Yes

It is possible to spend almost any amount on equipment.  Save your money,
though, with those long nights the little n's will be coming soon.

Hello Nathan.  Welcome to rec.scuba.  If your look around the group a bit,
you'll note that there's a lot going on that seems to have nothing to do
with scuba.  Don't let that bother you.  There's a wealth of scuba related
information available here for those that seek it.  It's just that many of
us have been here a long time and long since exhausted everything we could
think about that relates to scuba.  As will happen, we've moved on to other
topics, but, for most of us, scuba is the love that brought us together.
Think of it as a world wide local sports bar.  While scuba is the purpose of
the bar, everything that people think and do is fair game here.

Like most bars, you'll find the proud and the humble, nice people and jerks,
the religious and the profane.  Many of us change with the topic.  Hope you
enjoy your stay but, if not, well, the door swings both ways.

You should kick yourself.  Depending on what part of Florida you were in,
you passed up some wonderful diving opportunities.  Those of us that live in
Florida, think anyone that would dive where ice actually forms naturally are
a bit crazy, but what the heck.  Much of the world thinks our diving is
crazy too.

Remind me to tell you about our new ATVs sometime.

Maybe, but I'd be surprised.  Typically, the best deals are to be had where
the most competition exists.  I would not expect a lot of competition in
Alaska.  Then again, I live as far from Alaska as it is possible to be
without leaving the US (just outside of Fort Lauderdale, Florida).

That does not sound like a particularly good or bad deal.  It's tough for me
to guess how much the drysuit portion of the course should increase the
cost, but I would not expect an entry level diving course to run more than
about $250 per person, including everything except the cost of boat charters
for the open water portion of the course.  There are courses available in
this area for considerably less, but you have to be careful.  Sometimes you
get what you pay for.  Occasionally, you get more.

Have you checked to see if the Army has some kind of dive training program
you might be able to take advantage of?

Depends on what you mean when you say "full set of basic dive equipment."
If you're including a dry suit, which you surely will need in your part of
the world, the cost of good equipment will be more.  Personally, meaning I'm
not real knowledgeable on the subject, I'd expect to pay close to $1,000 for
the dry suit.

The cost of the rest of your equipment will probably run another $1,000 or
more depending on what equipment you chose to buy (versus rent), the brand
you chose and, once again, local competition.  Until you know a lot more
about what you want, I do not recommend on line shopping for dive equipment.
It's very easy to get what you think is a good deal only to find that the
equipment you get is not what is best for your needs.  Here's some
suggestions that may help:

Mask - Unless you already know of a mask that fits you right, you have to
buy your mask personally.  Fit is everything and you can't check the masks
without holding it in your hands and trying it.  Do not settle for a mask
that does not fit perfectly, no matter how cool it looks or sounds.

Fins and Booties - I wear full foot fins.  That's not really an option for
cold water divers.  You're going to have to get strap fins and booties to
get the thermal protection you'll need.  Stick with brand names.  A couple
of the most popular are Mares Quatro Fins (my personal preference) and Scuba
Pro Jet Fins (the choice of some of the most advanced technical divers in
the world).  There are other good fins on the market, but it's hard to go
wrong with either of the ones I mentioned.

Snorkel - Anything with a large bore that is comfortable in your mouth is
fine.  Don't spend money on anything advertised as "dry."  The dry snorkels
may be worth the money to those that snorkel a lot, but probably not even
then.  They are surely not worth anything to those that are diving.

