Does it ever stop?

[eod]

At the moment I'm almost satisfied, I only need a light, then I'm set for a few years. At least, that is what I'm telling myself. To be honest I might go into the tech area and all that comes with it.

 

[Don Burke]

Last year I was certified and bought a whole kit minus tanks. And I dived a whole lot, enough to feel I got my money's worth.

Just a few weeks ago I took a cavern course and was invited to, if I practiced consistently enough through this season, attend the Intro to Cave course this coming fall.

This means I'll be having to buy doubles, more regs, and most likely a dry suit.

Will my bank book ever reach stasis again? Is there a point when you just sit back and say, "Good, I've got everything I need. I don't need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on stuff anymore."

Please, my more experienced bretheren and, uh..., sisterns tell me my credit ratings will recover.

If you get the right gear the first time, the bleeding isn't nearly as bad.

The most expensive part for me has been the gear I don't use any more because I upgraded. It's getting to be quite a pile.

See if you can find someone to loan you a set of doubles or a Y or H valve equipped tank.

 

[IndigoBlue]

Last year I was certified and bought a whole kit minus tanks. And I dived a whole lot, enough to feel I got my money's worth.

Just a few weeks ago I took a cavern course and was invited to, if I practiced consistently enough through this season, attend the Intro to Cave course this coming fall.

This means I'll be having to buy doubles, more regs, and most likely a dry suit.

Will my bank book ever reach stasis again? Is there a point when you just sit back and say, "Good, I've got everything I need. I don't need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on stuff anymore."

Please, my more experienced bretheren and, uh..., sisterns tell me my credit ratings will recover.

If you are lucky, and you therefore bought mostly ScubaPro gear the first time around, then the gear that you now have is good enough to go into caves with, and you won't have to start buying completely over.

Buying the very best gear the first time around, for NDL non-cave scuba, will run you about $5000. Then by adding another $5000 to it, you should be able to have $10,000 worth of good cave/shipwreck gear.

The really big ticket items come next, after the first $10 grand of basic stuff.

Scooters are a couple of thousand, each.

Videos are several thousand, each.

DiveRite invented the helium computer recently, one that actually works pretty well, and that is over a thousand as well.

Oh yah, don't forget this: eventually you won't be able to resist the temptation to buy a boat and trailer too.

 

[oya]

Last year I was certified and bought a whole kit minus tanks. And I dived a whole lot, enough to feel I got my money's worth.

Just a few weeks ago I took a cavern course and was invited to, if I practiced consistently enough through this season, attend the Intro to Cave course this coming fall.

This means I'll be having to buy doubles, more regs, and most likely a dry suit.

Will my bank book ever reach stasis again? Is there a point when you just sit back and say, "Good, I've got everything I need. I don't need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on stuff anymore."

Please, my more experienced bretheren and, uh..., sisterns tell me my credit ratings will recover.

For no good reason other than nostalgia, I went looking for this thread. I wanted to respond to the OP.

ahem...

You idiot! YOU FOOL!!! Get out while you can! Why?! WHY did you take a cavern course?!?

Don't you see? It's the beginning of the end! Your bank accounts are never, EVER going to recover from that horrible mistake! And, NO, it never, EVER stops!

The caves, they'll just keep beckoning and beckoning, and you know what's back there? A giant hole you can throw money into, that's what!

By the time you get certified through full cave the bills will be incalculable. Well, perhaps calculable, but only if you want to spend the rest of the day eating bottles of sleeping pills.

And don't get me started on the amount of money you'll spend on SEVERAL DIFFERENT rebreathers!

You're already well on the course to becoming one of those people who spends more money on just D-RINGS than most people ever spend on all their dive gear combined.

And the next thing you know you're going to want to be an instructor... and for several different agencies! Why the hell do you need to be an instructor for four different agencies? That doesn't even make any sense. You spend thousands and thousands to get to where you can earn $100 per class you teach. Moron!

On the other hand, you'll probably also wind up leaving the job you hate for an industry you don't give a damn about and get really passionate about the scuba industry. Who knows, you might even really find your calling in dive safety and start working for a company that you really believe in and really appreciate the mission of.

Diving might change your life and it might be worth all the ridiculous amount of money you spend on those toys in the long run. Also, you will find the love of your life through diving... that is certainly worth it. Of course, she'll be a cave diver, too, which means that you need to spend DOUBLE what you're already spending on dive gear.

So, there's good and there's bad. The bad: yep, you're going to be broke forever, case closed. The good: everything else.
Weighed together... don't change a thing. Just keep going the way you're going. You'll like where you wind up. Broke, but with a great job as a Dive Safety Officer, awesome dive gear, and a wife you'll adore. Enjoy the ride.

