Not a diver but have some questions

[lpshanet]

So... Just for an update, I went to the padi website and found a place in Murfreesboro, TN to get certified. They told me that as soon as they had a weekend only class they would give me a call. So im not sure if I should go ahead and buy fins, a snorkle, and mask; or should I wait? I know that I am going to get certified, its just a matter of when; yet if I wait I can buy my equiptment from the scuba place at a discount. (they give those to current students of their program)

-thanks
Michael

O yeah and what brand of equiptment would be the best to go with. I'm 6' and about 150 if that helps at all.

I would definitely suggest picking up the course book in advance if you can. You can start reading and taking in a lot of the academic stuff in advance, and you may well be glad you did. As for the fins, snorkel and mask, unless you're going to use them now, you may as well wait. By the time you buy them, you may have a better idea of your needs and wants in those areas, and the shop you train with may offer advice. As a previous poster suggested, you may want to take a trip over there in advance and have a chat with them. You can learn quite a bit and get a sense of how good the operation and instructors are. There are a number of threads on these boards about identifying good instructors, as they are not all created equal, regardless of certifying agency.

As for brands, there are many good ones...too many to mention at one shot. But the one most important thing to consider when buying your mask is fit. All other factors and technologies won't matter if it doesn't fit well, so I'd make sure to try on a bunch and be certain that it fits you well, or you'll be buying another mask (or several) before you know it. Much like athletic shoes, the mask that fits your particular face shape the best is the best one, regardless of whether it's an Atomic (my fave), Scuba Pro, Mares, Oceanic, Tilos, Aqualung, Tusa or one of the dozens of other good brands out there.

Good luck!

 

[Newbie100]

Hey, really would like to try it on for size but dont know much about the sport. The university I attend offers a scuba certification course, just thought that I might try to get some one on one feed back on how accessible, expensive, enjoyable, ect... the sport is.

Thanks

-michael

On the dollar side you can get completely outfitted for under $1,000, but the equipment will cost more if you want regulators and other scubas gear that can be used for cold water diving, salt water diving and is nitrox compatible. For this u can spend from $ 1500 to 2500. This is all assuming you don't want to dive in real cold water where you may need a full face mask and drysuit. I am 1 night dive away fro being advanced open water certified and I have done allot of reaseasrch on scuba gear but am by no means an expert. If you ask some more specific questions I would be glad to answer them and If you really need to ask allot of questions you could call me. For now I can be reched by email at dvolland@wi.rr.com

 

[confuzioncity]

If you haven't done so, I would suggest doing a Discover Scuba and trying it out to make sure you'll like it before doing the full certification course.

Colleen

 

[idocsteve]

On the dollar side you can get completely outfitted for under $1,000, but the equipment will cost more if you want regulators and other scubas gear that can be used for cold water diving, salt water diving and is nitrox compatible. For this u can spend from $ 1500 to 2500. This is all assuming you don't want to dive in real cold water where you may need a full face mask and drysuit. I am 1 night dive away fro being advanced open water certified and I have done allot of reaseasrch on scuba gear but am by no means an expert. If you ask some more specific questions I would be glad to answer them and If you really need to ask allot of questions you could call me. For now I can be reched by email at dvolland@wi.rr.com

Equipment for cold water doesn't cost any more, it's the same regs, same tanks, same everything, however you'll need a thicker wetsuit, and probably a reel and some backup gear; possibly upgrading to a set of doubles, if you want to do it right. You already covered drysuits.

The point being those are options and the basic equipment is the same.

There's a whole lotta reasons you should never post your email on a public board.

 

[TeriLeonard]

I live on Maui so it is easy to dive! We roll out of bed, grab a tank, and walk into the ocean. Nearly every day we interact with tropical fish, manta and spotted eagle rays, green sea turtles, the occasional monk seal, and listen to fantastic whalesong six months out of the year.

I also travel to Fiji, Japan, Catalina Island, Mexico, and next, Belize.

It doesn't matter how crazy the world gets, that hour (more or less) underwater takes you away from your worries and allows you to experience serenity, excitement, enthusiasm, awe.

Just go diving!

 

[romanmw]

The school may be the cheapest way to be certified, but maybe not. They offer the course at our university as well, but the course cost is only for a referral card, meaning you still have to pay for someone else to do your check out dives, and rental for those dives, and quarry fees for the those dives. The university class also doesn't exclude you from needing to buy mask, fins, snorkel, and boots. When I added it all up for my wife and I it was finanically better to go through our local shop than through our university. That being said our situation may not be the same as your university.

 

[Newbie100]

Yeah my screw up on the email on public board thanks