Posted: 7/2/2007 9:33:52 AM EDT
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Ok I'm hooked ! We went 35 miles out this weekend for some fishing, diving and spear fishing action. Now I know what you can do with a sprear gun with a powerhead chambered with a .357  . I need me a .50 cal powerhead hehe , bring it on MAKO.I was the only one without diving cert  , lucky enough they have a brownie and a 30 ft line available for me to play with.  At the end of the day we ended up with: 25 beeliners, 4 Amberjacks, 2 Triggers, 2 sheepheads, 6 snapers. Sorry no pictures. I brought my Digi Cam with me but the battery went dead  I going to sign up for class soon so any recommendation on gears and equipments would be great. Please also state your experience level/s. -Tom |
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I've been diving for over 35 years. I have a Master SCUBA diver cert, Divemaster cert (Yes, there is a difference!) and I used to teach for PADI and IDEA (Master Instructor), but quit teaching long ago (don't get me started on that rant!). Regardless of what anyone tells you, all the agencies are the same. Same skills sets, same techniques, same everything, so it doesn't really matter what agency (PADI, NAUI, IDEA, NASDS and on and on) you choose. A good instructor however will make the experience heaven or hell. Do your research on the shop and instructor and the best resource is other divers. As far as gear goes, There is no need to hurry to buy anything right away. Mask, fins, snorkel and booties is usually the first thing you'll want to get. Wait until after your first class session before you buy ANYTHING. One thing to be alert for: some shops have training "contracts" that require you to buy your gear from them. Avoid them like they have the clap. Mask and snorkel: Go to Wally-world (Wal-mart). All that is required is that it fits and that the lens on the mask is tempered (it will state so on the lens if it's glass). If the lens is LEXAN or POLYCARBONATE, it's OK, but not plain old plastic or plexi-glass. I haven't bought a mask from a dive shop in 25 years! I get one from Wal-Mart and have never had one fail! Boots and gloves: Go cheap for Florida diving. A pair of $20 booties will last just as long as $50 pair. Tennis shoes work OK in warmer water. Gloves can be any kind- just keep in mind that leather and cloth tend to "grow" under water and become awkward. Fins: Wait until you have your first confined water session to buy fins. Don't get sucked into buying a set of fins that have a built-in "shoe"; get a pair with a strap that you can wear with a pair of botties or tennis shoes. Wetsuit/drysuit: Rent until you find a style you like and don't let anyone kid you- 85 degree water gets damn cold after an hour in it! Get a suit that is suitable to the type of diving you'll be doing. For example, a 3mm wetsuit is adequater for summer diving in the rivers and S. Florida and a 6mm is about perfect for sprins diving and in the ocean off of Brevard county. Snorkel: A large diameter snorkel bore is of utmost importance. It allows the most air in when using it! Snorkels are tending back to an old-school style where a check valve prevents water from entering. I personally don't care for them as I think the restrict air flow, but you may like that style. Again, try one before you buy. IM me if you anymore questions. |
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Scuba certified for the last 12 years before that Free diver for about 15 years .I stopped at Rescue diver and Enriched air(Nitrox) . If you plan to keep diving for a while spend the money and get good gear. Remember this is life support gear not a part on your car. Find a good scuba shop with an instructor you get a long with. This is important because you will want more training if you stay in the sport. Some shops will give you a discount if you buy all your gear from them. I did this and it saved me alot of $$$over the years. Gear I like and own UWATEC (dive computers) Scuba Pro Zeagle ( BCs made right here in FL ) Atomic ( regulators) Cessi ( sp) ( fins ) AKONA Kevlar Gloves ( These gloves will last a Recreational diver years ) In fact I have seen people lose them before they could wear them out . As for Spear guns The one the only , Spearfishing Specialty www.slinginsteel.com Thats better |
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I've been certified since 87. Diving a little longer than that. I opened a dive shop (Scuba Sportsman, in St Cloud) with my parents help after I got out of the Marine Corps. They have been diving much longer than me. My shop lasted about 3 years, it was a great time. I just couldn't keep it profitable. My parents, however, kept the bug. They bought land on the beach in Marsh Harbor on Abaco Island in the Bahamas and started a full service Dive Company. My dad still lives here in FL and my mom lives in Abaco full time and runs the company. She is an Instructor Trainer for SSI, and NAUI. She is also a Cave instructor trainer. Meaning she can certify people to teach others how to cave dive. I have been diving pretty much all over the world. I'm not trying to plug their business. I wont even mention it unless you ask. I can just tell you from experience that the diving in Abaco is as close to perfect as it gets. You can go there for a vacation, get