DogDiver
Contributor
Ooooohhhhhhh nnnnnooooo here we go again. [emoji16]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
I have posted a list of 2 complete sets of dive gear, with pictures on craigslist. Feel free to check and then call me. All gear is in excellent shape.My wife and I are newly Open Water certified and looking to purchase our own gear. Is there any reason to avoid used gear if we get it inspected before use? I realize that most of what we use is essentially life support, but if we can buy used, we can potentially buy higher grade gear. Does that make any sense?
Thanks in advance for any input.
In a list of things that it's a good idea to buy used, I'd place regulators at the top, especially Scubapro and US Divers. George_Austin is absolutely correct. I'd be cautious with used BCDs, and would never buy a used mask.
I have found that if you shop around often the price between new and used is very small.
From what I see on dive boats, BCDs seem to get beat up more than regulators do. In my experience they are often improperly cleaned and rinsed, to the extent that emergency breathing from them is regarded as very dangerous. They are not especially rugged, with vulnerable seams, bladders, and plastic parts. Problems are often internal, invisible.What is your concern about buying a used BCD?
First BCD I ever owned was a SeaQuest Balance that I bought from the marketplace here. I paired it with a set of ScubaPro regs that I bought new. About 250-300 dives later, I sold it to a friend. He's still using it nearly three years later. The only problem I ever had with the setup? The AIR2 pulled off the corrugated tubing off Cozumel and I had to do a dive without being able to inflate the wing. Whoop De Doo.
I realize a sample size of one is not exactly hard science, but I also don't think my story is unique.
A BCD is a pretty simple device. I'm more inclined to buy a simple device used than a complex device.