Looking for a set of diving regulators (primary, octopus, pressure, depth console). If anyone has also other scuba gear and acessories, please let me know. Thanks...

4/4/2006 2:25:19 PM

i got 2 sets of everything, regs, bc's, octopus, consoles for a couple hundred dollars off ebay, sold the extra set.

4/4/2006 5:06:08 PM

If you can afford to buy new, Aqualung is running a special where if you buy a regular you get a free octopus. Down Under Scuba is the local dealer. I don't have any used regulators at the moment, but I do have some advice. Don't buy used Dacor equipment. They have a nasty habbit of changing parts regularly, so a regulator more than a few years old will be obsolete, and dealers can't even get parts for them. If you can't get it serviced, you'll end up with an expensive paperweight. What specifically are you looking for other than a regulator? I may be able to help you out.

4/4/2006 5:55:25 PM

You're stupid if you buy anything from a local dealer--except air.

Don't buy shit from any local scuba dealers. Buy online.

4/4/2006 6:08:03 PM

^That additude is great until you need something serviced when it breaks an hour before a dive trip and the closest dealer is 2 hours away. Dive equipment is something you trust to keep you alive, and a dive shop will bend over backwards to make sure everything is right if you are their customer. People all to frequently come in bragging about how much money they saved on the internet, then have to pay out the ass later when they need an emergency rental or have to get something fixed quickly and it takes a few weeks. Shop around. You'll find that unless you are truly shopping for used gear, the stuff you can buy online is not the same stuff found in stores, and the stores won't support your online purchase. Pay a little more up front if you want good customer service on your lifesaving equipment.

4/4/2006 6:16:39 PM

Oh, now I can tell you work at a dive shop.

Quote :

"the stuff you can buy online is not the same stuff found in stores"

Bull-Fucking-Shit.

Quote :

"and the stores won't support your online purchase."

Get the fuck out with your scare tactics.

And no fucking dive shop is going to fix anything "when I have 2 hours until a dive trip"-- unless it was something I could fix myself. Bottom line, you always have to plan ahead and have your shit working well before you leave. If it breaks when you get to the boat--well guess you have to rent some.

You fuckers are going to have to learn how compete with online businesses, and large retailers.

Quote :

"Pay a little more up front if you want good customer service on your lifesaving equipment"

Are you even suggesting that you don't treat people's equipment the same if they don't buy it from you. So, if I don't buy it from you then your not going to service my equipment properly.

Why don't you tell me where you work so I can report you to the BBB and PADI.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

nobody listen to this fucking idiot. I've been diving for more than 10 years and have never had any problems.


[Edited on April 4, 2006 at 6:34 PM. Reason : edit]

4/4/2006 6:32:56 PM

Nevermind, I saw Rob Ryan in your photo gallery.
guess what, I am friends with Roy and Cordy.

[Edited on April 4, 2006 at 6:39 PM. Reason : .]

Well, the good news is I know that they don't do that kind of shit at aquatic safaris. I don't have to worry about trying to report you somewhow. Unless, you know something I don't. Does Rob indeed do this? I know Roy would love to know that.

[Edited on April 4, 2006 at 6:48 PM. Reason : .]

4/4/2006 6:33:36 PM

I bought a SeaQuest BC from my SCUBA TA. I need a set of regulators now (primary, octopus and console). I know regulators can be rather expensive and i will prolly end up buying it online. i am thinking about going to the local dive shops just to check them out and get some advice. I would love to buy a brand new set, but if I find a good used set, i will get it.

Thanks for the advice so far. I am searching around, that's for sure. So, if anyone has a set for sale let me know. Dive shops can be quite expensive, but i have no personal opinions on customer service and fixing gear. Hopefully i wont have to keep fixing my gear all the fucking time.

I need a wetsuit as well... so i will have to go to a dive shop and try some on.

