Diving is actually not such a costly hobby compared to some. Well not once you have all your kit.  But do you actually need to own every piece of dive kit that come onto the market?  Well I would like to but “she who must be obeyed” suggests a new kitchen is more important.

However, like all hobbies and pastimes there is going to be some cost at some point. And one that may hit you sooner or later is the cost of dive equipment.

If you are diving only a couple of times a year whilst on vacation then you might not need a whole room of dive kit cluttering up your house. But if you are like me, and dive regularly, then it will pay to own your own kit. Renting can be expensive.  A full set of kit in the UK rents out at about £40 - £50 per day.  So you don’t need to be diving too many days before it is cheaper to buy your own.

Having owned and ran a dive retail and training centre, I thought I would pass on some of my thoughts on buying dive kit and especially the “bargains” that may be had on EBay or other similar auction sites.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying from Ebay but be careful when you do so, is my message.

There is no substitute for going to your local friendly dive store and getting some advise when buying kit.  Being able to touch and feeling the equipment for yourself, try it on and have someone give you an opinion is extremely useful. Many dive shops also sell off used kit for their customers so start here first if you are looking for a bargain.

A bargain may or may not turn out to be a good investment of your hard earned money.

So here are my personal thoughts on buying second had kit.

Firstly, I have and still do buy used dive equipment. But I tend to only buy from other divers who I know, and I know they have looked after their equipment. If you know the person, or can go and check out the kit, and even have a dive in it before you buy then I see no reason why you should not buy good used equipment. But like everything in life, buyer-beware.

Friendships have been lost by buying from a friend only to start to argue when something goes wrong or the thing breaks as soon as you start to use it. (…I would never sell a car to someone I know).

The precursor to everything is that even if you know the person and the kit, get it checked and serviced before doing anything serious with it. Don’t buy that lovely twin set with the nice shinny regs off your mate and then “test” it by diving to 50m+. Have a play in a pool or a shallow dive site and get it serviced.  Even if it is a simple BCD.  Make sure it all works before jumping off the back of a boat.

I bet you, like me, have purchased items from Ebay, whether diving related or not. There are bargains to be had but you are buying from someone you don’t know, rarely have the chance to look or inspect the equipment and despite what they might say, don’t expect them to take the kit back for a refund if you are not happy.

So here are my tips for buying from Ebay. I will cover only the main items.

Firstly, why bother buying a mask second hand? Go to your local friendly dive store and make sure you get one that fits.  Stick it on your face, without the strap, and breathe through your noce.  The mask should hold onto your face without you holding it or using the strap.  Buy one with silicon surround, not PVC, they fit better, are softer and more comfortable and less likely to discolur or go brittle. Masks are not expensive and why buy a used one that someone else has been spitting into for years.

Wet Suits - they need to be a good fit - the tighter the better (without it turning your extremities blue with loss of blood circulation).  Consider the type of diving you are doing and the temperature of the water you are going to be diving in.  A 3mm suit is great for 30 degree water.  But even if the water is like a bath, I always recommend a full length suit.  Not only does it keep the chill away but also stops those nasty stingy things getting close to your skin.  But if you want to wear a shorty suit in the tropics go ahead, just make sure you have some vinegar ready to put on those stings.

A 5mm ful suit is a good all round suit for most waters, from summer UK waters to those around the caribbean and the Mediterannean.  It is hard to over-heat in the water.  The surrounding water temperature is never going to get cose to your core body temperature, so a 5 mmm suit is not going to be too warm in the water, even in Thailand or the Philippines.  Just peel the top down when you are on land so you don’t overheat.

7mm suits with overjackets are the way forward for cooler waters and this is what many use in the UK if they don’t dive in a dry suit.

There are two types of people who dive in a wet suit. Those who urinate in it and those who lie.
Again, I would suggest a good fitting wet suit is best purchased from a dive store. Again, they are not too expensive and they can give advice on thickness and fit.

If you do buy second hand, get full measurements or ask what the measurements are of the person who has been using it and compare to yourself. Don’t go with a simple, small, medium or large. Ask for chest, waist, inside leg and height measurements as a minimum and compare to yorself.

Alterations to wet suits are not cost effective unless you a buying a made-to-measure from the off.

Dry Suits - the above information should be taken into account even more rigorously for dry suits. They are expensive and need to fit properly.

Take into account what you are going to wear under them. Don’t buy a dry suit only to find that when you get your nice thick undersuitunderneath it does not fit.  Remeber that the type of undersuit you use is dependant on the type of dry suit you are going to use. It is a symbiotic relationship.  Thicker undersuits for mebrane suits and less thickness of undersuit for a neoprene suit.  But this is also dictated by yor own personal comfort factors and how much you feel the cold.  Try abd buy both together if you can.  If you have an undersuit already put it on and then try the dry suit. 