Regulator - When I say regulator, I mean one first and two second stages.
Regulators of comparable quality are available in a wide range of prices.
All of the well known manufacturers make some good and some better
regulators.  Some of the unknown manufacturers don't make any that I'd give
my wife to use.  When buying your regulator, there are three things you
should keep in mind.  1. Your alternate, what some would call your octopus,
will be used only in emergencies.  There is no time when it's more important
to have a good regulator than in an emergency.  While it's OK to save money
by not getting the same features on  your alternate that you have on your
primary, it is not OK to save money by buying inferior quality.  2. You're
going to be diving in cold water.  Because they reduce pressure from a few
thousand psi to approximately ambient, regulators tend to cool the gas that
passes through them.  In cold water, this can lead to freezing up and
failure.  Do some research, with people that know, to identify regulators
that are suitable for cold water use.  Do not simply take a manufacturer's
word that theirs is.  3. Different manufacturers use different intermediate
pressures.  Intermediate pressure is the pressure in the hose between the
first and second stages.  It's important that the intermediate pressure out
of the first stage be consistent with the intermediate pressure the second
stage is designed for.  Intermediate pressure can be adjusted, but there's
generally no way to adjust for differences in your primary and alternate
second stages.  Be sure that everything is set to work together.  The
easiest way to do that is, normally, to purchase first and both second
stages made by the same manufacturer.  In my many years of diving, I've used
US Divers and Scuba Pro regulators.  US Divers regulators are generally
looked down on by today's high tech crowd, but more people have done more
dives with them than anything made by anyone else.  You can sometimes find
deals on US Divers equipment.  Scuba Pro has consistently been ranked as one
of the top few regulators in the world.  I currenlty use Scuba Pro.  While
their quality is very good, their cost tends to be high.  You don't find
many deals on new Scuba Pro regulators.  In recent years, Apex/Apeks (?)
regulators have become very popular.  Someone here will tell you which one
everybody likes.  I have no experience with them, but people I trust to know
what they're talking about like them very much.  Best of all, they have a
good reputation with those that, like you, dive cold water.  I believe there
are some deals to be had, but will leave that to those that know better.

Buoyancy Control Device - Possibly one of the hottest topics and any diving
discussion is which BCD to use.  A substantial number of people in this
group, including me, favor a plate and wing configuration.  This is,
essentially, a metal plate with a harness and an inflatable bladder that
goes between the plate and the tank(s).  I don't know anyone that has ever
used a plate and wing setup that has gone back to a jacket style
configuration.  I do know one diver, who will probably chip in to this
discussion soon, who tried the plate and wing and went to something else,
but the something else is not a jacket style BCD.  I'll let him tell you
about his choice and why he chose as he did.  Be sure you at least give a
plate and wing configuration a try.  Halcyon makes the best known plate and
wing combinations, but are expensive.  DiveRite is another well known
manufacturer.  There are others.  Plates come in both aluminum and
stainless.  Otherwise, a plate is, more or less, a plate, no matter who
makes it.  Wings, the inflation part of the system, are not all created
equal.  Get the wing that meets your buoyancy needs (will have considerably
more lift than anything I'll ever need for my diving) and go for good
quality.

Lee

Thanks, but no thanks.  Personally, I think that anything less than 68 F is
too cold to dive in.  Even at 68, the diving would have to be special to get
me in the water.

Senseless rambling is a way of life here.  You did better than most.

Thanks for introducing a scuba related post.  There haven't been enough of
them lately.

Lee

Hi I'm Dennis.

I feel the same way about 5 years I spent in the Monterey, CA area.

I think so - comparable to what my local shop runs for an OW cert + drysuit
class.

If your shop has a good selection/variety of rental gear, rent first.
You'll save money in the long run by not having to replace gear that yolu
thought would work for you, but didn't

Sounds good - if I ever find myself in Anchorage, I'll post here.
Been wanting to dive in the Arctic.

Works nicely, of course with Usenet we have two eyes and 10 fingers, so does
that mean we can
type 5 times as much as we read?

Nah - you're willing to learn, and you seem to know what you don't know.
We reserve the laughter for folks who dont know, but think they do, or those
who are unwilling to learn
;-)

Cool.

Dennis

 Howdy.

 It almost has to be.

 What kind of drysuit?

 Do you mean rental?

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.

Hope this helps,

John Eells

8<

This is a low volume, high signal/noise newsgroup only if you
engage your newsreader's twit-filters.

You're welcome. Have a good time.