Welcome to Scubaboard.
Lots of good information here. Note, not intended to frighten, just things that need to be done.
About to get lessons. Here are some musings that you should attend to before you take lessons.
1. Before you sign-up for your classes you should review your life insurance needs both now and in the future. Do you have enough life insurance for a husband and father. If not you should tend to that now. Once you get certified many life insurance companies will not write the policy or will charge more. Example, my NYLIFE insurance that I got just the month before I got certified was fine. I recently went to get more life insurance and NYLIFE, quoted me and then found out I was certified (recreational only, never deeper than 110 feet) and the price increased by $3.00 per $1,000 of coverage.
2. Shop your dive instructor. You want qualify instruction that will take the time to make you a safe, well trained diver. That is not always the cheapest course out there.
3. Look over the available dive gear before you buy. Dealer contracts often (normally) prohibit the store from stocking competitor products. So a shop that sells Scubapro will not sell Mares products. So to see everything available you need to visit several stores. Different mfg have different features. Backplate/Wing combinations are the way many local divers are going after they get a few hundred dives under their belt. Many advantages to it, some disadvantages. I bought a DeepSeaSupply.com (DSS) backplate and wing last February after 260 dives and wish I had bought it first. But it is not the solution for all divers.
4. The dive instructors contract with the store often requires them to wear gear two years old or newer and to wear only products the store sells. This may not be the same rig the instructor/DM wears when they dive on their own. So do not take the gear the instructor wears as his personal endorsement of the product, he is there to sell the stores product.
5. Dive tanks. Aluminum is cheaper and cost only 1/3 the price of steel. It also does not rust. Steel on the other hand is pound per pound stronger. So consider this, my Catalina AL80 is 1.75 inches taller and weighs within 1 pound the same as my XS-Scuba Steel 100. AL80 is 80 cubic feet of air, Steel 100 is 100 Cubic feet of air. So a slightly shorter tank, weighing the same holds 20 cubic feet more air and, an AL80 at 500 PSI is 2.5 pounds positive, meaning you have to wear two pounds of lead to offset that. A Steel 100 at 500 psi is 2 pounds negative, so that is 2 pounds less on the weight belt. So a diver wearing a Steel 100 wears 4-5 pounds less lead than a diver wearing an AL80 tank. AL80 is $109 new, Steel 100 is $349 new.
Since you live nearby, give me a shout once you get certified. Also visit the California Kelp Divers SoCAL section here.
