wetrat:
And you can only comment on San Diego dive shops if you live on a small dot in the ocean.
BTW. For the record....I believe that anyone with fewer than 1000 is still learning and so is someone with 10000 dives.
Good lds in SD?
- Thread starter Aquarianna
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And you can only comment on San Diego dive shops if you live on a small dot in the ocean.
BTW. For the record....I believe that anyone with fewer than 1000 is still learning and so is someone with 10000 dives.
vetdiver
Contributor
divinman:
ROFL... I concur - the scariest diver in the world to me is the one who thinks they don't have any more learning to do...
daniel f aleman
Contributor
The point is that she's young, a scuba newbie, new to the area, and has $1200 to invest in the near term. You don't send her to an advanced diving shop (anywhere) and think that they'll have an established program for her to be a part of - most likely they themselves will recommend another shop or club. I know of this shop particular mentioned above personally...
And as far as my do 1000 dives or shut up remark - well, some comments are from posters who just haven't gotten it yet. Sheesh. If you ain't teaching, you're learning...
And as far as my do 1000 dives or shut up remark - well, some comments are from posters who just haven't gotten it yet. Sheesh. If you ain't teaching, you're learning...
OP
Aquarianna
Registered
Daniel-
Thank you for the concern, but do not let my age and inexperience dictate to you my capacity to make these decisions. I realize the equipment from this store may be out of my current price range, but it certainly won't do me any harm to get their (and many other's) opinions. And who knows- maybe they'll have a deal that's too good to pass up...
Thanks again everyone- I'm planning on doing some "window shopping" this weekend; I'll post what I come up with.
Anna
Thank you for the concern, but do not let my age and inexperience dictate to you my capacity to make these decisions. I realize the equipment from this store may be out of my current price range, but it certainly won't do me any harm to get their (and many other's) opinions. And who knows- maybe they'll have a deal that's too good to pass up...
Thanks again everyone- I'm planning on doing some "window shopping" this weekend; I'll post what I come up with.
Anna
daniel f aleman
Contributor
Well, I was addressing your statement in your first post on this thread:
"I'm looking for recommendations for good scuba shops in San Diego. I'm going to get my first set of gear (woo-hoo!!!) and would like your input as to who's the best to turn to for advice...or any to stay away from."
I've done so. Good Luck.
Safe diving.
"I'm looking for recommendations for good scuba shops in San Diego. I'm going to get my first set of gear (woo-hoo!!!) and would like your input as to who's the best to turn to for advice...or any to stay away from."
I've done so. Good Luck.
Safe diving.
Aquarianna:
Anna, it seems you're already demonstrating wisdom in your decision making by a) asking for some advice and opinions; and b) discounting the occasionally off-base opinions by some on SB (often touted by those who's admirable experience in the water turns them into self-annointed masters on all topics wet or dry).
SNOBORDJON
Guest
Oh my gosh, all this over getting some gear?
The best gear for you is the gear you like best and you can make work with your budget. People think Im nuts because I wear a 2/3 surf suit in the winter. May not work for everyone but it works for me. I listened to a ton of people and read a bunch of magazine articles, and ended up finding the best deals at sports chalet. Hint...They have a lot of good deals right between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Good luck...BTW, I love watching people with 9000+ Dives get tossed and pummelled in the surf, when they are the first to rip on the less experienced!
The best gear for you is the gear you like best and you can make work with your budget. People think Im nuts because I wear a 2/3 surf suit in the winter. May not work for everyone but it works for me. I listened to a ton of people and read a bunch of magazine articles, and ended up finding the best deals at sports chalet. Hint...They have a lot of good deals right between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Good luck...BTW, I love watching people with 9000+ Dives get tossed and pummelled in the surf, when they are the first to rip on the less experienced!
