Cheap Bastard Divers

[Divedoggie]

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.

Why do people get so uptight about the inherent costs associated with diving? :cussing:
People are almost violent when it comes to how much they HAD to pay for Nitrox or a new wetsuit, or for a logbook! Everyone is trying to rip them off. The equipment and education associated with diving are designed to keep you alive and help with a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
Most of the equipment, with the exception of helmets, associated with the other sports is purely for performance and status, and rarely do people gripe about it.

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

 

[SparticleBrane]

Why pay more than you have to?

 

[1_T_Submariner]

They also complain about how much it costs to Fly and not getting a can of coke and a bag of nuts on the plane.

Some of it is the Annonimity that the internet provides on sites like Scubaboard. I have checked a few Car related boards and they complain a lot too.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Why pay more than you have to?

Ever heard anyone at a Gas station complaining about the price of gas with a $8 a gallon bottle of water in their hand? ($1 a Pint, 8 pints in a gallon)

 

[vladimir]

I spent about $25,000 on dive trips in 2006. About $17,000 last year. That's a little more than your average mountain biker. But I agree, if you dive locally, it doesn't have to be an expensive sport.

 

[Divedoggie]

Why pay more than you have to?

I've seen pics of some of your setups. You didn't hold back!

The point is to compare scuba equipment and inherent costs of diving to other sports. You rarely see golfers toting around their Taylormades, complaining about greens fees or how much the club pro charges.

 

[Jimmer]

I worked in a bike shop for 7 years, and maybe it was the market we were in, but in my experience cyclists are far cheaper than divers.

 

[Wayward Son]

can't say for everything you listed, but hunting can be done pretty damned cheap compared to diving. I hunt & have done so for 32 years. Even if I had to start from scratch, bought actual hunting clothes, a new rifle, etc, I can still get out & hunt for less than I can get started diving from scratch, so I dunno where you get the "for far less than diving" bit.

Then there's the cost of actually going diving. Lacking any shore diving, I have to pay for boat dives. So every time I go it costs me $80 for a 2 tank ride, plus my nitrox, plus food for the day on the road, seeing as it's a 300 mile round trip for me, plus the gas for that drive. For me to dive a single 2 tank trip costs me at min:

$80 charter
$40 gas
$10 value menu
$18 nitrox
========
$148 & I haven't tipped anyone yet. And that's EVERY TIME I go, 3 tanks or offshore costs more.

If my wife goes add at min:

$80 charter
$10 value menu
$18 nitrox
=======
$108, making it $256 to get about 90 minutes of BT. And I don't have to rent any gear, but the figure does not include annual service, VIP's, hydros (I own 9 tanks + 3 regs sets for my family), replacing worn out, damaged or lost gear, etc. Just the cost of doing it for a day & it costs more if we want to eat better.

Now, does it cost that much to ride a bike? Hunt deer on public land or a friend's property? most of the others you listed?

 

[Divedoggie]

I spent about $25,000 on dive trips in 2006. About $17,000 last year. That's a little more than your average mountain biker. But I agree, if you dive locally, it doesn't have to be an expensive sport.

You could easily spend the same amount flying to St Moritz, Vail, and New Zealand for ski trips.

Or you could buy a Harley and all of the leather gear, the motor bike trailer, maintenece and fuel.

Or a horse, a horse trailer, saddles, feed, a good truck for hauling, a barn, and a number of acres of land....

 

[Scububbs]

Well, I'll take a shot, since I participate in a few of the other activities you mention. Most of the gear and accessories necessary or desirable in many other sport/leisure pursuits are priced much more competitively than scuba will ever be. There are many, many aftermarket manufacturers that can supply quality parts and service to these other industries, but that situation seems to have been choked out of the scuba market. If I take my Harley in for service the technician will certainly notice a few non-Harley parts installed, but that won't stop them from servicing my bike, and in fact I may even get a compliment or two. Try that with almost any scuba gear one could name. Manufacturers of scuba gear cling to an outdated pricing model that doesn't recognize the reality of an internet world, (or hypocritically cash in on internet sales without the responsibility of standing behind their product, i.e. the many brands sold at Leisurepro). While my wife and I love the sport of diving, the price/competition/service issues involved have occasionally left a bad taste. If that makes me a cheap bastard, so be it. I don't take offense at the label. My experiences with other sport activites has simply set a higher standard than scuba currently meets.