4/4/2006 9:04:00 PM

^^ I'm not implying they will treat your stuff differently, but their ability to help you out quickly most definately changes if you buy your stuff online. The brands of gear they keep parts in stock for, or even can get parts for are not the brands that you can buy online. If you are a regular customer who just came in and bought new gear and something breaks the morning of a big trip, they are likely to lend you a rental and push your repair through quicker, saving you time and money. Now lets say you bought a Mares regulator online. They know where that reg came from, because they don't sell very many of them. They don't service those regs as frequently, so they typically don't keep a good supply of parts in stock. Even if you ask nice, they can't fix your reg quickly because they don't have parts for it. And there is no incentive to hand you a free rental for the day to keep you a loyal customer if you aren't a loyal customer to begin with. Even worse, you may buy a brand like Oceanic online and save a few hundred bucks. That's great, but now you have a regulator that the shop not only can't get parts for, but legally they aren't certified to work on it at all, so a technician can't even try to make adjustments to it to make it work without new parts. They will have to send you to the closest dealer, a few hours away. This shit happens all the time. It has nothing to do with whether a shop will service your equipment properly. People come in with stuff they bought online, the shop can't work on it, and then they get pissed because suddenly they find themselves having to ship their gear off and pay for a rental. If you buy a few big ticket items from a dive shop, and have a problem a month later the afternoon before a big trip, the shop will bend over backwards for you. If they have the parts, they will put it in front of all the other repairs and could have it back to you in an hour or two. Worst case, they will loan you a free rental so your trip isn't interrupted. They know the value of a loyal customer and will go the extra mile to keep you. It's called good customer service, and it's included in the price of your gear. When you buy online, you risk not getting extra attention when you need it most. (I'm of course referring to emergencies or unusual occurances. Everyone gets treated the same if you pull your gear out of the bag after a year and realize the last time you used it you dragged it through the mud and didn't clean it, and now something is wrong.)

[Edited on April 5, 2006 at 4:17 AM. Reason : .]

4/5/2006 3:51:04 AM

OK, I can agree with that. But when you can't really afford the gear to begin with that's a risk you take. But that's funny my friend had them service her Oceanic gear a little while ago. Remember, they used to carry Oceanic back in the day.

But dive gear is built to last. Apart from scheduled maintenance, as long as you take care of it chances of it breaking are very small. Sure little things can go wrong, but that's why you carry tools and supplies in you dive bag to fix little problems when your at the dock/boat. And if you wait till 2 hours before you leave to check your gear--well your just stupid or lazy.

Like I said I've been diving hundreds and hundreds of times and never had any problems.

BTW, I actually bought my first set of stuff from them--but that was before online shopping. And I really didn't like ordering from catalogs.

4/5/2006 12:09:43 PM

Well... since both of you are serious divers, what are some brands or types of regulators that i should look into? I can afford an expensive set, but i just wanna be 100% sure i get something that is realiable and that i am confortable with. Even better, what kind of regs do you guys have and what would you get if you buy a new set?

thanks for the help....

4/5/2006 3:02:24 PM

^all the big names are good. Every single one of my friends swears by a different brand. You don't need the top dollar shit. That's just for old rich men. I would recommend a decent dive computer. Don't need it but I like mine.

As far as new equipment goes, NCSUDiver could probably tell you more--I haven't been looking at equipment for a while. Her boyfriend does know his shit.

Whether she'll tell you knowing you're not going to buy it from Aquatic Safaris is another story.

I'll talk to my friend who really keeps up with this shit--if need be.

4/5/2006 4:43:55 PM

Personally, I have an ATX200 with an air source and Cobra computer, but I got my gear back when I was working as a divemaster and diving every single day. It's overkill for what you want. As clalias mentioned, my boyfriend knows his shit. For most people wanting good solid mid range stuff, he recommends the Apeks ATX50. Right now you get a free octopus with any of the Aqualung brands, so you'd be saving money. Definately get a good computer. I'm most familiar with Suunto, and have used the Vyper, which will do anything a recreational diver needs, and the Cobra, which is air integrated and will do anything you need it to but costs more. There are other brands out there that are good, but with computers the features you are looking for is the ability to do nitrox, and most importantly one that will turn itself on automatically when you hit the water. For regulators, pretty much anything but Dacor/Mares are good. Dacor/Mares makes parts-intensive products so they have more potential failure points. If you plan on doing deeper dives, don't buy any brand's cheapest regulator.

