Scuba Gear on a budget

[scubafanatic]

Oceanic has a great deal on BC/Reg/Octo/Comp right now:

Buy a complete SCUBA Package including adjustable regulator, weight-integrated BCD and dive computer for just $749!

PACKAGE CONTAINS:

* GT3 Sport Regulator
* Alpha 8 Octo
* OceanPro weight-integrated BCD
* Veo 100 Combo

Offer valid through 8/31/09 on new orders only in the USA and Carribbean. Offer may not be combined with any other special offers.

All very good gear, at an amazing price. This is just an example of the specials that manufacturers are offering all the time, so look around. As for used gear, be very careful, since this is LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT!!! I'm not saying to avoid it, just buyer beware. Spend the extra money to have a certified technician go over it.

Mike

...umm, this 'offer' expired 8/31/09......

 

[MikeMarlow]

Doh...I just pulled it of their website...

 

[TSandM]

I think one of the big reasons more Jet fins aren't sold is that they really aren't great fins for the flutter/bicycle kick that most people come out of OW using. I just spent a trip using Deep See Pulse fins, which are an inexpensive, plastic paddle fin, and although I could do all the kicks with them, flutter-kicking was really the best kick, and it was WAY more pleasant than doing it in Jets. Now, on the other hand, in my routine diving, I rarely USE the flutter kick, so my Jets please me.

One of the biggest things in saving money that I'd say is NOT to let a shop talk you up into the next new thing, because it costs more and has a higher profit margin. Simple gear, in most cases, works great. You don't have to have a purge valve in your mask, or in your regulator. You don't have to have fins with slingshot action or twisting ribs. You don't need a BC with up and down levers, and you don't need a titanium regulator. The money you can save, even buying everything new, by studying the features that are really USEFUL in gear, and selecting middle of the road gear that has those features, is really substantial.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

If I was buying all new gear, to use anywhere in the world (and gear that can grow with you), I would buy (based on what I have used and own):

Scubapro mk17 DIN, S600 regs (X2 or more)

Suunto Vytec DS wrist computer

OMS Slipstream fins

SS backplate (OMS, DSS, FredT, Dive Rite, Halcyon, etc) W. "HOG" Harness and SS STA

Whites Fusion Drysuit

Light Monkey 21W HID Light

Aluminum 80 tanks or HP 100's (both very common)

Dive Rite all BLACK mask, no more clear masks for me.

Hog or OMS brand 32LB wing.

Medium snaps from Nix

No snorkel!

 

[gcbryan]

Before I add to this, let me tell you that I do use a BP/W and fins that are similar to Jets. I like them.

On the other hand, in the grand scheme of things, not many people use these. In another thread on the topic of why so many shops do not sell BP/W's a retailer with access to sales statistics said that BP/Ws account for less than 1% of sales annually. My guess is that Jets or the equivalent are pretty similar.

Outside of my tech diving experiences, I rarely see these items on divers. I have dived in resort areas all over the world, and I don't believe I have seen more than 12-15 BP/Ws on divers on those dives, and it would be those same divers in Jets (or something similar). Most of the ones I have seen were worn by ScubaBoard people I had arranged to meet.

It tends to be very regional. There are places where these are relatively popular, and there are places were they are virtually nonexistent. My guess is that the vast majority of recreational divers will never even see either a BP/W or Jet fins, let alone buy them.

They may not but the vast majority of recreational divers are not "into" diving enough to be reading Scubaboard. If you are reading Scubaboard the chances of you one day trying a BP/W or Jets is greater.

They're not widely available because they're not in the stores and they're not in the stores because shop owners aren't putting them in their stores. If all of their instructors wore them then and if they carried them in their shops then that's what they would be selling.

Anyway, I'm not pushing them but I'm just saying they are affordable and people who buy them generally don't switch out to anything else later so if bought from the beginning it would be a cost savings. I couldn't think of a traditional BC that I could say that about since no matter what traditional BC you buy you might want some other traditional BC down the road.

And you are correct, regionally they are more prevalent. They are not hard to come by in the PNW for instance.

 

[gcbryan]

By the way in my original post I mentioned Jet Fins if the weighting works for you. They didn't actually work for me until I had a BP/W as they dragged my feet down and I didn't want to put weight on the cam bands just to accommodate a particular fin.

Good point regarding not being the best fin for flutter kicking. If I had to do a lot of flutter kicking and didn't have to fight current with them I have no problem with the dreaded split fin!

 

[tankedup]

Wow - great detail!!

 

[Beach Kowboy]

Craigslist has had some good deals on there lately around here I have seen.

 

[boomhwr]

Scuba Pro has its annual deal that if you buy a regulator setup they will throw in a computer. $400 savings.

 

[rcsoar4fun]

Scuba Pro has its annual deal that if you buy a regulator setup they will throw in a computer. $400 savings.

Not seeing this online, where might one take advantage of this deal?