Good advice given you on joining clubs and trying different kinds of gear before you buy
... my own experience .. I purchased all my gear before my first open water dive .. then found I needed to exchange my jacket BC for a back inflate .. it was too restrictive on those 200 yard surface swims at La Jolla Shores (this might be something to ask the dive shop, if you can exchange a BC if it does not fit you, or is just wrong for you .. my LDS did )
One more thing, I know you have limited funds, but there was only one recommendation made by my instructor, concerning regulators .. that was to resist the urge to get "entry level gear" ... only to soon replace it with better breathing/performing ones (note that entry level does not mean it's unsafe) .. your gear can/will last a life time of diving, might as well get something your happy with, not just gear that's "good enough for now"
I am happy with my gear and especially happy with my regulator .. my instructor was correct
(oh, my LDS is Ocean Enterprise (www.oceanenterprises.com ) and I have purchased some lights and things from another shop here in San Diego, UnrealFind ( www.unrealfind.com ) ... not a LDS, but if you call with your order, will let you come in and pick it up, look at stuff .. nice folks
... my own experience .. I purchased all my gear before my first open water dive .. then found I needed to exchange my jacket BC for a back inflate .. it was too restrictive on those 200 yard surface swims at La Jolla Shores (this might be something to ask the dive shop, if you can exchange a BC if it does not fit you, or is just wrong for you .. my LDS did )
One more thing, I know you have limited funds, but there was only one recommendation made by my instructor, concerning regulators .. that was to resist the urge to get "entry level gear" ... only to soon replace it with better breathing/performing ones (note that entry level does not mean it's unsafe) .. your gear can/will last a life time of diving, might as well get something your happy with, not just gear that's "good enough for now"
I am happy with my gear and especially happy with my regulator .. my instructor was correct
(oh, my LDS is Ocean Enterprise (www.oceanenterprises.com ) and I have purchased some lights and things from another shop here in San Diego, UnrealFind ( www.unrealfind.com ) ... not a LDS, but if you call with your order, will let you come in and pick it up, look at stuff .. nice folks
Skull
Contributor
Anna
It depends on your personality. All dive shops have the same gear for sale just like all car dealers. Same automobiles just different models to suite your TASTE. Dive gear is essentially the same stuff..some are more suited for advanced divers some for novices just like automobiles. So what you need to do is examine your preferences in diving and buy the best gear (for your preference) you can afford. If you are a big box store type of shopper then go to a huge selection shops like some mentioned above. Myself I like to deal with a small shop with tons of experience and great customer service. There are several in SD ... IB Divers comes to mind. They have some old school instructors that were around before Jesus walked on water ....very knowledgable ...there are other shops like this as well. I tend to visit them because they suite my taste in customer service.
They all have a wide range of customer base in terms of experience ie novice to tech divers. Gravitate to the ones that have been around a while with a solid instructor pool with lots of experience. Again I tend to patronize the ones with long histories of serving San Diego.
It depends on your personality. All dive shops have the same gear for sale just like all car dealers. Same automobiles just different models to suite your TASTE. Dive gear is essentially the same stuff..some are more suited for advanced divers some for novices just like automobiles. So what you need to do is examine your preferences in diving and buy the best gear (for your preference) you can afford. If you are a big box store type of shopper then go to a huge selection shops like some mentioned above. Myself I like to deal with a small shop with tons of experience and great customer service. There are several in SD ... IB Divers comes to mind. They have some old school instructors that were around before Jesus walked on water ....very knowledgable ...there are other shops like this as well. I tend to visit them because they suite my taste in customer service.
They all have a wide range of customer base in terms of experience ie novice to tech divers. Gravitate to the ones that have been around a while with a solid instructor pool with lots of experience. Again I tend to patronize the ones with long histories of serving San Diego.
OP
Aquarianna
Registered
Hi everybody-
So I did some shopping today (nothing bought yet), and think I've singled out the shop I'm willing to do business with.
First, I went to Ocean Enterprises, which wasn't bad at all. I liked the stuff they had (mostly scubapro is what they showed me), but as far as explanations and breadth of what we looked at, they were a bit lacking. They gave me an offer- $1250 for bc, reg, computer, and wetsuit for "free"...all scubapro of course.
Then I went to SDUA- oh man. I can't say I know tons of dive shops, but this one was fantastic. Chip (one of the instructors) spent almost an hour with me explaining their programs, equipment, and my options. On top of that, he offered to take me out diving to try out the system I'm interesting in buying (atmos bc, atomic reg, and computer)...for free! As Skull said, customer service makes a difference, and I think theirs sold me. He said he's crunch some numbers and see what he could come up with, but I told him my budget, and he definitely said we'd be under it.
So, thumbs up to SDUA. I think I'll be buying at least something from them in the very near future.
So I did some shopping today (nothing bought yet), and think I've singled out the shop I'm willing to do business with.
First, I went to Ocean Enterprises, which wasn't bad at all. I liked the stuff they had (mostly scubapro is what they showed me), but as far as explanations and breadth of what we looked at, they were a bit lacking. They gave me an offer- $1250 for bc, reg, computer, and wetsuit for "free"...all scubapro of course.
Then I went to SDUA- oh man. I can't say I know tons of dive shops, but this one was fantastic. Chip (one of the instructors) spent almost an hour with me explaining their programs, equipment, and my options. On top of that, he offered to take me out diving to try out the system I'm interesting in buying (atmos bc, atomic reg, and computer)...for free! As Skull said, customer service makes a difference, and I think theirs sold me. He said he's crunch some numbers and see what he could come up with, but I told him my budget, and he definitely said we'd be under it.
So, thumbs up to SDUA. I think I'll be buying at least something from them in the very near future.
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