SCUBA diving

Yinger

Yinger

Premium Member
My Gf and i are thinking about getting our certification for scuba diving. Does anyone know a good place we can get information on the equipment and also a place to get certified? What's teh general cost of the equipment?
 
sport chalet is a good place my fiance and my self were certified there ( iam also certified else were. and the sport chalet one was very nice) they take care of you but i would say wait till june or july cause they do by one get one half off then.( on the classes not equip)
 
I jsut called Sport's Chalet... here's the pricing breakdown. The lessons does include the certification.

145 instructions
50 books
100 equip I.E. mask, flippers
50 rentals I.E. tank, regulator
100 boat for the 4 dives


This other place has group lessons
http://www.liburdisscuba.com/group_2004.htm

The price is 279 per person but it doesn't include boat or equipment either. So it might be either the same or cheaper to go with sports chalet.
 
ya, scuba is expensive, i got certified in august of 03 i think.

i spent overall about 600 bux on certs + my own flippers (60), boots(60), mask(35), snorkel(25), hood(20), gloves(20), knife(30), flashlight (50), bodyglove wetsuit for 280 onsale.

its worth it, but scuba here local sux. sure its nice but gets old real quick. but i'd still recommend it. when u get ur certs, let me know and we can go diving i know a couple good sites.


i suggest you buy all your personal equipment, and buy the BC/SPG/REG/TANK later cause those are the most expensive and u'll do fine renting for a while. see how u like it first before you buy everything... but those mentioned in 1st paragraph are essential u buy... u dont wanna wear a rental :)
 
It's about as expensive as reef keeping...but when you are in the real life reef, words can't explain what you experience...pictures can't explain what you see...it is amazing to see the beautiful sights that God created...he could have made all corals dark and bland...but he chose to make 'em vibrant and vibrant...

scuba is totally worth it. and go to Sport Chalet.
 
Sport Chalet is one of the better places around. They have to follow alot of rules and are always checked on, so that keeps them current and safe. I know this because I help tech there part time. I would recommend them not only because of that, but because the offer a good program at a good price. If you wait until sumer, they usually do a two for one deal. Saves alot of money. As for equipment, you need to have a mask, snorkle, gloves, boots, fins, everything else you can rent. As a student you get a discount off everything you purchase. I forget exactly what th discount is, something like 15 oe 20 %. As for the rest of the equipment, unless you plan to dive alot ( a few times a month ) it is not worth buying equipment. It is expensive, but once you have it, diving is alot cheaper. But as with anything else, diving has cool toys that cost. I have been diving for about 7 years and have enjoyed every bit of it. So much I bought a boat to go diving where I want to go. Dive boats are cool, but gets old when you go to the same spot all the time. Well hope you join the Diving world, and be prepared to see the largest and coolest reefs in the world.
 
I am hoping to go diving in a tropical reef locale in the near future. My current plan is to do an on-site training. Most non-US reef spots have 4 or 5 day SCUBA training courses that let you get down to the reef by the end. Anyone with experience have comments on this plan?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7419305#post7419305 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bromion
I am hoping to go diving in a tropical reef locale in the near future. My current plan is to do an on-site training. Most non-US reef spots have 4 or 5 day SCUBA training courses that let you get down to the reef by the end. Anyone with experience have comments on this plan?
Click to expand...

Part of getting the certification is 5 confined dives (pool/shallows), then 4 open water dives. I think most places cram the dives into 2-3 days. If you take the class in a "cool" location (Maui, Belize, etc.) your open water dives can be fun. If you take them locally, they will be cold and miserable if you do them before the water warms up (it's just starting to warm right now). The advantage to getting it over with here is that when you go on vacation, you can hit the waters unattended. Donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t forget though that even if you're not certified, you can take a dive with a dive master while on vacation and still legally go to I believe 35ft. It's a good way to check it out without blowing $500 on certification if you're not 100% sure about wanting to take up the "hobby".
Also, dont forget, leaving the US will not help you get certified any sooner. PADI's regulations are international.
 
I'd say don't go with that option...if you go to a reef, you're gonna want to spend all your time down at the reefs, not being restricted to a class, even if you do get to "go down to the reef by the end."
 
im padi certified and it was a good investment. did mine at sport challet in santa clarita in december. to be honest with all your gear and moving around the water was not cold. we did 3 boat dives 3 pool dives and 1 beach dive. it cost me about 700 because i got nice equip (mask/snorkel/fins/boots/gloves/etc). open water certification never expires which is a plus. hth
 
do the scuba class. like they said earlier your lesson never expires. you will always be certified.

also make sure you buy your own snorkle gear before you go. don't use theirs.
 
Depending on where you live I'd check out www.usascuba.com Most of the time you can get a two for one on your classes if you talk to them. They have always been good to me whenever I needed anything. hth
-scott
 
scuba

scuba

Sport Chalet is expensive call around to smaller shops that only deal with scuba equipment and scuba training try Beach Cities scuba on Brookhurst they have better certification class prices plus usually if you go together with more than one person getting certified they will give a discounted rate.
 
I did mine at Pacific Wilderness, I believe it was $250 for everything except basic equipment: Mask, snorkel, fins, gloves. With the $250 you get all books, rentals, and one-day boat dive off of Catalina. They have a store just down the street from Jeffââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s in orange.
 
Thanks everyone! I think Sports Chalet was one of the cheaper ones i found actually, esp if they have their summer discount. We'll probably wait till then to get the training done.
 
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