i am new to diving and i have a question about cost

[Scubakevdm]

hmm, let me see. I have been diving since June, '06 and have spent slightly over $12,000 on gear and another $14,000 on dive trips, not counting weekend trips off the Florida Panhandle which cost around $400-500 for the weekend, boat dives, meals, travel.
Kind of an expensive hobby, I guess, but I compare it to space exploration, it aint cheap but not everyone has the privilege and honor of seeing God's great splendor.

Dear sir,
You have been chosen at random to receive some important information about the fabulous diving in Boynton Beach Florida with Underwater Explorers...

 

[ScubaJW]

kunegochu, you can go cheap by using Ebay, Craigslist, and etc... to keep the cost low. But if you wanted to do this route, then I would suggest you to have them serviced by a dive shop to ensure that everything is working - that's another cost.

 

[ChrisA]

please help, I here that diving is a lot of money, i was wondering around how much will I be spending if i have my own equipment? i plan on going 2-4 times a month.

Quick answer: $1,000 is a good estimate. You can spend less and a lot more.

I've gotten some good deals from shops selling off their rental gear and I've bought new gear. so I've paid Under $200 for a reg, octo and console and also over $1K for same.

New divers are always at a disadvantage when buying gear, they don't know many other divers yet, they don't know a lot about gear and they need everything all at once and get "wait till next year's sale". Later when trading and upgrading gear you can wait for deals or buy used from your buddies.

If you will be diving frequently the money you save on rental gear will more than pay for credit card finance charges. This is one time when borroing money can save you money

After you have your gear the cost is air fills, and maintenance on the gear. Figure $100 per year for the later.

 

[Scubakevdm]

BEWARE!!! Be advised that many of the responders here are serious gearheads and heeding their advice could lead you down the road to ruin. Buy a good quality set of basic gear and then cut up your credit cards!!!

Or you could get a job in a dive shop. Instructors are just regular people who can't afford to dive.

 

[Parysa]

You can always rent your gear for a little while before deciding if you are going to be an avid enough diver to warrant purchasing your own gear.

Depends on how much it costs to rent gear. When it's $100 to rent wetsuit, BC, and regulator for a weekend and you're diving twice a month, then you've easily spent $1000 dollars in a year for gear that isn't yours. That's money that could be going to paying off your own equipment, which is what I plan to do next year instead of renting. Otherwise, if you're low on money one week and all your buddies want to go diving, you're landlocked b/c you can't afford gear rental for what would otherwise be a free dive weekend and that SUCKS! LOL.

 

[Stu S.]

Click to enlarge.

Kevin, you will recognize this picture of my daughter Ellen. Taken at beautiful Boynton Beach. Her equipment, including tank and nitrox computer was purchased over a period of six months. We did some shopping. Slightly used Malibu BC was $110. Smaller sizes go on sale more often. New booties were $1 a pair at a scuba tent sale. Regulator is the Alpha 7.

We had some good help from local dealers used the internet, too. The whole setup was about $800. All good gear. And... it saves more money to dive at Boynton Beach.

Oh yeah, Ellen is at UF right now and says hello.

 

[Scubakevdm]

View attachment 41321 Click to enlarge.

Kevin, you will recognize this picture of my daughter Ellen. Taken at beautiful Boynton Beach. Her equipment, including tank and nitrox computer was purchased over a period of six months. We did some shopping. Slightly used Malibu BC was $110. Smaller sizes go on sale more often. New booties were $1 a pair at a scuba tent sale. Regulator is the Alpha 7.

We had some good help from local dealers used the internet, too. The whole setup was about $800. All good gear. And... it saves more money to dive at Boynton Beach.

Oh yeah, Ellen is at UF right now and says hello.

Hey! I remember you guys! I always liked when you came. Tell Ellen I said "Hi" too, and happy studies at UF!

 

[waynel]

Let's just all be honest. If you become addicted to it (like many of us on this thread), forget about it. It will get expensive. You'll always want to upgrade gear or get the new toy. And if you get tired of diving the same old places, it will cost a bundle. Next dive for wife and I: Cozumel. That's $3,000 right off the bat. Yeah, you can buy used gear, live with it for years, dive the same beach every week. That's great. Just don't read and Scuba Diving magazines...you will start dreaming. And scuba dreams ain't cheap.

 

[Nick_W]

Let's just all be honest. If you become addicted to it (like many of us on this thread), forget about it. It will get expensive. You'll always want to upgrade gear or get the new toy.

I have no idea what you're talking about. My three BCs that just got pushed to the back of the line by the brand new BC I just bought might have an idea though.

 

[Damselfish]

what I've spent on gear is nothing compared to what I've spend on travel...

But like most things, there's safe ways to economize on gear with a bit more effort, sometimes ways to economize on local diving depending where you are. If you want to travel there are more and less expensive ways of doing that. And, there's ways to spend lots of money.