Newbie wanting to learn to dive...

[Bmorebirds_24]

Hey all I'm 31 years young and for years I've always been a fan of the under water world. None of my friends are interested in diving and I don't know anyone willing to learn so I always pushed it to the side. Thing is it's something I think I would love to do. I have a few questions to ask to see if diving is for me.
I'm 31 and in good health so none of that should be a concern.
What kind of school should I look into? What kind of prices am I looking at and how much generally will it cost to start my diving journey?
I live in Maryland and people generally talk about how you can't see under water here. Is it worth it to spend whatever amount of money to never be able to dive in Maryland?
Being I know nobody that wants to dive is it a good idea to dive alone? (Stupid question I'm sure)
Basically I'm looking for any advice that I can get. I love swimming and would love this as a general hobby.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[scottwilson1]

Hello and Welcome

certification should run 500-600 in Canadian funds so do the conversion
mask fins snorkel prolly another 150-250

Diving alone is highly frowned upon for new divers - should always have a buddy or wait till your experienced and take a course.
I didn't really have any friends who dove so I went out and started making new friends with those who DIVE

You live in the USA so plenty of diving options without international travel - I hear the Carolinas have awesome wrecks none that i dove myself - Florida has great diving and your not too far from the Caribbean
you have lot's of options and I'm sure the local dive centre will have charters set up all the time - good place to meet people to dive with.

Don't wait any longer -

 

[diversteve]

What kind of school should I look into? What kind of prices am I looking at and how much generally will it cost to start my diving journey?

Ballpark figures - I'm not in MD. Under $300 for the basic gear required for the course (mask, fins/boots, snorkel, gloves) In my area the Openwater class is around $350 more. Sometimes that includes gear, otherwise rentals are often discounted during class use - ex would be if you did a local training dive and took the gear from the property. If there's travel involved for checkout dives that's additional.

There's a lot of help here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html

PADI is the largest certification agency in the U.S. and probably worldwide. Other options are SSI (I'm one) NAUI, NASE, SDI/TDI, SEI, IANTD and many others I can't think of. All have some sort of dive shop locator on their websites as well as detailed information on their programs. Since I have two bookmarked:
SSI Scuba Schools International
PADI | The Way the World Learns to Dive®

I can't speak to MD conditions but a quick look at our forum indicates people do dive there. Often once you get a little off-shore conditions get remarkably better. As a general example, I dive in SC occasionally. Off the beach it's so sandy/murky you can't see your feet. At the reefs farther out - maybe 10mi. offshore - visibiility can be 100' on a good day. Compared to the Bahamas/Cayman Islands/Hawaii where 200' is not unheard of. Once you get certified you can also dive the Baltimore Aquarium - one of the dive shops there provides support for that program. And probably volunteer divers.

I live in Arizona. I've never dove here - certified locally in 1981. I did have to snorkel in one of our local mudholes during class once decades ago. Except for SoCal all my diving is high visibility, warm water coral reef diving - it's what I like.

I suggest finding a shop you like the looks of and going in to talk to them. Actually try several. Each agency has a slightly different approach so ask about differences. If you sign up for classes, at least let them sell you the mask/boots/fins. Those things - especially the mask - will be more comfortable during class if they fit. I can't stress it enough, get a mask that fits. If it doesn't you'll be fighting it thru class. In cold water, it's also quite a shock when 50+ degree water hits your face/eyes unexpectedly when you flex and it leaks.

Also know that any shops best chance to sell you a lot of expensive new dive gear is during or just after certification when you're excited about it. That can be a good or bad thing depending on the lines they sell and sometimes on what they make the most margin on. Some shops are also just interested in selling you the best thing, even if it's not the most expensive. I have two of those locally and also one that tries to oversell me any chance he gets.

Online is also an option for gear sales. You may find better pricing at some of the online retailers - many of whom are also affiliated with a shop. So they offer full mfr's warranty on what they sell - the same warranty will be accepted by your shop generally. A few years ago that wasn't always the case. I usually let my shop compete on the best price I find on more expensive items - some like my regulator sell for the same price everywhere. So I established a rapport with a local shop by letting them sell it to me instead of buying it online from my favorite reseller - Scubatoys in Dallas.

hth, hopefully some of your local MD divers will see this and can weigh in on regional specific differences. Most times when you dive in any sort of group, during your class, off a boat etc. finding a buddy isn't usually a problem. Your shop will match you with someone during your class anyway. I usually bring my buddy but we often let someone buddyless join us also if we seem to have the same diving interests.

Solo diving is a pursuit for well after you're certified. Some of the organizations recently are allowing it. PADI calls theirs Self-Reliant Diver. Other agencies also teach the protocols for solo diving including the redundant equipment generally thought to be a good idea to have with you during a dive.
It's one of those things I first did around 100 dives. I don't dive deep when I do it and someone on the boat knows when to expect me back.

 

[Belzelbub]

I got the diving bug at a fairly young age. I was first certified at 15. Skipped a few years right then due to a poor instructor, but have been diving fairly consistently since I was 22 or so, with much more consistency in the past few years. I guess that's to say I understand the bug.

In Maryland, you won't have nearly the opportunity that I do living in FL. But, there are lots of people that live in landlocked states that dive. They dive on vacation and/or dive in freshwater. Point is there are lots of opportunities to dive in most areas. I'd head to one of your local shops and talk to them about it. See what kind of local dives they have going on. They should be able to give you an idea on the expected vis, temp, and type of local sites.

Not having friends that dive is a hindrance, but not really the end of the world. You can go out on charters and get paired up with other divers, or use a Dive master.

As far as costs go, certification can vary from shop to shop, but you could expect to pay $250-$300 or so for the class, more if you opt for private instruction. Dives may be included, or may be extra, depending on where the dives are done.