Down Under Scuba here in Raleigh is a good shop to look in. If you plan to base your diving out of somewhere other than this area, check to see which brands the local shops carry, and stick with one of those. As for finding a wetsuit, I've had luck with pawn shops in the past.

4/5/2006 5:33:44 PM

Quote :

"That additude is great until you need something serviced when it breaks an hour before a dive trip and the closest dealer is 2 hours away."

Um...did you mean attitude?

4/5/2006 7:03:26 PM

^

Quote :

"Major : Mechanical Engineering"

I plead the 5th.

4/5/2006 7:06:25 PM

I use DiveRite RG2500 regs and they're great. Easy breathers at depth and not so hard on the wallet. Got them for a great price...
As to a computer, I don't personally use a "computer". Well technically I do but I use it in gauge mode as a bottom timer/depth gauge. It's a DiveRite NiTek Plus. It's a great wrist-mounted deal.


Personally it's a tossup between what you can get online and what you should get at a local shop. I got my regs at the shop I worked for because I had an awesome discount. However, I would have gotten them online if I hadn't gotten them in the shop. I bought my single tank BC (Halcyon Eclipse) online as well but again got my doubles BC (DiveRite Classic Wing) in the shop where I worked for extra cheap. I got my 3mm full and 3mm shorty where I worked, and my 6.5mm two-piece online--much cheaper online than at a LDS ($150 vs ~$220+).
The stuff you get online is the same equipment you would get in a dive shop but be careful where you get it from. Usually LeisurePro is NOT an authorized dealer for most products it sells and thus a warranty through the manufacturer cannot be fulfilled if something goes wrong. Ex: If you buy an Apeks reg from an authorized retailer you'll get free parts for life when its service interval comes around. If you get it online you might get it at a nice discount, but after a few years those parts will start to add up when it's time to service your regs.

Note that the only difference between the Apeks ATX200 and ATX50 (and ATX100) are the 1st stages. The second stages are all the same, with different labels. As for getting a free octopus, Andy I wouldn't recommend it. If I recall correctly the free octopus is the "egress" model, which isn't good for being a bungied backup like we teach at NCSU (if you are who I think you are...). Whatever reg you get, make sure it's balanced (the primary anyway; the secondary being balanced/unbalanced is a matter of debate for a different time). If it isn't you'll just have to work harder to A: breathe at depth, and B: breathe as your tank is slowly depleted.


The issue with Dacor and not being able to find parts is that Dacor doesn't exist anymore--simple as that.

If I recall, Down Under is an Apeks/Aqualung/Dive Rite dealer, Gypsy does Scubapro, and Carolina Dive Center is Sherwood/Genesis.

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 11:41 PM. Reason : ]

7/1/2006 11:38:34 PM

Gypsy has Dive Rite and Genesis as well... and i work there.

7/2/2006 2:47:36 PM

Ah ok...didn't know that. I prefer Down Under though mainly just since it's right down the road. That bald-headed due at Gypsy wasn't particularly nice the one time I was there, so that kinda turned me off to them.

7/2/2006 3:00:38 PM

man, i dropped my mask and snorkel while diving yesterday.

just ordered replacements...$90 mistake.

7/2/2006 3:01:49 PM

^^ You're probably talking about Al. He works in AirTech and can be short sometimes.

^ Duke how did you manage that? And what set up did you have?


Gypsy Divers is a great place and we carry all kinds of stuff. If you're looking for anything in particular come in to the store and we'll be able to help you out. Gypsy and Down Under work together on some aspects as well... they and Capital Scuba come to our store every once in a while to pick up stuff from AirTech (we have an in-store scuba gear service center) as well as some other ScubaPro stuff since we are the main dealer in Raleigh - possibly the only place you'll find the legendary Pink Twin Jet Fins.

