Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Buying used gear takes some knowledge. I probably wouldn't have bought used gear when I first started since I didn't know anyone that was a diver that could guide me about what to buy.
So I counted on my dive shop to set me up and I got fleeced somewhat as most dive shops probably do with a know nothing like I was.
There's nothing wrong with buying all new from a dive shop, you just need some know how and enough pre learned smarts to know when you are being over sold.
My advice is to see if you can rent all or at least some of the gear to take the class. The last thing I would buy is the reg set and the BC, I would rent those for a while and do some diving first. For those You may want to hold off on for a while since they are the big ticket items. There are a lot of ways to go with those, and the most expensive doesn't always mean the best option for what you'll be doing. The reg set and BC almost need a separate thread and individual study to inderstand the options.
Best advice I can give you is don't be a sucker. Dive shops love new divers who are ripe for the picking.
So I counted on my dive shop to set me up and I got fleeced somewhat as most dive shops probably do with a know nothing like I was.
There's nothing wrong with buying all new from a dive shop, you just need some know how and enough pre learned smarts to know when you are being over sold.
My advice is to see if you can rent all or at least some of the gear to take the class. The last thing I would buy is the reg set and the BC, I would rent those for a while and do some diving first. For those You may want to hold off on for a while since they are the big ticket items. There are a lot of ways to go with those, and the most expensive doesn't always mean the best option for what you'll be doing. The reg set and BC almost need a separate thread and individual study to inderstand the options.
Best advice I can give you is don't be a sucker. Dive shops love new divers who are ripe for the picking.
