Buying Kit for the Young Diver - advice please.

[cheryl t]

My kid sister (age 13) had a trydive about 3 months ago and loved it

We are now thinking about ways to try and afford for her to do her OW course followed by AOW - cos without AOW she wouldn't be able to dive as deep as us and that would defeat the object.

My question is :- is it worth buying her some of her own gear (regs, BCD, suit etc) or would it just be easier to hire it bearing in mind how much hiring gear can cost in the longterm - not necessarily cost effective to hire.

Also, if anyone has any kids gear that their kids have grown out of and are looking to sell at a very reasonably price (i.e. cheap) let me know.

Cheers everyone

[wilbo]

Originally Posted by cheryl t

My kid sister (age 13) had a trydive about 3 months ago and loved it

We are now thinking about ways to try and afford for her to do her OW course followed by AOW - cos without AOW she wouldn't be able to dive as deep as us and that would defeat the object.

My question is :- is it worth buying her some of her own gear (regs, BCD, suit etc) or would it just be easier to hire it bearing in mind how much hiring gear can cost in the longterm - not necessarily cost effective to hire.

Also, if anyone has any kids gear that their kids have grown out of and are looking to sell at a very reasonably price (i.e. cheap) let me know.

Cheers everyone

Cheryl,

I'd say get her the OW course, but don't rush her in to the AOW.. let her get into the water and get a few dives under her belt first - talking more from the pressure of doing a couple of courses close to each other (which is how I read it..)

hire and borrow. save your money. if she doesn't like it after 10 dives, then you've saved money. If you really want to buy, then buy second hand - at 13, she is still growing, so some of it may become too small. which points to your third point, buying second hand - that is how most people (who have sense and a budget proceed).

have a look at some of the small ads around (listed here for convenience - apols admins/mods ) :
why our very own personals: here
the divernet ones : Divernet
ebay : ebay
and the UKdiving ones: ukdiving

As a member of YD, don't be afraid to ask advice from those here if you see something you are interested in - a second oppinion maybe the difference between a good buy and a waste of money.. there is many years of experience here, and most are willing to help

good luck

[cheryl t]

Cheers Wilbo.

Believe you me, I am never afraid to ask for advice when I need it - thats the whole point of forums like this. I am still relatively new to the diving scene - 18 months and a Rescue Diver.

Will certainly not be rushing her into anything - its more her that wants to do everything yesterday. Have been looking for gear on ebay, but TBH theres not a whole lot of kids stuff for sale unless you want just a wetsuit, mask or snorkel (which she will obviously need).

I doubt very much that she will lose interest after a few dives. She loves anything to do with the water - swimming, watches every programme on National Geographic/Animal Planet etc. to do with fish, sharks, dolphins, and other underwater animal life.

I think that the fact that she is (obviously at this age) still growing made me wonder about the hiring of equipment or buying second hand. Certainly have no probs buying second hand as my first BCD was off ebay and it was a great pice of kit. Have only just upgraded recently to a new one in fact.

Thanks again for you pearls of wisdom. will see what other info others come back with.

[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by cheryl t

My kid sister (age 13) had a trydive about 3 months ago and loved it

We are now thinking about ways to try and afford for her to do her OW course followed by AOW - cos without AOW she wouldn't be able to dive as deep as us and that would defeat the object.

Hi Cheryl
I know it was not your original question but it would be worth checking with your certifying agency to check that at the age of 13 your sister can do a Deep Diving course as part of her Advanced Open Water. Some agencies limit the under 16's to 18metres.
Regards
Mal

[Paul Sharman]

Originally Posted by Mal Bridgeman

Hi Cheryl
I know it was not your original question but it would be worth checking with your certifying agency to check that at the age of 13 your sister can do a Deep Diving course as part of her Advanced Open Water. Some agencies limit the under 16's to 18metres.
Regards
Mal

Under the PADI System, untill the age of 15 max depth is 21 m for Jn AOW.

Cheers.

Paul.

[D.D.J]

hi
being a young diver myself, i d like to wish her the best of luck. if shes anything like me then she ll be more excited about doing it then the adults. i remember doing my open water course,i was so hyped about it...i really enjoyed reading the literature, seeing others that were on my course...filling in the padi knowledge reviews just before we went through them. i did my pool and theory work over 5 thursday evenings....i lookede frward to them coming every week....might sound sad i know but i m hooked with it. luckily i ve just turned 17 so its not long now for me till i can start my dm which i can t wait. i ve done alot of diving in the last year and i m hoping to do more this year....totally hooked and i m sure she will be too. i know you ve done your courses but if she d like to ask me any questions then just pm me, i d be happy to help. all the best

[cheryl t]

Cheers for your replies. Thankss for the info about max depth being 21. However as she is nearly 14, she willl only have to wait just over 12 months until she can do AOW and dive to 30m.

Good luck to you when you do your DM DDJ

Thanks again all

[Moray]

Dear Cheryl

The responses the age questions are sufficient, but I would like to talk about the kit for minute: remember, your sister is at an age where she will quite possibly go through explosive growth. Any kit that she purchases is likely to no fit her within 6 months!

If she ends up diving quite often, it may be advantageous to look into e-bay for used kit. If she only dives on hols, it will definitely be more financially feasible to rent kit. Also, she will then try out different brands and models, and is thus more likely to find out what kit suits her.

moray

[Jules]

Also Usually the kit rental is included in OW courses. If she is going to dive in the uk then drysuits are expensive but conversely it's hard to rent them. The shop my son did his OW and AOW with only had one small suit which was used for both small ladies and kids.

I have a veriety of small wet suits in my garage ...
jules

[Scuby]

Only one comment to add - if you can't justify getting a drysuit to fit her (and replace it as she grows) then don't make her dive in water you wouldn't want to go in yourself without a drysuit. I have seen young children in Stoney shiverring violently stood in a semidry next to their parents warm in a drysuit - one young boy's dad didn't even give him a coat or anything, just stood around freezing in a semidry. The little kids are always happy, they want to keep doing it because they like it, but it doesn't mean it is good for them! If you can't let her do it safely and comfortably, please don't compromise on kit!

David