495 Easton Rd - Route 611 - Horsham PA 19044 - (215) 672-4180
STORE HOURS: Monday - Friday 1:00 - 9:00 · Saturday 10:00 - 6:00
HOW TO BUY SCUBA EQUIPMENT
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One of the first questions on the mind of a new scuba student is "How do I
know what equipment is right for me?" Well, here I will attempt to answer
that question for you.
First of all, we must recognize a few basic facts. Scuba diving is an
equipment intensive sport. If we are to become good at it, we must be using
the same equipment each time we do it. Otherwise, it would be like playing
golf with a different set of clubs each game, or skiing on a different set of
skis each time we went skiing.
Secondly, you must realize that the technology changes rapidly and the only
people who can keep up with that are those who deal with it constantly. We
all have friends who dive and we feel comfortable asking their advice.
Unfortunately, most of our friends have been using the same equipment for
several years and are probably not familiar with what is currently available.
It does not make sense to buy 3-year old technology, today, because we have a
friend who is happy with it.
So, what do we do? Magazine articles are often biased. Remember that a dive
magazine is paid about $8000. for a full page ad. They virtually never
bad-mouth anything. They get paid to make the advertiser happy. Our staff, on
the other hand gets paid to make you happy.
Our philosophy, at Underwater World, is that we are looking for a long term
relationship. We want to be able to take care of all your diving needs;
travel, service, training, and equipment. It is important to us that the
equipment you get is the right equipment for you and that you are happy with
it. Our staff constantly receives training in the latest equipment available,
and they are very aware of any problems that may develop in certain
equipment. They are the experts on diving equipment and their job is to keep
you happy and diving.
So, the best advice we can give you about buying equipment is to find dive
store people that you are happy with. Hopefully, that is us. And then take
their advice. If you choose the right people, they will choose the right
equipment for you.
It is important to remember that this is life support equipment. You want to
be well-informed when you make your purchase. You can't do that from a
catalog or by mail. When you are dealing with a mail order house, often the
person you are talking to is not even a diver. They are just selling boxes.
You tell them which box you want. It does not even come assembled. Also
remember that unless you are dealing with an authorized dealer, your warranty
may not be valid. None of the major manufacturers, i.e. Scubapro, Aqualung,
Oceanic, and Seaquest, allow their equipment to be sold mail-order. Usually
you will find a mail-order house that advertises this type of equipment will
be "out-of-stock, but can substitute ...." This is not the way to buy
equipment that your life depends on. It is like mail-order medicine. And the
worst part is that when you compare apples to apples, it is not any cheaper.
People will say to us, "but they have $40 diveskins". Well, we have had $40
diveskins, but when they hang next a $60 diveskin and you can feel the
difference (not just look at a picture), then almost everybody picks out the
better skin. You are not getting a $60 diveskin for $40. It just doesn't work
that way.
You will also want to make sure that the dive store that you are dealing with
is authorized to sell you the piece of equipment that you wish to buy. As we
said before, you can only get a valid warranty when you have purchased your
equipment from an authorized dealer. Some stores will get equipment from
another store in order to "make the sale". This can present a real problem
for you since the store where you purchased may not be able to service it
properly. They probably do not have the parts, the manuals, nor the personnel
who are trained on that equipment and can perform proper service on it for
you. You can be sure anytime that you buy a piece of equipment from
Underwater World, it comes with a valid warranty and we are an authorized
dealer for that piece of equipment.
"Now", you ask, "what, specifically, should I buy?" That is a question that
we cannot answer in a letter, a telephone call, or even in a magazine
article. To properly answer that question, you need to come into Underwater
World and talk with our equipment specialists. In conversation with you, they
will help you determine the kind of diving that you are likely to be doing,
what your budget should be, and what type of equipment you like to own. Are
you a BMW or a VW type of person? Do you like top-of-the-line or is it only
function that matters? Once we answer these and several other questions, we
can recommend the right equipment for you.
Although I wouldn't recommend a specific piece of equipment off the cuff, I
can give you some good guidelines. First of all, when you are purchasing
regulators, BCs,
gauges, computers, and bcs, stick with the name brands (Aqualung,
Scubapro, Oceanic, SeaQuest). This type of equipment needs regular servicing.
You need to be able to get it serviced wherever your travels and career may
take you. It is not unusual for someone to bring us a regulator with a
problem, two days before they leave on a trip. If you had a Performance
regulator, it needed to be mailed back to them for service. The problem now
is that Performance is out of business. Where do you get it overhauled now?
Dive stores have neither the parts nor manuals for them. At this point, it's
just a scuba paperweight. Or if you have a GSB regulator, I have no idea who
might have parts for them. And remember, also, that a bc is a fit-item, and
you should try on several different styles and sizes to make sure that you
get the right one. You can't do that with a catalog. If you do not think that
there is much difference in which bc you wear, then you have not had the
right one on yet. Again, with this type of equipment, stay with the big
names. They have the best hardware anyway.
As for your other equipment (masks, fins, wetsuits, boots, etc.), fit is more
important than brand-name. The name will often guarantee you quality and
should not be ignored, but it is fit that is most important. If you think a
large is large is a large ...... Come in a try on a couple of different
brands of wetsuits, and you will find that not all larges are created equal.
You want to come to a store that can offer you enough variety to find the
proper fit. At Underwater World, we carry 12 different fins, 30 different
masks, 10 different snorkels, 7 different boots, and 4 different brands of
wetsuits. Add in all the different sizes and different colors, and you can
see why no one else can provide you with this kind of selection.
At Underwater World, our goal is to meet all your scuba diving needs. To
provide you with the right service and the right equipment, at the right
price. We have met these needs for over 20,000 customers during the past 30
years. We can help make scuba diving a safe and pleasurable pastime, for you,
for years to come.
See You Down Below,
Mike Guckin