ekewaka
Contributor
I'm curious. What exactly is it that you like about my local dive shop?philmayer:
Buying some equipment
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^ 
That one made me laugh.
That one made me laugh.
Diver Dennis
Contributor
Post #2 had great advice. Put together a package online and take it to your LDS. If they can match it or get very close, I would buy from them. If not, then a good LDS will understand why you didn't buy from them.
I would try ScubaToys first.
I would try ScubaToys first.
ekewaka:
Good one.
With the amount of dives y'all have I might recommend waiting a bit before you buy a lot of gear. There are a lot of different styles and kinds of equipment out there and it helps to try some of them out and get a feel for what you like and what kind of diving you're gonna do. My gear collection is littered with stuff that I bought as a newbie and then replaced as I figured out what I liked and my diving style. In fact the only pieces of gear I haven't replaced are my booties and wetsuit. I'm sure most of the experienced divers on this forum have similar collections. Just my 2 cents.
A
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Unfortunately, one can save an almost ridiculous amount of money by buying on line, even when you do it from authorized dealers, so it's hard to advise someone to buy from their "LDS" (I put it in quotation marks because 2 1/2 hours away isn't very "local" to me) for things where fit is not an issue, like regulators. But do buy from an authorized dealer with warranty. And I can tell you from personal experience of buying used gear that the "parts for life" program will save you money over time, if you select a brand that does that.
BCs have to FIT or they're miserable. If you've used a certain brand and size and know it works for you, you can buy it anywhere. But if you don't know what you want, I'd recommend you head for Salt Lake and make a day of visiting dive shops and trying a bunch of different brands and sizes. Unfortunately, how it fits in the shop doesn't always translate into how it will feel in the water, but it's still probably better than doing repeated blind purchases on line and having to send stuff back.
Or buy a backplate setup that you can custom fit to yourself (That's a Scubaboard in-joke -- Somebody ALWAYS recommends a backplate and wing on this board and it annoys a lot of people.)
BCs have to FIT or they're miserable. If you've used a certain brand and size and know it works for you, you can buy it anywhere. But if you don't know what you want, I'd recommend you head for Salt Lake and make a day of visiting dive shops and trying a bunch of different brands and sizes. Unfortunately, how it fits in the shop doesn't always translate into how it will feel in the water, but it's still probably better than doing repeated blind purchases on line and having to send stuff back.
Or buy a backplate setup that you can custom fit to yourself
(That's a Scubaboard in-joke -- Somebody ALWAYS recommends a backplate and wing on this board and it annoys a lot of people.)
Diver Dennis
Contributor
TSandM:.Or buy a backplate setup that you can custom fit to yourself
:11: :11: :11:
something to look for in either option is that best deal is usually a package. Most places will let you put things together custom for the package. In other words, if you buy reg at one store, then see bcd in another, you might get better price if buy them both at same place.
scubatoy.com is great - I even send my regs to them for service since I know they do lots.
Also, I travel to keys lots, and you can get good packages there since they have many stores.
I try and buy things locally when it works out.
scubatoy.com is great - I even send my regs to them for service since I know they do lots.
Also, I travel to keys lots, and you can get good packages there since they have many stores.
I try and buy things locally when it works out.
ekewaka
Contributor
Why is it that they are annoyed when we recommend a BP/W, but we never complain when they recommend some other type of BC?TSandM:Or buy a backplate setup that you can custom fit to yourself
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Regardless of who you choose to shop with, the biggest piece of advice I give both my students and my customers is to purchase the best gear you can afford. This isn't always the most expensive. Do some homework. Ask me, your instructor, your LDS, friends and/or read up on the gear.
There are GREAT choices from every manufacturer out there. Some might not be the best piece of gear for your uses, others on the other hand might be more suitable. That is where the advice of a scuba professional comes in handy, but remember it's not Gospel. Would you buy a car simply because the salesman on the lot says it's the best car in the world? Approach your dive gear the same way. Research it. Make sure it's the right fit for you and your intersests. Then find the best deal you can.
There are GREAT choices from every manufacturer out there. Some might not be the best piece of gear for your uses, others on the other hand might be more suitable. That is where the advice of a scuba professional comes in handy, but remember it's not Gospel. Would you buy a car simply because the salesman on the lot says it's the best car in the world? Approach your dive gear the same way. Research it. Make sure it's the right fit for you and your intersests. Then find the best deal you can.
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