how much?

[Brian Sharpe]

how much does all the diving stuff come up to? i estimated about $1100 for me to gety in the water not counting the cert price so how much would it cost?

Did you know Kingston was the first capital of the state of NY? I digress,........

As others have mentioned the cost of your gear can vary wildly with whatever it is you decide to buy but, assuming you plan on diving locally, you'll need a 7mm wetsuit (anywhere from $150 to $500 on scubatoys.com*), they also carry BC/regulator/computer packages that start at $850 & up

You'll still need to add gloves, hood, mask, fins & booties - you could come in not too far off your budget (not including tanks) but..........

Check for used gear. Lots of new divers rush out and buy all sorts of goodies, give up diving and sell it all on eBay or craigslist a year later. Lots of new divers (I did this one) rush out and pick up gear that they later find is less than optimal for their need and end up either storing or selling it.

I'd suggest getting certified, renting gear & talk to local divers (don't forget to make use of this forum too) to get feedback on particular pieces of equipment. Take your time and buy the right gear the first time 'round.




*I picked scubatoys.com because I love their service & as they're out of state they won't charge you sales taxes whereas Leisurepro.com would

[Bonairetrip]

i dont know if i need a cold water reg id prolly dive in no colder then 70 degrees

At 70, no. Do you plan on diving locally? If so, my guess is that you will get colder than that.

[fisher2]

well the bass start to bed at 55 so that would be the lowest i dive most likely

[diver_doug]

Assuming you bought brand-new middle-of-the-road gear (including tank) you would be looking at:

Warm Water: around $2000
Cold Water: around $2500
Really cold Water: around $4000

Price goes up if you buy higher-end gear, more gadgets, want a drysuit for warm/cool water etc. Price goes WAYYYYYY UP if you want a rebreather. Price goes down if you buy used gear, entry level stuff, discontinued items, etc.

[binobanana]

You can rent! thats cheaper but for longterm you buy! How much? It's bottemless!
Just diving than you go into, night diving, cold water, maybee a boat on and on and on!

But, it's worth and you spend little with each buy, not all in one time!

[Stu S.]

Hey, Bino. Night diving is fun and cheap. A big and small flashlight is all you need, and that won't cost much at Diver's Direct. Take the night dive at Jupiter, and you'll be back for more.

If you want to spend bottomless money, try underwater photography. Those guys are never satisfied. They spend big and often. Every now and then I get the urge to get just one little camera. So far, I have resisted.

[pnw_diver]

Computer: Buy used, get one that is air-integrated. If you stick with diving you are probably going to want to certify on Nitrox at some point, so make sure the computer is compatible (same goes for regulator). Hit eBay and Craigslist hard, you can find one for $200 or less. Replace the battery as soon as you get it, only costs a few bucks.

I haven't been a fan of air-integrated computers after having one fail - it would not read tank pressure, and would not operate correctly except in gauge mode, which of course made it pretty much useless. I replaced it with an analog SPG and non-integrated computer, and do not miss the functionality that air-integration provides.

Other than that, I'd agree with everything you said re: dive computers.

Bear in mind that when you buy all of this crap you're not done spending.

The big lie in scuba is that once you've bought all of your gear, diving is cheap. You're never really done buying gear.

[fjpatrum]

As you can tell the answer to the simple question of "how much does it cost" is quite varied. Your budget of $1100 not including training is quite a reasonable budget though and can get you set up well for a long time of diving.

I bought used gear off craigslist for $350. Another $130 to get it serviced. That's a BCD, regulator, octopus, and console with nitrox capable computer, SPG, and compass. I also bought a intova dive light (can be bought online for $26 but I paid $65 in a shop) and a new seacure mouthpiece for my reg ($32 also in the shop, ~$20 online). That's approximately $600. I already had wetsuits and snorkel gear, but anyone that says you have to pay $200-$400 for mask fins and snorkels hasn't done much research. I bought my blade fins, mask, and snorkel new for $25 as a set (Saekodive gear) and they work just fine. I also bought a pair of Tusa Zoom3 Xtreme split fins for $65 online with free shipping. So far I like the blades better than the splits but I can't wear booties with my blades, which is the only reason I bought the splits. So, all told I've spent about $650 and I can dive anywhere in the world that the water is about 45 degrees. If you don't already own wetsuits, you can add a minimum of $85 for a 3mm wetsuit bought new online that will let you dive in warm water. If you want to dive cold water add another $200 to that. That still puts you around your $1100 budget, though.

Ebay and Craigslist and similar sites are your friend. Check out the gear thoroughly, research it before you buy and get it serviced even if they tell you it's been serviced recently (unless they have a receipt with the dive shop's name on it so you can verify.) I bought my gear from a tech instructor whose friend was not diving any more and I got older gear (probably 10 years old or so) at a good price. I got to breath off the reg and octopus before purchasing and tested the BC would hold air. That's the benefit of craigslist over ebay.

I could have spent a few hundred dollars more and gotten much newer top of the line gear used but I wanted to dive a bit first to decide what I like and don't like.

If you're not certified yet or haven't dived much (like me) buy inexpensive gear used or rent some different configurations so you know what you like and don't like.

So far I'm renting tanks (which provides me free weights locally) until I find a tank I like the price of and then I'll purchase a tank and probably make my weights.

This can be a very expensive sport, but it doesn't have to be.

[Bonairetrip]

The big lie in scuba is that once you've bought all of your gear, diving is cheap. You're never really done buying gear.

This is true to a point. I am 100% happy with my current gear configurations. My only real cost at the moment is gear maintenance and dive vacations. Although, I might buy a new dive computer is someone had a screaming deal on a UEMIS but my Cobra I still works great and serves the purpose.

If you want to spend bottomless money, try underwater photography. Those guys are never satisfied. They spend big and often. Every now and then I get the urge to get just one little camera. So far, I have resisted.

Now there I am, in the D-SLR world, guilty as charged! You can start with the little things like the strobe arm. The connector ball to the tray -- about $30. The ball to ball clamp -- about $30. The arm segment -- about $30. The ball to ball clamp -- about $30. Another arm segment -- about $30. The ball to ball clamp -- about $30. The connector ball to the strobe -- about $30. So, one arm was about $200 and you might want two plus some spare parts...

And if you ever want to replace the camera, yike! Time to also buy a new housing which can make the camera look cheap.

OTOH, plenty of people get some nice shots with a P&S with a simple strobe and housing

[Cruisin Home]

$1000 to $2000 cold water. price differential depends on whether you want wet or drysuit. You can usually buy used gear for about half price but buyer beware, lotta old junk around. Good if you can find a NOOB that got cert, bought full outfit and used aonly a couple times.