certified and have the best diving experience you'll likely ever have in your life. Most schools have set up 2 week cert. courses. These can technically be done in about a week. Being that you are already signed up, just buy your mask, fins, snorkle, booties and weight belt. (I would buy a mask with the pink tinted lenses. They may look gay, but past about 10 feet, the reds get filtered out of the light spectrum under water. The pink lenses put that color back in. If you look at the filters on under water cameras, you'll see that they are tinted a hue of red. Trust me, you'll be amazed at the difference using this type of lense.) I used to require all of these items for my classes. It is so easy to get the fever and jump in and buy all of the gear right away. Especially when you see other people in the class plunking down their credit cards and looking like they are the dedicated future master dive students in the class. We used to love those types of students. We really talked them up, made them look special, etc... Just wait! Every vendor I dealt with requied us to sell at list. This is about a 40 to 50 percent margin. Scuba Pro actually price fixed. They told us what we had to sell the gear for. They threatened to yank our dealership if we were caught slashing prices. If you do some research, you'll find shops that don't care about what the vendors say. You have to search, but they are out there. Before you buy, go diving a lot. Rent all different types of gear. Find out what feels the best, not what looks the coolest or gets the best reviews. Buy what feels the best when you have it on under water. When you do decide to buy, make sure they explain the warranties to you. They can be tricky and require you to follow specific steps to keep them valid. Dont bother buying a tank. It is just going to weigh you down. Every 5 years you have to send it away for hydrostatic testing and every year you must have it visually inspected. By the time you factor in the costs of filling and upkeep plus the hassle of carrying it everywhere you go, renting will seem like a better option. It's so much easier. Let someone else deal with the hassle. Dive gear is a lot like computers. They come out with the latest and greatest regs and bc's every few months. Basically it is alot of re-inventig the wheel. I know guys who are using the same Dacor regs they bought 30 years ago because they can rebuild them theirselves, and they work. You'll see that the best divers seem to be the ones with the oldest gear. They are the ones who dive all of the time. They will have better bouyancy and air control than most of the people on the boat. The guy that suits up and looks like a Navy Seal from the future will be kicking the coral heads and stiring up the visibility. One last rant. Buy a good computer. I use a wrist comp. but there are alot of different types. The dive table are a must to learn, but a good computer will calculate your dives better, and get you back in the water sooner and safer. I've left out alot I'm sure. I hope this helps. You are now on your way to another pretty expensive hobby. Diving in Florida will not be good enough soon. If you have any frequent flyer miles, save them. You'll need them. Have fun! |
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Certified since 1981, free diving the keys and springs since 1960s (~10 years old). Not going very often but every chance I can. Hit the springs and the Keys this Dec it was great except traffic. Hyperbaric medicine certified in 1992 but not using it now. 5olja let's see the pics. I am a long way away and miss it. FB41 Exact duplicate of my advice. So close it really is strange. My son just got certified so I hope to go more. If you have never been diving, go to Wally World, get a mask and snorkle and do a drift dive down Rainbow River (rent a suit). You will never be the same. I love a good snorkle trip just as much and get to do it more often. ReefRaider Agree that rescue diving and nitrox are in a different class from most sport diving. You need the best for that, and it is not cheap. Ospry 21, So you are the one who posted the 50BMG bangstick on FSN. I rolled when I saw it. I still wonder. IS IT REAL????????????? I will stick with the grenade on a stick. Can't get my PM to work until I get a new password. If you dive Alexander Springs watch for some really big gators. Look at the bank. http://www.hunt101.com/img/462760.JPG |
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Tom, Welcome to the sport, i've been diving for 6yrs have advanced, nitrox, deep and am taking rescue diver this weekend. There are alot of good shops in jax, i would recommend you shop around because their prices vary greatly. I have alot of freinds who dive, we all have our own gear, if you would like to try some different gear out send me an e-mail. One thing I would not skimp on is my regulators. The rest of your equipment just needs to be comfortable. With that said congrats now you have two expensive hobbies. jay |
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Thanks for all the good info Gents. I will do more homeworks on gears and equipments as I go through with my trainning. I rather spend my money once and not look back. After all my life is depending on them.  
I would look to love to take you up for the offer. Email sent. |