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Scuba Forum / General / July 2004Met My Instructor for First Time
Well, I went to the scuba shop that I'm going to take my lessons at to pick out my mask, snorkel, fins, and boots. I had a chance to meet the owner/instructor. I have to say that after meeting him and talking with him I more anxious than ever to start my lessons. He was very nice and answered all my questions. I think I spent almost two hours there picking out the equipment and talking with him. He didn't shy away from any of my questions. Actually, when I asked a question he just went off talking and talking about the subject. All in a positive manner. First he mentioned that just about everybody passes if they are willing to put the time and effort in it and he will help his students get thru any tough problems. But he also mentioned that he passes no one until he thinks they know how to dive safely. Also said before he takes his students to the open water, he makes dang sure they are ready for it. What I was surprised to hear was that if he thinks a student is having trouble, he will let that student fall back into another class. He mentioned one student that has been at it for six months. As long as they are willing to make an effort then he is willing to work with them to get thru. He also stressed safety. I am signed up for private lessons, and he mentioned that I would be able to go at my own pace and focus on things I might have trouble with, which is why I signed up for private classes in the first place. I asked him about the subject that fascinates me the most - buoyancy. He mentioned that his students probably find mask clearing more difficult than bcd control and buoyancy. Interesting. Anyway, I got a mask made by Oceanic, fins by Oceanic, a snorkel made by I don't know who, and boots made by some company called Henderson. All these were in matching silver/gray. Those bcd's are cool. I kept looking at them. If I was going to buy another piece of equipment right now, it would probably be a bcd. I get the filling this class is going to be more fun than I thought it would be. Also, for the money I'm paying, the instructor is not only teaching me to scuba, but introducing me into the scuba world and making me feel very welcome. Not hard work, just lots of fun! You should have a good time in your o/w class. Don't jump into buying gear until your class is over. Your reg set should be the next piece of gear you buy ( your life suport system, 1st and 2nd stages, octopus, inflater hose, gauges or computer ). This is the one piece of gear that you should be most familiar and imtimate with. Then an exposer suit of some sort if you don't live in an area that's warm water diving. These two pieces of gear are thought of as life support systems, the bc doesn't really fit into that catagory, for any-one I know. -- Tom Leclaire > You should have a good time in your o/w class. Don't jump into buying > gear until your class is over. Your reg set should be the next piece of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > -- > Tom Leclaire Scuba diving involves lots of equipment and junk. As far as the order of acquiring this collection of junk you will get just about as many opinions as there are possible permutations. One thing's for sure: the shop where you certified is going to try to sell you as much of this stuff as possible, and it will be awkward to buy your stuff elsewhere if you plan to dive with them. Adam > > You should have a good time in your o/w class. Don't jump into buying > > gear until your class is over. Your reg set should be the next piece of [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Adam OTOH, So far, the guy who runs the shop seems to be the kinda guy you'd want to help support and stay in business. He didn't commit the main sin (IMHO) of dive shop/training centers, and that is to require purchase of the full kit prior to your open water class. He has spent time (granted, generally you have plenty of time to spend in a dive shop) outside of class discussing and answering questions. The dive business is a tough business to make it in, if you don't support the shops you like, they won't be around to support you. > > Scuba diving involves lots of equipment and junk. As far as the order of > acquiring [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > in, if you don't support the shops you like, they won't be around to support > you. Tough business? Yep. I was talking with my instructor and told him I was planning on taking dive lessons in my local city. I drove around the streets looking for the shop and looked in the phone book, but it turns out they closed down. I mentioned this to my instructor, and he said at one time there were five dive shops in my local city but now none at all. His dive shop is about 15 miles away from my city, in a smaller city, actually town. I live in the mid-west by the way. > > You should have a good time in your o/w class. Don't jump into buying > > gear until your class is over. Your reg set should be the next piece of [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Adam It's interesting that you should mention that. The instructor was so nice that when I was walking out of the shop I was thinking if I do buy more scuba equipment I should buy it from him to support the local dive shop (30 miles away from me.) I think I've learned from this news group that the best policy is to rent my equipment and not buy anything more until I have had some dives under my belt. I do have to admit that I am tempted to pay out $300-$400 for a bcd. Those bcd's are really neat looking to me. I hear what your saying tho about regulator first. > > "Tom Leclaire" <Tom.Leclaire.1a36ff@forums.deeperblue.net> wrote in > message [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > out $300-$400 for a bcd. Those bcd's are really neat looking to me. I hear > what your saying tho about regulator first. I would not buy anything but the basic fins,mask,snorkel, boots and would just rent for a while. While I said the shops pressure you to buy from them I'm merely making an observation--something you should be aware of. I'm not totally critical of this because the scuba business is very competitive and it is hard on local dive shops. Adam > Anyway, I got a mask made by Oceanic, fins by Oceanic, a snorkel made by > I don't know who, and boots made by some company called Henderson. All > these were in matching silver/gray. Those bcd's are cool. I kept looking > at them. If I was going to buy another piece of equipment right now, it > would probably be a bcd. Son, I'm gonna give you some good advice. Print it out, hang it on the wall, and memorize it. Do not buy any more gear until you are very sure just what you want. That means getting the experience to understand why you are choosing whatever it is you are choosing. Rent, borrow, Do not buy. Never, ever buy any gear that is "cool". The first thing, the last thing and the only thing that counts is FUNCTION. Until you know what sort of diving you will be doing, you will not know what what each piece of gear should be doing for you. When you buy the wrong gear, you are stuck with it and unless you are wealthy, you will continue to "make do" with it. > > Anyway, I got a mask made by Oceanic, fins by Oceanic, a snorkel made by > > I don't know who, and boots made by some company called Henderson. All [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > When you buy the wrong gear, you are stuck with it and unless you are > wealthy, you will continue to "make do" with it. Good advice there from Mike Gray. I would add: Use the course to try different things. There's an instructor there, so you can safely "experiment": different sizes (of bc's), different amounts of weights, maybe different types of wet suits. Find out what's best for you, and get some bottom time in before rushing out to buy stuff. Elad I know it's temping to want to go out and buy all new gear because getting into diving is exciting... but just wait a little while. Not because you don't need it yet, but to figure out what "you like" and what works best for "you" and not what some body tells you you have to have. Some people love one line of gear and won't dive anything but that brand, others dive another brand and love it. Talk to people find out what they like and what works. Along the way you'll pick up knowledge on what's good for "you" for the type of diving that "you" do. Also... buying the cheapest piece of crap of something will usually find you wishing you'd bought the better items in the first place. You'll do this typically beause you want to save some money. In the long run you'll often go and buy the better item,which costs more, later. so what's happened is that you spent twice as much as you wanted because you bought the other item first. So take this and figure out what works for you. Borrow or rent items. See if your shop has an item you want in it's rental equipment and "try before you buy". At the end of all this you'll be much happier with your gear and have gained knowledge also. mike > Well, I went to the scuba shop that I'm going to take my lessons at to > pick out my mask, snorkel, fins, and boots. I had a chance to meet the [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > teaching me to scuba, but introducing me into the scuba world and making me > feel very welcome. Not hard work, just lots of fun! > Also... buying the cheapest piece of crap of something > will usually find you wishing you'd bought the better [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > spent twice as much as you wanted because you > bought the other item first. There is absolutely no relationship between price and quality in scuba gear. Indeed, in my experience, the relationship is inverse - the more it costs the bigger piece of crap it is.
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