New to the PNW

Dogboy · Post by **Dogboy** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 5:32 pm

rjarnold- Bubbles Below is a good place to start. They rent drysuits (you will probably have to take a drysuit class with them before you can go out on your own). It is one of my favorite dive shops in the Seattle area. My family of divers frequents many of the greater Seattle dive shops, and most are very helpfull. We do have our favorites (every diver does), though, one north (BB) and a couple in the south end (since we are south ender's). If you get south, Amy (Pinkpadigal) at A-2-Z Scuba in Puyallup is another of our favorites. My wife got back into diving after a 20 year lay-off through A-2-Z, and now can't get enough diving in. You will find a lot of info on this site, and take advantage of the offers from some of the other members regarding their help. I have never met Grateful Diver personally (although my son and I did see him at a dive site, based on the very extensive description of his dive wagon on another web site), but he would be an excellant source of information and assistance in your pursuit of Puget Sound experience. Hope this helps.

Curt McNamee · Post by **Curt McNamee** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:41 am

I know someone that is hanging up his fins and has alot of newer, not used very much gear for sale. Post you e-mail address and I will forward his listing to you.

rjarnold · Post by **rjarnold** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:57 pm

Well it looks like South Australia is out, but Western Australia and New South Whales are probably going to be in (I know, W.A. is huge...). I'm trying to get some WA aussies to let me in on water conditions in April, but so far haven't been finding much luck. I think I'll look for dive shops there next and try contacting them to see what they say.

I'm really wondering if a semi-dry suit will work. The southern end of WA might be pretty cold though, hmmm....

Some gear I'm thinking about/questions about (mostly taken from the new sport diver mag):

There's a 7mm semi-dry suit made by Cressi for this year (MSRP $320) that looks pretty nice (sportdiver.com/cressi) if it'll keep me warm enough in Australia. I wonder if I would grow tired of it here though and want a dry suit anyways. I also wonder if Australia is going to require both types of suits due to the large range in latitudes...)

O.S. Systems UL PRO dry suit (MSRP $1395) looks nice because it is lightweight - and I will probably have to trek my gear in my hiking pack around Australia. Lightweight = good. However, someone that dives a lot told me that O.S. systems weren't very good.

For an undergarment, this looks really good: Xerotherm Arctic (MSRP $119 for the top and $119 for the bottom) fourthelement.com Again, lightweight!

Regulator - I really like this one but I may have to hold off getting a nice one for awhile so that I can afford my dry suit! - http://www.mares.com/product_detail.php ... region=USA

Mask - I don't actually need a mask but I've been very intrigued by this one - http://www.hydrooptix.com/ps_mask_45dd_overview.html
I'm naturally near-sighted, so not having to wear contacts would be awesome when diving! Anyone ever tried these? There's something in the advertisement as well about a course for it? Do you *need* a course for it? I wouldn't want to purchase one either without trying it on first :\

Temple of Doom · Post by **Temple of Doom** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:49 pm

rjarnold wrote:For an undergarment, this looks really good: Xerotherm Arctic (MSRP $119 for the top and $119 for the bottom) fourthelement.com Again, lightweight!

Hey there, I've been looking at the Xerotherm Arctics from 4th Element, where did you see them for that price?

Anybody know anyone that's selling an XL set?

Thanks!
Craig

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:12 pm

Call Northwest Sports Divers in Kenmore, WA. Their website is http://www.nwsportsdivers.com and their phone number is 425-487-0624.

Matt (owner) or Dan (rockstar tech) should be able to help you out. I LOVE mine.

-Doug

rjarnold · Post by **rjarnold** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:51 pm

Temple of Doom wrote:
rjarnold wrote:For an undergarment, this looks really good: Xerotherm Arctic (MSRP $119 for the top and $119 for the bottom) fourthelement.com Again, lightweight!
Hey there, I've been looking at the Xerotherm Arctics from 4th Element, where did you see them for that price?

Anybody know anyone that's selling an XL set?

Thanks!
Craig

I found out that $119 was for their thinner style, not the thick heavy stuff most divers around here use

However, I did go w/a thin top and heavy socks, and those work out great. Will get the heavy pants when I get more $$

I second NW Sport Divers

Northwest Dive Club

New to the PNW

Used Gear for Sale