I’ve only dove a few times and am interested in doing it regularly. Though, this is probably a really expensive hobby.
I have about 200 dives.
My recommendation for new divers is buy a computer, a mask, and fins. Rent everything else for your first few trips. You will learn what you like and then can decide if you want to buy the rest.
You can walk into a scuba shop and walk out with a hefty bill so be careful. Mask and fins will probably run you $200 total for decent stuff. You can get a good computer for under 500, even cheaper on EBay. If you buy used, take it to a scuba shop that can change the battery (if it’s not new enough to be rechargeable) and pressure test it.
Where I dive the most, Cozumel, you’ll pay around 90-130 per 2 tank boat dive. It varies a lot from place to place, for example Hawai’i was almost twice as expensive.
Edit: sorry was typing fast at dinner during a break, fixed the 2 tank dive price in Coz.
scuba board dot com is also a great forum to get info from.
Hope that helps!
edit: To clarify what I meant about scuba shops, they are in the business of selling. They are going to try to sell you really good (read: expensive) stuff. You don’t need to have $3K of kit to SCUBA. Don’t let them pressure you. The good ones won’t, but I have unfortunately seen some that will.
Wanted to add a little bit more since I was in a hurry writing my last post, to explain some things that I probably take for granted but might not be obvious to a new diver.
Why do you want to buy your own mask? To get the perfect fit, and make sure it’s in good condition and doesn’t leak. Leaky masks will ruin your first diving experiences.
Why do you want to buy your own fins? Because you want a good fit there. Ill-fitting fins will stress your feet and make you sore if you have to actually put any muscle into kicking.
Why do you want to buy your own computer? Because you want to know it backwards and forwards. You want to know what button does what, how the alarms work, and what the alarms are telling you without having to think about it much. If you are renting a different computer on each trip you’re having to learn that every time and let’s face it, most people just strap it to their wrist and trust in fate. Don’t be like that. That computer is one of your life support devices when you are SCUBA diving.
The equipment can be a bit of an investment to start with, mostly 'cuz there’s a good bit of it. Goggles, fins, BCD, regulator, tank, weights, dive comp, and an emergency backup air tank at a minimum, plus wetsuit or drysuit as the local climate demands.
I don’t even want to try and guess what they’ll be charging for these after Orange Monday, but the dive comp, BCD, and regulator are the pricey bits that I wouldn’t recommend trying to get a good deal for by buying used.
You wouldn’t recommend buying used?
The other comment here has the right idea about having a dive shop test used equipment, 'cuz it’s as much of a risk as buying used rock climbing ropes.
Losing a dive comp, boyancy control, or your air feed to wear and tear during a dive can very quickly become a deadly situation, and you don’t usually get a chance for function tests before buying used.
You really want to know that a used piece of gear is solid and well-maintained before you trust your life to it. If you can afford to scuba regularly, saving a few hundred bucks isn’t worth the personal risk.