7/2/2006 3:28:01 PM

i did a couple of beach dives yesterday. on the 2nd one, when I got in close enough to shore (maybe 75 yds out) that I could stand up, I took off my mask, fins, and snorkel, and just carried them by the straps (along with a camera) as I walked in. after I got to the beach, I noticed that I was missing my mask and snorkel (which were, of course, attached to each other).

I guess I could've gone looking for them, but my buddy and I were both down to 350-400 psi, and there was a pretty large area where I could've dropped them, all of which was fairly low visability. Plus, I had to get home and go somewhere else.

I had another bottle of air in the car, but I figured the odds of finding my gear weren't high enough to justify going all the way to the car, switching bottles, walking back, and having my buddy wait around while doing a solo dive (it would've all been <10' of water, since I didn't take them off until I could stand up)


i ordered this mask:

http://www.joediveramerica.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JDA&Product_Code=5097-25&Product_Count=&Category_Code=

and this snorkel:

http://www.joediveramerica.com/page/JDA/PROD/snork/FS7000

7/2/2006 6:01:40 PM

As to the "legendary pink Twin Jet fins"...
I hate pink colored diving eqipment (WHY would you want pink dive stuff) and I hate split fits...
Standard Jets are the only way to go, IMHO...or perhaps Turtles if your drysuit boots won't fit in a normal Jet.


As to the bald guy being short with me--
My girlfriend and I went to Gypsy one evening after she called asking if they had Jets--no one else in Raleigh did and we needed them for her NCSU scuba class. We walked in and specifically asked if they had some, and they had one pair of Large JetFins in stock. Then he asked if he could talk us out of buying them and for us to buy something else...he was saying that her legs would get tired while kicking. He forgets that Jets are MADE for frog kicking and not for flutter...he wanted us to get the TwinJets--$80 more and a totally useless fin.
It's like "NO WE CAN IN AND SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED THEM." (didn't say that...but I was thinking it ) Then while he's getting her to try them on (a process I could have easily done without his help--worked in a dive shop before) he's quite short with her. "Sit down!" "Don't move your legs!" "Stand up!" etc etc...and personally I think that they were quite overpriced. $100 for a pair of Jets that we could have gotten on LeisurePro for $65? The only reason we got them at Gypsy was that we knew they'd if she tried them on.
It's over an done with now--not a big deal. Just...really turned of me off to Gypsy.

[Edited on July 3, 2006 at 12:41 PM. Reason : ]

7/3/2006 12:35:29 PM

Quote :

"You're stupid if you buy anything from a local dealer--except air. Don't buy shit from any local scuba dealers. Buy online."

You dont know what you are talking about. If there is ANYTHING that I would never buy on the internet, it would be a reg or BC.

Everywhere I have lived, I have found a local dive shop that has a good reputation and I become a loyal customer. I get my shit serviced regularly, buy my stuff there, and because of that I get royal treatment. I drove to West Palm from Miami for a lemon shark aggregation dive last January and had problems a few hours before our trip. One of the guys I drove with had one of his tanks roll and crack the yoke on my reg. I called my dive shop in Miami, he called his buddy in West Palm, and next thing you know I get fixed free of charge right there on the spot. I probably haven't spent over $150 at Diver's Paradise in Miami in two years (and that's all on lobster gear, FL lobster stamps, a light, misc. stuff), yet I get unreal service and they found someone else to take care of me when I was out of town. Before I was in Miami, my shop was Commonwealth Divers in Virginia.

If you buy your shit online, you don't get that insurance and getting things serviced is harder. Mask, fins, snorkel, wetsuit- sure thats all fine online. They have great deals online. Life support equipment is best bought on the spot from an authorized dealer.

Quote :

"Like I said I've been diving hundreds and hundreds of times and never had any problems."

Well you are fortunate.

No, I don't work at a dive shop, but I do dive a lot and pursue a career that requires diving.

7/4/2006 3:54:34 AM