Oh, also, change your username from "saying" to "oya" sooner rather than later. Saying is kindof a stupid username.

 

[TMHeimer]

Does it ever stop? For me pretty much yes. My final course expense was DM in 2009. I have no interest in tech./cave, etc. so my dives and equipment remain simple. My continuing costs are equipment maintenance and of course replacing what absolutely needs replacement--and of course PADI membership and liability insurance. And Air, etc. after I quit DMing. DM yearly pay covers the equipment costs, but I kinda don't count that because if not a DM I'd be paying for that stuff anyway. No Trimix fills for this guy.

 

[UserNameBella]

You need a special course for wreck penetration and cavern diving? No wonder you are bleeding money like you are. Don't pay for a course when common sense and a little research and a really good experienced dive buddy will replace whatever you are going to learn anyways. Taking a wreck course or a cavern course is like paying for the boat diving course. smh. And before anyone says I've only been diving easy wrecks please let me point out that I live in Canada near some of the coolest wrecks around. Cool, but not easy dives.

Anyways, if you want to stem the bleeding a little don't be impulsive. Get floor models. Buy used from reputable sources. Butter up the dive shop staff, okay that's easier said than done but whatever. Never pay full price when shopping around gets you a deal. Travel off season if you must. Define your goals for the year and set a budget. Super simple stuff. And don't take useless courses if you don't have to.

 

[ScoobaChef]

Ys, it does end eventually. I'm proud to say that I won't have to buy another piece of gear for a very long time. Classes on the other hand.....

Bless my wife for not asking too many questions.

 

[Searcaigh]

If you venture into underwater photography then be prepared to sell your first born .... and the rest of your children at some point.

 

[oya]

You need a special course for wreck penetration and cavern diving? ... don't take useless courses if you don't have to.

Watch me:
A deceptively easy way to die - Cave Diving - YouTube

For the love of all things holy, do NOT enter a cavern or a wreck without the proper training. Ever.

If you have a buddy who tells you it's ok, immediately exit the water, and show them this video. If they still think it is ok, never dive with that person again.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

You need a special course for wreck penetration and cavern diving? No wonder you are bleeding money like you are. Don't pay for a course when common sense and a little research and a really good experienced dive buddy will replace whatever you are going to learn anyways. Taking a wreck course or a cavern course is like paying for the boat diving course. smh. And before anyone says I've only been diving easy wrecks please let me point out that I live in Canada near some of the coolest wrecks around. Cool, but not easy dives.

Anyways, if you want to stem the bleeding a little don't be impulsive. Get floor models. Buy used from reputable sources. Butter up the dive shop staff, okay that's easier said than done but whatever. Never pay full price when shopping around gets you a deal. Travel off season if you must. Define your goals for the year and set a budget. Super simple stuff. And don't take useless courses if you don't have to.

I am the first one to giggle at weird courses like "Boat Diver" and "Fish ID Diver", but the cavern diver course is the opposite of a money-making gimmick. The cavern diver course is many things. It is a great way for open water divers to improve their skills dramatically in short order; essential for people who want to peek inside a cavern safely without going any further; and of course, it is also the beginning of one's journey toward cave certification. The course addresses equipment configuration and streamlining to minimize the risk of entanglement, equipment redundancy, gas planning, line work, diver propulsion techniques, and fine-tuning buoyancy. Even if a diver has no intent of pursuing the training needed to see the cave safely, there's so much in a cavern diving course (with first-rate instruction) that can be taken and applied to open water diving, with beautiful results. I took the course solely to become a better open water diver, but several thousand dollars later, I'm a certified cave diver. It's hard to stop at the end of the cavern zone without wanting to see further, so I forked out for the training and equipment to do it as safely as possible. I am thrifty when it comes to gear and prefer to buy used equipment, but even trawling the classifieds and buying gear on sale and my local dive shop adds up to a pretty penny. I don't keep count of the money I have spent!

I would also venture to say that training is essential for safe wreck penetration, and definitely not a waste of money. (I'm not talking simple swim-throughs here.) Wreck penetration does not interest me, so I have not taken the Advanced wreck course, but the syllabus is formidable. Divers are taught many of the same things that are relevant to cave divers: equipment configuration, redundancy, line work, dealing with entanglement hazards, dealing with low-vis situations, propulsion techniques, and so on. But wrecks are more dynamic environments than caves, so even though wrecks are overhead environments like caves, they are not quite the same thing, so the syllabus is different. Pairing up with an experienced buddy who can serve as a mentor is fabulous, and definitely the way to advance post-certification, but a Advanced wreck course with a reputable instructor is the opposite of useless.