A couple of Newbi ?s

My wife and I are heading down to the keys next week to get our open water
cert.

The operator recommended we use their gear for training, and buy our gear
afterwards. Their concern was we would get outfitted with the wrong gear
or sizes. (they don't sell a lot of gear, so thats not a conflict)

Ultimately, I'm planning to purchase my gear from my LDS which is Bill
Jacksons in St Pete FL. (They've got a great reputation in the community)
They are not the cheapest solution, but they do have outstanding customer
service, and will take the time to get us outfitted right. The guy I'm
working with has been actively diving for 25+ years.

I'm thinking I'd rather train in the gear I'm going to own, rather then
rental gear. Any thoughts comments?

One other - I'm debating between Sherwood and Scuba Pro for the reg. Is
the scuba pro worth the extra $$? I know they have a great reputation,
just not sure if its worth the permium over the others.

TIA,

JT

In article <Xns960F7E39A9D57JTGP1200@65.32.5.122>, JT <nada@nospam.net>
wrote:

€ My wife and I are heading down to the keys next week to get our open water
€ cert.
€
€ The operator recommended we use their gear for training, and buy our gear
€ afterwards. Their concern was we would get outfitted with the wrong gear
€ or sizes. (they don't sell a lot of gear, so thats not a conflict)
€
€ Ultimately, I'm planning to purchase my gear from my LDS which is Bill
€ Jacksons in St Pete FL. (They've got a great reputation in the community)
€ They are not the cheapest solution, but they do have outstanding customer
€ service, and will take the time to get us outfitted right. The guy I'm
€ working with has been actively diving for 25+ years.
€
€ I'm thinking I'd rather train in the gear I'm going to own, rather then
€ rental gear. Any thoughts comments?
€

Yes. Listen to the operator

€ One other - I'm debating between Sherwood and Scuba Pro for the reg. Is
€ the scuba pro worth the extra $$? I know they have a great reputation,
€ just not sure if its worth the permium over the others.
€

Why don't you get some experience, try them both, and decide for
yourself before spending the money?

I'm also still newbish but ..
When you are talking about something as critical (and expensive) as
dive gear, shop for a store first, though it sounds like you have a
decent LDS. The best service is far more important than the lowest
price for most things ..

The shop I like is about a 45 minute drive past the other two that are
"Local", and the prices are all about the same. But the service is
worth the time and effort.

As far as gear goes I really think that the try before you buy rule
works well, I recently purchased a wet suit but only after I had tried
a few different rentals out ... and asked a few questions here. If I
had bought right away, even based on advice from people whom I trusted,
I would have ended up with something that was inappropriate for the
diving I've been doing.

The same thing would have happened with regs.. though I have not yet
bought a reg I have learned that I really want one with an adjustable
second stage, an option I would not have really cared about before I
tried it out.

"JT" <nada@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:Xns960F7E39A9D57JTGP1200@65.32.5.122...

> I'm thinking I'd rather train in the gear I'm going to own, rather then
> rental gear. Any thoughts comments?

This is the view that certain dive training agencies, namely SSI, drill into
their instructors to drill into their students. The touted advantages are
(1) you know exactly where everything is, (2) you know how the gear has been
maintained, (3) the gear will fit you, and (4) you won't get another diver's
cooties.

However,

(1) Gear configurations really don't differ that much among training
agencies and most rental shops will give you a standard configuration. One
exception to this rule is that some agencies, like PADI, have both primary
and backup second stages coming from the right, while other agencies, like
SSI, have the backup coming from the left. If the rental shop gives you a
configuration opposite to the one you learned, it's a simple matter for them
to reconfigure it.

(2) Decent rental shops should keep their gear maintained to high standards,
often to higher standards than some of us treat our own gear. It's always a
good idea to check the hoses and connecting points to ensure that they're
not too worn, and make sure that the mouthpiece is still in one piece.

