LDS VS Internet Sale!!!

[psychocabbage]

I see both sides. Before the internet, there was mail order. And it did hurt local shops. Local shops barely break even with classes. Equipment sales and trip sales are what keep them in business. If you want a shop around that has good classes, you need to sometimes pay a little extra for equipment.

So the idea here is that if I wanted to take more classes it would be in my best interest to spend more $ now so I can spend more $ later.

I am going to have to disagree with that line of thinking. If any LDS wants to stay competitive, they need to explain that they will meet MAP pricing and that they can prehaps work out deals on other items.

We just ordered 2BCs, 2 regs and 2 computers and 3 wetsuits for the kids for a fraction of what it would of cost at the dive shop. (water is cold here at 70*)
Parts are decent Oceanic and the comp is the same we use Tusa IQ700.. So when its just me and the wife diving, we will have 2 computers each.. nifty.

 

[perdidochas]

The wife and I dive and are somewhat gadget geeks that purchase equipment because we would rather own our own than rent.

Now, our LDS which are personal friends mind you, created an issue.

During the holidays, the wife wanted to get me my own tank. I am known in our circles for my ability to suck some air like no other.. We have found that if I am on a 100 I can last as long as others on an 80.. so the wife was going to buy me an aluminum 100 for the holidays.

Upon asking our friends, the LDS owners, she was told that it was not a good idea and instead she should get me one in steel. Ever see the price difference? Notice some color options missing on steel? Steel. WTF?

Don't know about the price difference, and color is immaterial. Other than that, the steel is a better idea. The Buoyancy characteristics are better.

 

[perdidochas]

Thanks for the welcome!

Steel:
BF -10lbs
BE -2lbs
Weight Empty 33 lbs
Cost:in the $300+ range.

Al:
BF -4.3
BE (500psi) +1.9
Weight Empty 41
Cost:under $200

I have dove with an Al 100 and had 0 issues. It did not feel heavier. I didnt feel as if I was suddenly going to shoot up when I had it down to 800psi.
I am an ex athlete and while I just turned 37 I still race BMX and exercise regularly.
Isnt the benefit of the LDS that they know you personally to some degree. I am no hulk but am generally more fit than those around my age. While many freak out over the bouyancy of an item, are they getting geeky enough to count all of their equipment? dive knife? That doesnt float at all. Light? Mine wont float. All of that will even out.. and I woudl bet the +1.9lbs of the Al tank, is offset by my spool, knife and light alone. Not to mention what else I may be dragging along with me just to amuse myself..


I dont like the look of steel. I am snobbish and prefer all my stuff to be black. Just a color preference.. I also do not like the properties of steel compared to Al when dealing with water. I would much rather have Al anyday. Being the consumer, we walk in asking for a specific product, we are not in the mood to hear you are not going to sell the product to us. We will just spend our $ elsewhere.

Did the shop even sell Al 100s? If they didn't stock them, then they should have just told you that.

With the steel tank, you can take 4 lbs off of your weight belt.

 

[perdidochas]

EXACLTY..
And with integrated weights, I dont feel any of it ever.. Its all in my BC. I didnt even notice when I lost a pouch on a night dive in Cozumel. I was still able to dive and goof off and be annoyed in the morning when it was missing.. Found out later another group found it but didnt want to give it back.. grrr..

Sounds like you need to reexamine your weighting.

 

[perdidochas]

The hound and I do agree on somethings.

FWIW there is an aluminum 100 that keeps getting passed around within a group I sometimes dive with. Each person who has used it for a while gives it to the next for free! The names marked up and crossed off look like some strange piece of art.

I am waiting for it to come to me. I well then remove the valve and turn it into a door bell.

The steel was good advise.

That's been my experiences with AL 100s.

 

[psychocabbage]

Did the shop even sell Al 100s? If they didn't stock them, then they should have just told you that.

With the steel tank, you can take 4 lbs off of your weight belt.

Yes. They had it sitting there on the floor.

Everyone keeps harping on taking weight off my belt. I dont use a belt. Its all integrated and I dont feel it.. even after a week of diving. Maybe when I get much older I may care about all of this but for now, I am 37 and dont care about serious diving.. not even a little.. its purely recreational and just for fun.

 

[ZzzKing]

There isnt much that I have not already researched.
I approach everything the same way I did my BMX Racing. When I wanted something, odds are I was the only one at the track with it because I knew the part was what I wanted not what was popular. End effect I had the lightest pro bike at virtually all races.

It's interesting that you went to such extents to have the lightest bike but you aren't particularly interested in having the most efficient SCUBA rig. In fact you seem to want to go out of your way to make it more cumbersome and increase drag.

:1poke:

 

[24940]

How much fun is kicking coral and being the biggest gas hog in the group?

Your wife says you suck like mad, even when you are side by side. It's no wonder, look at the vid... You are finning constantly and the thrust is being used to maintain depth more than forward motion. If you stop, you will sink. In other words, you are working too hard.

You could remain overweighted and still trim out, but you need to learn buoyancy control, rather than continue on with depth control by finning. It will come, but it doesn't have to take a lot of dives unless you refuse to believe what people are telling you. Chances are slim you will die, but it can be much more fun when you are relaxed and in control.

While it's obvious you are overweighted by a few pounds, the biggest issue I see(related to weighting) is where you have the weight placed. Less in the pouch and more on the tank/trim pockets would help trim you out.

Trimming out and having good buoyancy control allows you to get very close to delicate corals or other sensitive structures without disturbing them or the silt around you. It's a good thing, not a hard core, painful, macho diver kind of thing. It adds to the pleasure of diving.

 

[perdidochas]

Yes. They had it sitting there on the floor.

Everyone keeps harping on taking weight off my belt. I dont use a belt. Its all integrated and I dont feel it.. even after a week of diving. Maybe when I get much older I may care about all of this but for now, I am 37 and dont care about serious diving.. not even a little.. its purely recreational and just for fun.

Some of us think that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right. Diving correctly weighted IS more fun. When I was an assistant instructor, I used to put an extra 5 lbs on my weight belt (in case I had to slow a wayward student's ascent). It was much more fun diving without that extra 5 lbs. Also, some of us have used both AL 100s and Steel 100's. There is a difference in how they feel in the water.

 

[String]

Sorting weighting out can easily knock 30% of your air consumption and is far cheaper than buying a heavy big tank with crap buoyancy characteristics that could make the problem worse.
One fix costs nothing and is instant- the other costs lots of money and isnt as effective.