Buy a reg/depth gauge?

[redseal]

My two daughters and I have been certified since June 2002 in basic OW and have had the opportunity to dive at least 3-4 times/weekend twice a month since certification. We even got to go diving in Grand Cayman on vacation at the end of last month (Whoa...if that isn't heaven on earth it's darn close!).

Anyway, each time we dive locally, all three of us have to rent a 7mm wetsuit, BC, reg, tank, weights===>$85pp===>$255!! It's making it hard to justify it to the wife and other child who don't dive (sorry for the blasphemy there), so I've purchased my BC/reg/computer on a rent-to-own plan with my LDS over the next 6 months. The question I have for those of you with kids who dive: should I think seriously about springing for a reg and depth gauge (not dive computer) for my two girls, under rent-to-own? At what point does it become cost-friendly? I know I won't buy them a BC or suit because they will hopefully soon enter their growth spurts of adolescence and will outgrow those items.

Thoughts please....

 

[jbd]

confident that your daughters will continue to dive regularly then it would probably be a good idea to buy them their own regs. If you think they are going to find boys and lose interest in scuba then maybe it would be best to continue renting. Its a real quandry since there is no figuring out new teenagers

You may want to try E-bay and find some used equipment. Also I have heard the some shops sell off some of their rental gear during the winter months.

 

[redseal]

Find boys????

I thought our biggest problem would be fine-tuning our buoyancy, not "boy and see".

Seriously, I'm hoping that their interest will be strong for the foreseeable future ( a year or two )and allow the three of us to continue diving until mid-fall, and then resume in the spring in anticipation of a summer dive vacation.

We'll see, though.

 

[jbd]

funny!

Hopefully they will stay interested in scuba for a few more years. Maybe when the dating days arrive you could require the new heart throb to show you a C-card if he expects to take your daughter on a date

The other thing to think about is that even if the girls get too busy for diving for awhile the regulators will keep for a long time. They can get back into it later or whenever they do have some extra time the three of you could sneak in some diving.

 

[nk5]

If you are paying $85 each day to rent, and let's say the girls do total of 10 days per year, that makes $1700 per year for both of them, ouch! I think you should really look into buying equipment for them, even if they outgrow the BC's and the suits, or stop diving in 2-3 years.

I would look into purchasing basic equipment from LeisurePro or DiveInn. You can get a decent setup for under $750. =-)

 

[redseal]

I guess the follow-up question would be: I've tried to get my gear through my LDS, mainly because I think that it's important to support the local business plus, and more importantly, he and his instructors are top-notch. Having said that, I'm having second thoughts ;-0 about spending top dollar for regs/alt air plus gauges (not a computer for 12 year olds) locally, and am thinking about buying on-line.

I won't use DiversDiscount; they still refuse to credit my charge account for wetsuits for my girls that were too small. I returned them a week and a half ago to them. Even though I've sent proof of delivery from UPS, DiversDiscount denies that they ever received the returned package!! So much for their "No Hassle Return" policy. But I've seen good posts on this board about DiveInn and LeisurePro. I figure I don't need to pay an arm and a leg for their first personal equipment purchases.

What do you folks think?

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

Buy the equipment, and buy on line.

When my thirteen year old daughter and I got certified, the buy versus rent calculations started while we were going through our OW course. Living in Florida, I knew we'd be going out often, and I was also worried about the condition of the rental equipment we used and saw at a few of the shops. Hard breathing or free flowing regs, leaky hoses, patched bc's. I knew we'd take much better care of our own equipment, and I'd feel much safer.

Regs don't have to be overly expensive. I purchased Mares MR12 Axis for the both of us and are very happy with them. We paid $160 for them, and it got good reviews from both Rodale's and Divernet. We also got SPG/depth gauge consoles for $89.

As far as buying on line. I've bought twice each from Leisure Pro and Diveinn, both with great results. Great selection, great prices and superfast shipping. And if you're feeling bold, I also bought both our wetsuits and other assorted odds and ends off of ebay.

YMMV, but it's worked for us.

Marc

 

[redseal]

Marc,
First of all, what does YMMV mean

Second, great to hear I'm not the only dad with young daughters who like to dive together. We unfortunately are not close to warm, open water like you. Here in PA we have a couple of cold freshwater quarries that we call "home." My girls have already grown out of the extra-small 7mm suits that the LDS ordered especially for them to rent (he wouldn't let me buy them knowing that they would soon be having their growth spurts). Same deal with the BCs, although they still fit okay. But a reg/gauge, that could last them for years, especially if we dive May through October or November

He (our LDS) offered today to sell us "their" used BCDs for $175 a piece (new $250) and their used regulators with alt air and SPG for $400 a piece. That seems a bit stiff for the regs, but probably not unreasonable for the BCs. I guess I'll look at DiveInn and LeisurePro. I really want to keep my business local but I also don't want to pay out of my butt. I'm also concerned about maintenance and servicing if I buy elsewhere.

 

[jbd]

Your Mileage May Vary.

You could try just taking the LDS up on the BC's for now. Maybe a little dickering and the regs could be less expensive.

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

redseal once bubbled...
Marc,
First of all, what does YMMV mean

jbd got it right - your mileage may vary.

My girls have already grown out of the extra-small 7mm suits that the LDS ordered especially for them to rent (he wouldn't let me buy them knowing that they would soon be having their growth spurts). [/B]

My daughter is still in the original wetsuit that I bought for her in the spring brand new off of ebay. At 14 she's into woman's sizes. If she grows much more that the ladies 7/8 she's into now, I'm going to have more problems with her to worry about than just fitting into a wetsuit.

Same deal with the BCs, although they still fit okay.[/B]

I bought her a generic from our LDS that they had renamed for their chain. (Scuba Network). It was cheap, but they use the same ones for their classes, so I figured they couldn't be too bad. At $149 brand new, it was worth it. She has an extra small in this, but there's still plenty of room in the straps to make it bigger.

He (our LDS) offered today to sell us "their" used BCDs for $175 a piece (new $250) and their used regulators with alt air and SPG for $400 a piece. That seems a bit stiff for the regs, but probably not unreasonable for the BCs. I guess I'll look at DiveInn and LeisurePro. I really want to keep my business local but I also don't want to pay out of my butt. I'm also concerned about maintenance and servicing if I buy elsewhere. [/B]

I agree. If you look at the online retailers you can get bc's for not much more than the $175, but brand new. But if the condition is pretty good it may be worth it depending on the brand.

I'd look elsewhere for NEW regs. If you do a search here, there was a post about Apeks regs being on sale at Diveinn. As I mentioned earlier, I personally like my Mares regs, but a lot of folks seemed pretty excited over the Apeks deal. You can research it.

Service? I haven't had any problem getting regs services. It may easier for me here since there are so many LDS's but places gladly service equipment for a fee. I've had my reg serviced one already, and they only charged me $5 for a quick adjustment.

Good luck!