(3) Fit can be a concern, especially if you are extra extra large or odd
shaped. Fit is a primary concern with wet (and dry) suits, a secondary
concern with BCs, and no concern at all with regulators. If you're an
off-the-rack kind of guy, don't worry. If you aren't, and may need thermal
protection where you're going, a suit might be your first purchase.

(4) Cooties are really hard to catch from other divers. Even if the rental
shop failed to wash the gear before handing it to you, the ocean probably
did the trick for them. If in doubt, bring your own mouthpiece and that
will also solve the potential problem identified in (2) above. Also, if you
have any qualms about using a wetsuit that someone else definitely peed in,
follow my advice in (3) and buy your own wetsuit first.

Even when you return from your trip, you may not want to purchase all your
gear right away. Different shops have different motivations. Just because
this shop owner seems like a really swell guy and is really experienced, you
still might want to check around a bit, see what other divers like and don't
like, and see what you like and don't like. There's still plenty of room
for personal preference even with "standard" dive gear: jacket BC vs.
back-inflate BC vs. backplate & wings. Air2 vs. octopus. All sorts of
computers. All sorts of accessories that you really may or may not need.
Your local shop owner, no matter how honest he might be, cannot possibly
predict what your personal preference will be after you dive a bit simply
because he's not you. So you risk either getting stuck with gear that you
really don't need or want, or risk having to buy lots of new gear in the
future and keeping the original stuff as backup or selling it on e-bay.

It really comes down to your own comfort level in spending money. If you're
filthy rich, go ahead and buy the gear now, buy some when you return, and
buy some more in a year from now. The dive industry can always use more
money. But if you're on a budget, delay the purchases until you're almost
certain what you really want and there's no way to achieve that level of
certainty without some experience.

> One other - I'm debating between Sherwood and Scuba Pro for the reg. Is
> the scuba pro worth the extra $$? I know they have a great reputation,
> just not sure if its worth the permium over the others.

Lifetime parts replacement, I believe, on the Scuba Pro. That alone might
warrant the extra cost if Sherwood's warranty doesn't provide the same.

JT wrote:

> My wife and I are heading down to the keys next week to get our open water
> cert.
>
> The operator recommended we use their gear for training, and buy our gear
> afterwards. Their concern was we would get outfitted with the wrong gear
> or sizes. (they don't sell a lot of gear, so thats not a conflict)
>
> Ultimately, I'm planning to purchase my gear from my LDS which is Bill
> Jacksons in St Pete FL. (They've got a great reputation in the community)
> They are not the cheapest solution, but they do have outstanding customer
> service, and will take the time to get us outfitted right. The guy I'm
> working with has been actively diving for 25+ years.
>
> I'm thinking I'd rather train in the gear I'm going to own, rather then
> rental gear. Any thoughts comments?
>
> One other - I'm debating between Sherwood and Scuba Pro for the reg. Is
> the scuba pro worth the extra $$? I know they have a great reputation,
> just not sure if its worth the permium over the others.
>
> TIA,
>
> JT
I'd wait - it is a major investment, but if you trust the guy you're
buying from......

Using different gear lets you make the decision - not the guy selling
the equipment

On Fri, 04 Mar 2005 21:27:09 GMT, JT <nada@nospam.net> wrote:


>I do appreciate the comments. I was ready to go lay out the cash this
>weekend, but now you've got me chewing it over.
>
>Thanks again,

Wait. You'll be glad you did.

And if you're thinking of going on to do any tech type diving and are
thinking that the starter regs you buy will serve as stage bottle regs
later, forget the Sherwoods. They're great regs for the money, I have
a Blizzard which has been bulletproof, and a darned good breather at
the depths most of us do our diving., but Sherwoods have an airbleed
outlet on them that allows a trickle of air to escape constantly from
the first stage. Obviously this would be counter-productive on a stage
bottle left on the bottom of a cave for hours or days. Empty stages
suck.

