New or Used Equipment

[VA Jeff]

Looking for some guidance.. My son and I just became certified through the Boy Scouts / PADI down in the Keys. I am excited about the new hobby and started looking at equipment. I suspect we will probably only dive recreationally maybe a couple of times a year at most. With the cost of new gear, I have considered used equipment. I have seen some decent looking gear on Craigslist. I am concerned about the technical evolution of dive gear..Has their been significant advancements that should keep me from looking at 10 year old ( or older ) gear ? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Fishpie]

Have you considered renting?

 

[toddthecat]

Fishpie is right. If you are only going to make a few dives a year during a yearly trip then you may as well just rent gear at your destination.

 

[ajcyang]

Personally I think BC/ Mask/ Goggles can be bought used.

A regulator can be bought used if
1. You can still find parts for it
2. You can find LDS that service sit
3. Most importantly, if you know how to check quality of used regulator on the spot. So you don't pay for a broken reg.

But I would just buy a regulator new, it's the one thing your life really depends on in water, and a top of the line reg with good maintenance can be used for more than 10+ years.

 

[tr3a]

Looking for some guidance.. My son and I just became certified through the Boy Scouts / PADI down in the Keys. I am excited about the new hobby and started looking at equipment. I suspect we will probably only dive recreationally maybe a couple of times a year at most. With the cost of new gear, I have considered used equipment. I have seen some decent looking gear on Craigslist. I am concerned about the technical evolution of dive gear..Has their been significant advancements that should keep me from looking at 10 year old ( or older ) gear ? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Depends on gear. Regulators have not changed all that much in the last few decades, mostly external glitter, BCD's can last for decades. Depends on how they were cared for.
Wetsuits would be about the only thing I might pass on.
Best if you know someone with a lot of experience to help. Dive shops may not give you an honest answer

 

[USFpsychDiver]

I bought most of my gear used through the usual places, here, Craigslist, Ebay, etc. I've had no problems with any of it, and saved roughly half of retail. Most of the stuff I got was current generation, and name-brand. I wasn't in any great hurry, so could wait for the right deal and was willing to negotiate and walk away if I couldn't get the price I wanted. In general I never pay more than half what I could get the item for new. I did buy my wetsuits and masks new because mask fit is critical and idiosyncratic, and people pee in their wetsuits; 'nough said. When looking at used regulators, unless you really know where they're coming from, you'll probably need to have them serviced before diving them, which will add roughly $80 to the cost, so be sure to figure that in.

I'm very glad I own my own gear. My BC fits perfectly, my regulator hoses are just the length I like them, I know how to use my computer, my mask doesn't leak or fog, etc., so I can just enjoy my dives without dealing with the annoyances of refitting, configuring, and learning how to use different rental gear every time I go diving.

 

[tr3a]

Personally I think BC/ Mask/ Goggles can be bought used.

A regulator can be bought used if
1. You can still find parts for it
2. You can find LDS that service sit
3. Most importantly, if you know how to check quality of used regulator on the spot. So you don't pay for a broken reg.

But I would just buy a regulator new, it's the one thing your life really depends on in water, and a top of the line reg with good maintenance can be used for more than 10+ years.

I have regulators in regular service that are more than 50 years old. Friends of mine have even older regs. Does not need to be top of the line, parts availability in future is more important.

 

[Damselfish]

Some gear is easier to buy used than others, especially for a beginner. Stuff that needs to fit (mask, BC, wetsuit) is difficult to buy remotely unless you have some way of knowing a specific item will fit.

If you find a suitable (low profile, tempered glass) used mask that fits, great, as long as it's not ancient with the skirt starting to get stiff. Straps can be replaced (many people replace them with something like a slap strap anyway.) A used snorkel is easy, though for diving it's best to avoid ones with giant dry tops as they will pull on your mask and are more difficult to stow elsewhere. Used fins can be a great buy, and anything starting to wear or bad straps (easy to replace) should be pretty obvious if you can see the item. Wetsuits age, wear, get compressed, and suffer other indignities, so not a great bet used unless you luck into something that is pretty new and gently used.

A used BC can be a good deal and is fairly easy to check out yourself (been discussed on other threads.) The older they get, the more likelihood of leaks from the bladder, especially if it was stored carelessly, so watch out for that. You will actually want to inflate it and leave it sitting overnight to see how it's doing.

Buying used regulators works best if you really known your stuff (or at least get help from someone who does.) And ideally if you will be servicing them yourself, which most people don't. Unless you buy a used reg that was just serviced from a shop or someone you trust, you will have to get it serviced. This is generally not cheap and can eat up a lot of your savings as compared to buying a new mid-range reg. While an old reg should be functionally as good as new once it's serviced, it will still be an old reg that you could wind up putting just as much money into. There are lots of old regs that are popuiar and as good as new ones. But there are also some that are difficult if not impossible to get parts for, or at least not worth the trouble for most people.

Prices on craigslist and similar can be all over the place. Some will price too high, trying to get much of their money back on something they overpaid for 10 years ago. It may also be hard to get accurate information from sellers because they got some gear who-knows-where and don't really know anything about that they're selling. There is a lot of crap out there.

 

[redacted]

The greatest technical advances in recreational scuba gear have been in the advertising gimmicks and the pretty finishes. My favorite regulators are 30+ years old.

 

[ajcyang]

woops sorry! thanks for correction. I was trying to be conservative, most of my peers actually trade in their 10y.o. gears for new ones. Fail into the trap of marketing haha.