Gear is where it can get pretty pricy, but there is no real need to own all your gear right away. For the class you'll need mask, fins, snorkel, & weights. Rental for everything else should be included with the cost of the course.

Buying your own gear should be pretty far down the road for you at this point. Otherwise you run the very real risk of buying gear twice. For consideration, you could get a fairly basic set of gear for $1300-$1500. You could also easily spend north of $4000, though that's probably unnecessary. My gear is mid to top of the line and probably in the neighborhood of $2500 at full retail, not including exposure suits. Gear needs will vary based on type of diving, which is another good reason to rent for now.

 

[fjpatrum]

I'm in Northern VA so prices should be similar to what you'll find in MD. Classes will be anything between $500 & $750 total cost (with OW quarry access or boat rides if you do your OW dives out of Ocean City or something.) $250 for personal gear is ridiculous, in my opinion. Go to the local big box store like Walmart, Costco, or whatever, and buy a US Divers snorkel package. It will get you started and is more than suitable for any class at $40-$50. These days they even have open heel fins in the sets.

As for diving in MD, it's generally fairly low vis but there are a couple of good quarries within a reasonable (ish) drive from anywhere in MD that offer opportunities for diving and you can always hunt out of OC if that's your thing. And, there are tons of people in this area who dive, both in warm water travel diving or local cold dark waters. I've found several partners through the local dives shops and even here on Scubaboard.

EDIT: PM me if you're near the northern VA area and I'll be happy to point you to some more specific locales or shops I've been to.

 

[dmaziuk]

Classes will be anything between $500 & $750 total cost (with OW quarry access or boat rides if you do your OW dives out of Ocean City or something.) $250 for personal gear is ridiculous, in my opinion. Go to the local big box store like Walmart, Costco, or whatever, and buy a US Divers snorkel package. It will get you started and is more than suitable for any class at $40-$50.

A few years back and a couple of states away our PADI Open Water was I think $250 class plus $150 for the dives, gear rent included. This was university-based, student-priced. We didn't need to pay for pool access nor for getting into the lake. Add $50 (IIRC) for the books. So it doesn't get much cheaper than $500.

I'd buy a wallmart kit if your dive shop charges more than that for gear rent. Never seen bootie-sized US Divers fins, for example, so you can only really use them in a pool... So: rent is a better option IMO.

 

[fjpatrum]

A few years back and a couple of states away our PADI Open Water was I think $250 class plus $150 for the dives, gear rent included. This was university-based, student-priced. We didn't need to pay for pool access nor for getting into the lake. Add $50 (IIRC) for the books. So it doesn't get much cheaper than $500.

I'd buy a wallmart kit if your dive shop charges more than that for gear rent. Never seen bootie-sized US Divers fins, for example, so you can only really use them in a pool... So: rent is a better option IMO.

The problem is that most shops won't let you "rent" personal gear. They require it for the class and most are trying to drive a sale of overpriced equipment in their shop. I can't say I totally disagree with your assessment of the US Divers fins, but if you have reasonable size feet (say 9 or 10 size shoe) you can buy a Large or XL kit and get booties on with the fins. If you're like me, with a larger foot, you probably won't get fins you can wear with booties, so that's a good point to make.

I haven't found OW courses to be particularly high priced in this area but most don't point out the added fees of quarry entry or gear rental for the OW dives. That's usually ~$200 extra around here.

 

[iamrushman]

wow you have some great advice from above.....so i'll just say howdy and welcome from south Florida.....enjoy the underwater world.

 

[TSandM]

You've gotten a bunch of information about costs. I'll say something about buddies. Remember that you will likely be taking a group class, and all the other people in that class are going to be divers of some sort. In addition, the instructor/s and dive staff are divers. Many shops have clubs or organize dives to which their alumni are invited. Check Meet up for your area -- there may be some dive clubs or just meet up groups for diving. And, of course, there's ScubaBoard!

Before I learned to dive, I had no idea how many divers there were in my area, or how actively a lot of people dived. Although your local opportunities may not be the equivalent of Puget Sound, I'll bet there are folks in your area who like to be weightless. Taking a class will introduce you to some of them.

 

[diversteve]

Go to the local big box store like Walmart, Costco, or whatever, and buy a US Divers snorkel package.

Which comes with Snorkel fins. Which will put the OP at a disadvantage in class and during any longer swims since he'll have to work harder to keep up since they're typically shorter/wider/stiffer? than dive fins. In a couple years he'll be upgrading whatever breaks/wears out first. Probably a fin buckle.

I still suggest you buy a mask from a dive shop so you get one that fits. Going thru certification with a leaky mask takes your mind off what you're supposed to be doing at the time and it could unsettling if it floods cold water during the checkout dives - I assume the MD waters aren't real warm....

Shops sell masks starting around $40 or less. My shop has several racks of them, the highest is about $85, the lowest $25. I have a $29 Shewood soft-skirt mask that fits better than my low-volume, oversized window $75 Tusa.

I used Leisurepro.com for the info below but Scubatoys, Dive Right In Scuba, Divers Supply and many others are also options.
You can buy a better snorkel than you need online for $15 or less.
Snorkels buy at LeisurePro
If you're a standard size, boots are also $25 or less. The only issue then is thickness. 5MM is probably a good overall compromise. 5mm Boots buy at LeisurePro
Fins can be as cheap as $25 for dive fins. Oceanic Viper's are a dive fin made by a dive company.
Next step up is any number of fins in the $40-50 range - for cold water diving, you want open heel fins/boots also. Fins buy at LeisurePro
Lastly, gloves are around $20-25.

So not $50 at Wally World but it's all dive gear that should last you a long time. $150-200 tops.

Also let your shop compete because they may be able to get close less taxes. And you get to try it all on first.