SCUBA Training & Equipment

[tibbs2]

For those of you who have done any SCUBA, where did you get your training and how much was it?

The place I was looking at wanted $350 for the Open Water certification or $750 for a package deal including the certification and the equipment which includes, mask, snorkel, gloves, wetsuit, wetsuit cap, fins etc.

Is this a fair deal?

Chris

 

[vincejo28]

Does the 350 include the PADI book? Because I am sure it does not and that thing is 86$ + tax!! The UNI class broke down in this way.

Class 225.00$
Open Water Dive 40.00$
(equipment rental basically and paid to use a private quarry)
PADI Certicifacation 50.00$
PADI Book 90.00$
Total 405.00$

So I would see what all the 350$ includes. Book and certification may not be included and that is going to add another good amount. I would also look for the book online as it is a lot cheaper! Man I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t realize I paid all thatââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦.o well it will be worth!

 

[tibbs2]

I'll have to check on that. I am kind of leaning towards the equipment package if it is a good deal. I really don't want to use a rental wetsuit since everyone before me has previously peed in it. :lol:

Btw, where are you going to dive?

 

[vincejo28]

How many mm are the wet suits? I would not spend the money for a wet suit to dive around here in. It was neat to swim with the blue gills, but other than that I am sure you are not going to do a lot of cold fresh water diving. Meaning that if you need a 7mm suit for your check off dives, which you might (that is what we wore Monday with the air temp about 75 I think. I am sure the water will worm up as the summer goes on, but it is still Iowa), then it would not be worth purchasing one. So if the wet suit they sell you is 2-3 mm then you probably canââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t wear that for the check off anyway and you will still end up in a peed in suit! lol. Just saying do not purchase anything thicker than 2-3 mm unless you plan to dive in colder water. If you plan to do the reefs and ocean recreational dives our instructor suggested no thicker than 2-3mm and that is mainly for the protection. Hope I am making sense. He just said that the dive shops are constantly trying to get you to buy equipment, so be careful. Look on ebay! And also sierratradingpost.com has some great deals on wet suits. Hope this helps! Have fun with the classââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚¦I had a blast!


http://www.sierratradingpost.com/d/382_Mens-Wetsuits.html

 

[tibbs2]

The suit is 3mm and our main diving will be in the area of Okinawa and the nearby islands.

The dive shop owner did recommend upgrading the fins to a split fin design which have less resistance in the water than the standard fins. Ever tried the split fin design?

Thanks for the info.

Chris

 

[vincejo28]

Okinawa? Islands? I take it this is not Iowa? How did you pull that off? You are doing your check off dives some where else? Is it part of a trip or something? That is cool. I guess if I spent the money to go to the ocean to dive I would not want to be doing check off dives though. There are 4 dives for open water diving, they donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t take long. We had only 4 people and went out 2 different days and each day took an hour of actual diving timeââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦..so I guess that is about 2 tanks of air (well ours were only 2200lbs), but I would not want to spend the time and money to do that if I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have to. Although it would be a better dive than Iowa! But then again what isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t. If you havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t started the class I would maybe look at something that you could get done here in a couple days. That is what I did. Just a thought. As far as the split fin design goes, never tried them, our instructor talked about them and said that you have more control but less power, so I guess that is a personal choice. Might have to work a little harderââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦..but better control is always good! Wait until you have to walk in themââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦.lol!! Not fun!

FYI ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ I guess that aquariums like volunteers to dive in their tanks to check on things. I think this would be fun. You have to supply your our equipment, but there are dive shops in most large places. I am moving to Omaha at the end of the summer and I will have to give the Zoo a call.

 

[tibbs2]

I'll be doing the checkout dives here in Des Moines and doing my actual diving over there. Okinawa is between Japan and Taiwan. It's Japan's version of Hawaii. I hope to find some places to dive there that have some WWII plane and ship wrecks.

You should check out omaha zoo's website. I think you can sign up to volunteer as a SCUBA guy there.

 

[Bullet]

Hey Tibbs,

The dive price does not seem high and the package deal does not seem all that high if all the equipment is top of the line. As far as the fins go I don't think the average diver would ever be able to tell the difference. If you search you can find studies where all these were tested in the Navy and all were close to the same regardless of the design. Believe it or not I got my 2ml wetsuit at Sams Club in DSM. I love it. It was only like $25.00. So you may be better off just getting the certification and then piecing together everything you need.

I have a book you can use. I took my course last year so it should be current but you would want to talk to the instructor first.

Ohh...do you need some company on your first dive in Okinawa? That would be sweet!

 

[tibbs2]

Thanks for the info Bob. I may end up piecing the equipment together. I had no idea Sam's Club would carry that kind of stuff.

Do you have any experience with dry snorkels? It seems that if you use one of those when you snorkel you can dive in the water and water won't go down it. It seems like it would be quite handy.

And your welcome to come along! It would be kind of nice to go on my first dive with someone who knows what they are doing. I don't need any scenarios from the movie Open Water happening to me.

Chris

 

[Bullet]

I would love to go It's only money right? You can't take it with you......but I do need some to get me there. I am actually going to Hawaii in November to dive with my brother. I can't wait.

As far as snorkels go...I bought the cheapest one I could get. I know it is "against the rules" but there were a few dives that I did not even put it on. My brother has a dry snorkel. I think he likes it. It is a good idea. My instructor told us to not get it because they clog up with sand and end up not working anyway. I think it all personal preference and budget.

Don't worry about what you see on all the movies. It is so much fun. Just take the training seriously and if you do not get a skill...keep practicing until it becomes second nature. I had a hard time in the class clearing my mask. I now flood it on purpose to clean the inside.