JF

Greg Mossman wrote:

>>snip of a VERY insightful well reasoned response. I am truly impressed!<<

>>One other - I'm debating between Sherwood and Scuba Pro for the reg. Is
>>the scuba pro worth the extra $$? I know they have a great reputation,
>>just not sure if its worth the permium over the others.
>
>
> Lifetime parts replacement, I believe, on the Scuba Pro. That alone might
> warrant the extra cost if Sherwood's warranty doesn't provide the same.

I know that Sherwood used to give you the first 2 years free parts. And
because their regs were so cheap to service, getting "free" parts for
Scuba Pro didn't matter.
To service my ancient Sherwood Maximus is like $35 including parts.

"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> wrote in
news:4228a548$0$105$6c56adcd@news.qnet.com:

>
> This is the view that certain dive training agencies, namely SSI,
> drill into their instructors to drill into their students. The touted
> advantages are (1) you know exactly where everything is, (2) you know
> how the gear has been maintained, (3) the gear will fit you, and (4)
> you won't get another diver's cooties.

>
> It really comes down to your own comfort level in spending money. If
> you're filthy rich, go ahead and buy the gear now, buy some when you
> return, and buy some more in a year from now. The dive industry can
> always use more money. But if you're on a budget, delay the purchases
> until you're almost certain what you really want and there's no way to
> achieve that level of certainty without some experience.
>
>> One other - I'm debating between Sherwood and Scuba Pro for the reg.
>> Is the scuba pro worth the extra $$? I know they have a great
>> reputation, just not sure if its worth the permium over the others.
>
> Lifetime parts replacement, I believe, on the Scuba Pro. That alone
> might warrant the extra cost if Sherwood's warranty doesn't provide
> the same.
>
>

Greg,

Thanks for the lengthy reply. You brought up some great points!

I have not been influenced on buying the gear ahead of time. Its more
from: I live in Flordia; I know people who dive; and I know a people who
dive and own boats! So, its really not a question of *if* I buy my own
gear, but when. I've made up my mind to that and I'm ready to spend the
cash.

I'm not really worried about the maintenance or cooties. Its more like
if your going deer hunting, do you want to borrow your buddies old gun,
or use your own gun? You really don't know how your buddies gun
behaves, or is sighted in. I'd rather have my own gun, one that I know,
I've taken to the range and sighted in specifically for me, and one that
I'm comfortable with. So I guess my desire is more from that comfort
level you have with owning your own stuff, rather than borrowing others.

I do appreciate the comments. I was ready to go lay out the cash this
weekend, but now you've got me chewing it over.

Thanks again,

JT

Hey Andrew,

You make me mighty curious.
What is this thing you have with adjustable second stages?
I always wondered, why would anybody ever induce a higher resistance in
their main life support system?
Please, enlighten me.
--
HES van Schoonhoven
Life is a learning experience

"Andrew" <ajames54@hotmail.com> schreef in bericht
news:1109958673.066522.135050@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...
> I'm also still newbish but ..
> When you are talking about something as critical (and expensive) as
> dive gear, shop for a store first, though it sounds like you have a
> decent LDS. The best service is far more important than the lowest
> price for most things ..
>
> The shop I like is about a 45 minute drive past the other two that are
> "Local", and the prices are all about the same. But the service is
> worth the time and effort.
>
> As far as gear goes I really think that the try before you buy rule
> works well, I recently purchased a wet suit but only after I had tried
> a few different rentals out ... and asked a few questions here. If I
> had bought right away, even based on advice from people whom I trusted,
> I would have ended up with something that was inappropriate for the
> diving I've been doing.
>
> The same thing would have happened with regs.. though I have not yet
> bought a reg I have learned that I really want one with an adjustable
> second stage, an option I would not have really cared about before I
> tried it out.
>

"HES van Schoonhoven" <harrier@zonnet.nl> wrote in message
news:c1746$4228e048$3ea61518$13907@news.versatel.n l...
> Hey Andrew,
>
> You make me mighty curious.
> What is this thing you have with adjustable second stages?
> I always wondered, why would anybody ever induce a higher resistance in
> their main life support system?
> Please, enlighten me.

Same reason you induce a higher resistance on your exercise bike: it
toughens you up.