Hesitation with Diving and purchasing first set of gear in NE

[weekender]

someone recommended buying good used gear. i cant agree more, expecially being a grad student. in ny/nj there are alot of clubs. join one or two and get to meet people. every active diver i know has a ton of good gear they would be willling to sell you. most dont get proactive about it and let it sit around. show up to one meeting, ask a few questions and i'd bet you have a set of good gear cheap and quick. lastly , pm me if you would like an oms iq pack at a fair price. in mint condition.

 

[TexasDave]

Well while I may have some hesitation regarding diving it hasn't slowed done my purchase of gear. Regulator, BCD, camera, snorkel, mask, fins, weights X2 have been purchased.
My wife wanted to dive as well. My concerns were more about my abilities and frustrations at not being able to immediately accomplish skills with minimal practice. My son and I hunt we spend a fair amount on toys for this. My wife doesn't complain because I spend "quality time" with my son.
She works, when she said her and several friends were going to visit a friend in Nevada she didn't hear anything from me but have a great time. So you may have to compromise. Having gone to graduate school I understand no money. Rent, by used, ask for gifts etc. Will we use the gear maybe not as much as we hope. But I can see us going 4 or 5 times a year plus I would volunteer to scrape scum off aquariam wall and by the air just to gain the experience. Rent a few times and if you can't wait until the next time spend the money. THere are inexpensive ways to use yur skills while it may not be logable dives it's the skills you build that count. Take your time and enjoy the learning opprotunity. From Texasdave diving rocks!

 

[njrn2]

I wanted to thank all of you for your time and information. I talked to two dive shops that weren't willing to sell the equipment and one dive shop that will sell it at a "fair" price. The one shop that I have been bartering with has come close to LPs price ($+180) for a Sherwood BC, Reg, Octo, Oceanic Versa Pro, reg bag, and basic kit with retractors, flashlight, and BC knife. I have read numerous threads on Sherwood, have researched them through at least five different LDS that retail in them. I have done the same for the Reg, Octo, and puter. In addition, when I was in NY I swung by LP shop to try on an XXL BC to make sure that it was what I wanted.

A few of the people I will be diving with have parts of my proposed setup and have not had any problems what they are using. Personal experience will only tell me for sure. I know that the Reg, Octo, and BC are well accpeted; eventhough some people move away from sherwood products because they have not changed aything in a couple of years-- if it ain't broke, don't frix it.

In addition, I will be getting a lot of the little stuff from LP because its not worth arguing over every penny with the LDS that has already met me more than half way. They also do give a thirty day money back guarentee and as much pool time as I want when they rent the pool (once a week). I am probably going to go to the LDS to "finalize" a price for everything from them-- including pony setup and Tanks.

I think that it might come to around $2300 for everything including free air fills for life. I can also probably work a couple of extra shifts to cover most of the price; however, this setup is primarily on Unlce Sam. Waiting for the tax check has only given me more time to researc, and a little more exited :jump013: to get into the water.

While some might think that I am a PIA, I see myself as an informed consumer; although, my wife calls me both
Thanks again I will keep you updated.

-Joe

 

[jonnythan]

Everyone has made great points, but I'd like to add that $2000 will get you a lot of gear. You can get everything you need to dive, including steel tanks.. another few hundred and you can have a drysuit.

Buy the right gear the first time and you won't need to buy any more for a while.

 

[MichaelG]

I was in your position as well. Living in NJ, I'm not too thrilled about diving here either. I spent about 2K on all my own equipment as well and it is worth it. It makes diving so much easier, plus rental gear is crap in my opinion.

I only dive about 8 times a year, so I try to schedule my family vacations so I can get some diving in. My wife really makes it easy because she knows I like to dive, but cant do it often. Having my own gear frees me up to dive when I can and makes it possible to schedule vacations with diving involved.

If you cant get everything, at least get your own regulator and computer. When I went to Bahamas and Bermuda, I used my own reg, comp, fins and mask and was totaly comfortable. Plus I know my stuff works. I am looking at getting a new BC just to take with me on vacation since my Gen Recon is too rugged to take everywhere.

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[Niftynorm]

I vote for used when you are starting out, then once you know what you want you can gradually aquire it.