Cheap Bastard Divers

[ScubaSarus]

A lot of dive shops are used catering to the jet set or commrcial types who have plenty of money, dont complain about prices, and don't have time to shop around. When a naturistic diver comes along who is on a limited budget but loves the ocean with a passion, feathers get ruffled.

Im on a very limited budget, have to pay my own health insurance, live in a tiny studio apartment, and eat (look in my frigerator and you'll see whole weat, green beans, kidney beans and bread). But I survive and don't ask others for help or expect it (especially in todays world but I always try and help others for good karma). I'm lucky to have survived some tough times.

The non-naturistic, materialistic, vane jetset type turn me off.

But I also love to dive and people with limited budgets should not be excluded from diving.

Edited: Oh! I forgot to mention; I do have a beer or two in the fridge

 

[almitywife]

A lot of dive shops are used catering to the jet set or commrcial types who have plenty of money, dont complain about prices, and don't have time to shop around. ......

do you think so??

i actually think alot of dive shops are use to burning out their customers and having them shop elsewhere within 12 months so they do what they can to get as much out of them as possible in a short period of time

afterall, once you buy your first set of gear and a few courses most divers become more savvy at online shopping/travel ect and the newbie isnt as depedant on their lds anymore

cheers

 

[ScubaSarus]

I tell ya; I've witnessed families rushing to vacation, just going out and buying what ever is said is needed and shoving the salesman a credit card.

Actually I never thought these people may also be carrying a hefty debt.
Poor guy who has to buy gear for the whole family or face bad moods for the whole vacation. Ends up having to work double time to pay off the card.

 

[under water]

A lot of dive shops are used catering to the jet set or commercial types who have plenty of money, don't complain about prices, and don't have time to shop around. When a naturistic diver comes along who is on a limited budget but loves the ocean with a passion, feathers get ruffled.

Man, I might get a bit ruffled if you walked into my store in your birthday suit..:11:
Of course if you're paying list, I might get over it!

 

[ScubaSarus]

Well I wasn't thinking that naturistic

 

[sambolino44]

What is it about scuba diving that brings the cheap bastards out of the woodwork?:365:

Compare diving to a few other recreational sports:

Biking. Either road or mountain biking.
Golf
Skiing/snowboarding
Motorcycling/Road/dirt/ATV
Snowmobiling
Waterskiing/wakeboarding
Horseback riding
Kayaking
Hunting

It is far less expensive to be outfitted with high end scuba diving equipment than it is to be similarily outfitted with equipment for any of the above sports. I seldom hear people griping about the cost of those other sports.

...

Have I accurately observed this, or have I been sniffing too much glue?

Definitely too much glue. Of course it's possible to spend a lot of money on anything, but if you're talking about how much does it cost to set yourself up with a basic set of gear, where you don't have to rent anything each time you go and you have enough to enjoy the sport?

Biking. Come on. Not even close. I ride my bike all the time, and it's a pretty good bike. I probably have a total of $350 in the bike and accessories, and another couple of hundred in clothing. Are you telling me you can outfit yourself for SCUBA for less than $600? Not if you want SCUBA gear that's as high quality as my $250 bike.

Golf. Not even close. You can get a decent set of used clubs and some shoes for way less than a full kit of SCUBA gear. Ever heard of public courses, glue-man?

Skiing/Snowboarding. I think that one's pretty close to the same as diving.

Waterskiing, etc, well, sure, if you have to buy a boat or a motorcycle it's going to cost more than diving, but I don't think it's a fair comparison.

Horseback riding. Only rich people ride horses.

Hunting. Once again, glue is definitely involved here. Maybe the Prince of Monaco spends more on his hunting gear than his diving gear, but I know a whole lot of good ol' boys who hunt all the time with way less invested in gear than what I have for diving.

And besides, what makes you think it's just diving? And why just the expense? I complain about everything all the time. I'm complaining about this thread! I want to know how much you spent on that glue!

 

[Zeeman]

Some of us participate in more than one of the above.

That is when we get supercheap.

Z...

 

[uprock]

You think divers are cheap bastards? Try climbers, especially British ones. Some guys would rather rappel off old really junky slings than leave 50 cents worth of webbing. Course thats cause many climbers would rather climb than work and have little money as a result.
Divers are rich by comparison.

 

[Rhone Man]

It is far less expensive to be outfitted with high end scuba diving equipment than it is to be similarily outfitted with equipment for any of the above sports.

True, but what really adds the layer of cost for diving is the need for a boat (usually).

 

[PvtStash]

I prefer Frugal...