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Rusty Heap · Rusty Heap's Garage

As a PADI scuba instructor, I work with newbie students all the time.

Buy your own book, highlight all the important facts so you can review them later. You'll need your own book anyways in order to complete the knowledge reviews (homework) that is turned into the instructor.

I'd suggest NOT to buy "last years rentals". That equipment gets hammered on to death.

think of it this way, you're putting together an astronauts suit, your life support equipment to keep you breathing at depth. Buy a good quality regulator (Scubapro/Oceanic/Zeagle), and dive computer, forget about a dive watch, not really needed but if you want one go cheap.

There are always good deals on lightly used equipment on Craigslist. Somebody spends $2K on gear, uses it 5-8-10 times, then they get out of diving and you can buy the 2K of gear for $600-700.

Most important gear is your mask, and regulator. Buy your mask and get it fitted right at your local dive shop. A leaky mask that is always fogging up will ruin a dive and keep you misable. A good quality regulator breathes easily with little resistance. Buy it ONCE, don't go cheap and then upgrade a year or two down the road as that's false economy. Oceanic makes good affordable dive computers, The Veo250 or similar.

Buy your Basic open water PADI book now and start reading it, the DVD is good to have too as it is matched chapter to chapter to the book. You'll be leaps ahead of the rest of the class by reading your book now and before class even starts. Watch the DVD and get your friends to join you in class as dive buddies are great to have.

If you have any Scuba questions PM me, if anyone in the Seattle area wants to get certified let me know as I do one on one instruction so you get my full attention and not a class of 10-12 people.

Diving opens the door to the world. Every trip turns into a dive trip, and I've been fortunate to have seen Fiji 3x, Belize 2x, Costa Rica, Roatan Honduras, New Zealand, and many other more common places like Hawaii and Florida.

ENJOY, and happy bubbles to you!