Which comes first? The gear or the certs?

[diver1102]

Hi all,
I am currently OW certified and i have most of my gear (lacking regs and a tank). I was wondering is it better to spend the money to get the rest of my gear or spend the money and advance my training and wait to get the rest of my gear. I am currently a college student with a very limited income. Thanks.

 

[owlbill]

My thoughts are get the gear (maybe not the tanks if they are easy to rent the same type all the time). Get it, get familiar with it, know how it all works/fits for you and be comfortable.

Courses are good too, but if you are occupied with "the feeling of new gear" all the time, it can hinder the learning experience IMHO.

 

[spectrum]

There is a world of diving out there with the certifiction you have. Empower yourself to enjoy it by completing your set of gear.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

If you have diving available to you locally and would like to take advantage of it, by all means complete your gear. If you are only diving during trips, it's a little harder to figure it out.

Classes are useful, some of them enormously so, but nothing makes a diver but lots of bottom time. And it's much easier to get that if you don't have to rent a bunch of stuff every time you want to go diving.

 

[fisheater]

Check out your college. There may be a scuba club/program there with access to gear.

Also, congrats on your Eagle (judging by your avatar). My son just passed his Eagle Board of Review last night.

 

[David P]

Id say if possible borrow gear, and spend the money diving!

 

[Seachicken]

As a fellow student I'd say gear definitely, in my experience not only does knowing your own gear make you a better (and safer) diver, but it also encourages you to dive much more often. If you are short on cash, the tank is probably the thing you need to buy the least though, there just isn't that much of a saving unless you are diving quite a bit.

 

[pasley]

Many colleges offer SCUBA as a class for credit. You take it for a semester and cover Basic Open Water, Advance and Rescue.

I agree, if you have diving available to you locally, buy your gear and go diving. if you only dive on trips, renting may be an option. Dive gear requires annual servicing which will cost you a little, but too much if you are only using it twice a year. Tanks are the last purchase. Buy steel tanks. I bough Aluminum in 2001 and now have two I will sell soon as I have gone to Steel.

 

[Papa_Bear]

Training! Your gear needs and wants will change with training! So why would you invest in something you will not use? Like buying a Long Board in Surfing when you will end up on a short board, or a set of entry level golf clubs before you take a lesson from a Pro, or buying a Porch to take driving lessons? In addition your instructors will have impute into what gear you will need, so beg or borrow, until you find out what works! Diving is the most important thing you can do now and that is where your money should be spent!

 

[BarryNL]

Get the gear, join a dive club and go diving a lot with more experienced buddies. You can improve your diving a lot simply by slowly pushing your boundaries and getting advice from others.