Re: New to it all

Nathan and Nadine wrote:

<snip>

One dive shop is willing to give us our open water certification with
dry suit for a cost of $800 for the both of us. Is that a good deal? It
includes all equipment minus mask, fins, snorkel, gloves, booties, and
dive knife. I don't want to sound cheap, but the Army pays a meager
salary so I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck. Also, I've been
looking around online at dive equipment and various packages that are
being sold. So far, I'm finding everything to be between 800 dollars
(for equipment google finds hard to locate) to 1800 (for equipment that
google locates more reliably and looks really cool). Is that what I can
expect to spend on a full set of basic dive equipment?



Around here, open water certification costs about $300 per student, and dry suit certification is another $150, which includes suit rental. So $800 for two people certainly sounds reasonable to me.

Consider begging, borrowing, or renting different equipment to find out what fits and works for you before buying any. What seems to fit you in the shop won't always work in the water (and vice versa). Above all, don't skimp on equipment. You don't need to spend a fortune but you will need a regulator (including octo) that's reliable in cold salt water, and a dry suit and BC(D) that fit you and support the kind of diving you anticipate doing. If the dive shop has suitable used gear, especially BCs and dry suits in good condition, consider it seriously--this can be a real cash-saver. But, you will probably want to avoid the economy regs that are standard rental fare. Also, make sure you buy reasonably new regs so service parts will not be a problem in the immediate future. (I have two regs that might need to be retired in the next few years because of this. Too bad. They work great.) Next, make sure you get regs one of the local shops will service! They should be a reasonably common brand in case you need repairs while traveling or wherever you're posted next. Last, find and talk to experienced divers in your area to find a shop that has a style you are comfortable with.

<snip


Hope this helps,

John Eells
.

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