Bend your knees, as if you were putting your fins on and off.  Can you reach the dump valve OK on your right shoulder?  Does it give you enough freedom to reach around the back as if you were isolating a manifold if you use a twin set?  All thses questions hould be answered before buying the dry suit.

Ask about the seals. Are they in good condition, when were they last changed? Has the suit ever leaked? When did they last check the air inlet and air dump? They can get clogged with talcum powder.  Have they been serviced recently (a very simple thing to do yourself if you need to).

Boots on dry suits vary hugely. A size10 is not always a size 10. Expect that you might need to change your fins as some boots are just bigger than others in terms of width and more often the curvature on top of the boot.

I once had a guy walk into the retail shop with a dry suit he bought on Ebay for £200 asking if it was a bargain. He said it only cost £200 and to be honest it looked fine. But it did not fit. He spent another £240 on alterations. A bargain - I don’t think so.

Regulators - loads on Ebay. But beware, there are the things that allow you to breather underwater, they need to be in tip top condition. When were they used last, when were they serviced last?  Servicing should be done every 100 dives or every year regardless, which ever comes sooner.

If you are told they were serviced 9 months ago and not used since, this is not always a good thing? Rubbers need to settle in after they have been serviced and tend to score or “go off” if not used. What would happen to a car tyre if the car was left unused and the wheel not turned for a long period of time. The tyre cracks.

Also ask the make and model of the regulator. Some regulator manufacturers keep the same name of reg despite making several changes over the years. Make sure service kits are still available for the regs. I had one guy buy 4 sets of regs on Ebay only to find that the particular service kits were no longer available for them. But they did make good paper weights.

Servicing costs (in the UK) vary between £45 and £95 for regs, depending on the type and model. So if they have not been serviced and you have no proof of this, then you need to add this cost to your purchase cost.

BCDs and Wings - make sure it fits.  if it is too big it will ride up and be uncomfortable.  if it is too small it will not have enough bouyancy to keep you out of the water on the surface.  The shoulder straps should be puled tight with the stomach cumberband over your bely button and slightly above where your weight belt would be.  With the straps pulled tight on the shoulder it should fit on the shoulder with no more than a hand width under the straps.  Leave enough “play” on the shoulder strap and centre straps around your middle to allow for different suits or to change from a wet suit to a dry suit.

make sure it is comfortable.  Some BCDs have a smaler backplate for ladies.  Ladies tend to have long legs and short backs, whereas men have short legs and long backs.  Whilst most BCDs are unisex some are made with ladies in mind.  Take a look at these as they might be more comfortable if you are a lady.

Cylinders - most divers in the UK have their own dive cylinders. In the UK they must be serviced every two and a half years. The servicing pivots from a visual inspection to a Hydro inspection on a two and a half year cycle. Check out the requirements where you live. Servicing is not expensive, approx. £35 for each cylinder but most cylinders being sold second hand are sold “out of test”, so ask if the cylinder is in test and when this expires.

And don’t get confused with an O2 clean test, which is an annual requirement in the UK for nitrox diving.

In the UK the valves are inspected at time of cylinder testing but this is not the same worldwide, so ask when the valve was last looked at also.

If the cylinder looks battered and has had a hard life, re-zincing and re-painting an old cylinder can be uneconomical. Add this to the cost of a test and you are likely to be near to the cost of a new cylinder.

And if you do buy a “new” cylinder , ask for the manufacture date. Remember that two and half years after manufacture, the cylinder will need a test. There are lots of “new” bargain cylinders on offer but when you get it delivered you find that it was actually manufactured two years ago, and whilst unused and still new, it only has 6 months to go before it needs a re-test (for the UK anyway).

All the little bits - when it comes to reels, SMBs, knives etc etc - fill your boots. If you like it and the cost looks OK and it seems to come from a reputable diver who says it works OK, then I see no reason why you should not take a punt. After all as long as it works it should be fine.

Torches though need a little more care. Has it been flooded and when were the O rings last changed. they compress over time and can let droplets pass if you are not careful. Buy a torch suitable for the diving you intend to do.

In my opinion, LED torches are fantastic for small back up lights or as a small primary light in crystal clear blue water. Don’t expect an LED torch to cut through murky water full of particulate matter in the UK.

For this you need a min of 30 watts of power - these are not cheap. But you can find a good second hand torch if you look. I found one on a dive that I still use.

So those are my ramblings. Don’t be put off finding that bargain bit of dive kit, but do also be careful.

If you have any experience of this and wish to comment please feel free to do so.

Or if you have a questions about buying dive kit please get in touch.