sounds great! Have fun on your trip and let us know what you think of the gear. The computer you have by the way, is the one I intend to pick up soon... You did good!

 

[Natasha]

Hi Steve,
I just got the Delta 3 for my birthday last month. I'll be trying it out in the pool this weekend before my Bonaire trip.
Can't help you with the rest, but I'm sure others on here will.
Since you're also in Chicago, I'm curious, which shop did you use to buy your equipment?
Also, have fun in Cozumel. I've been there more then 5 times, and I'm sure I'll be back for 5 more. Fantastic diving. You'll love it!
:sunny:

 

[Bob]

Steve, You've purchased some really good gear, I can't fault you for that! You'll be money ahead in the long run. I'm not crazy about back inflators, but that's a personal preference. Hope you have a great dive trip in Cozumel. Just be careful down there, you can get deep in a hurry!
Scuba Bob

 

[DEEP SEA]

stevezak - sounds like you had fun shopping. Dive safe and bring some pictures back you can share with us.

 

[Warhammer]

If had knew the Aladin made OJ I'd gotten one of those instead of the Cobra! How about sharing a glass?

Sounds like excellent choices to me and what's better is your dive shop owner can eat next week!

 

[kyleterry]

Let us know about Coz. Its a great place. About the gear I think you did great. The more gear the more you dive. Without gear too many people do not continue.

 

[Dee]

All sounds good to me. Orange juice, huh? mmmm....

And Thank you for supporting your local dive shop!

 

[Mario S Caner]

Disclaimer on OJ consumption before a boat dive:
If you are inclined to get sea sick, I recommend you skip the OJ, as it will make you "feed the fishes" The acid in the juice rarely agrees with "land creatures" on boats.

 

[mattiedread]

I only have 24 dives while being certified, and I just bought a similar rig, went a little lighter on the computer (Vyper-the non air integrated Cobra) but, I'm allergic to orange juice. Purely coincidently, I'll be in Playa Del Carmen starting Saturday (a short boat ride from Coz) and will diving over in Coz a couple of days. I really can't comment on your equipment because I'm too new to the game, but I just did the same thing (from a local shop also) and I am a 20 minute subway ride from Leisure Pro. (You can read about them on this board).

Look at it this way, in some religions, couples frequently marry having known each other only a few weeks. Talk about jumping in with both feet. Unfortunately with scuba equipment, I don't think you really have too much of a choice but to take a little chance unless you live in a tropical dive paradise and can sample the goods over time. It sounds like you had some hand holding through the process. At least you (we, I'm in that boat too) aren't married to it