This guide provides an overview of scuba diving equipment costs, including average prices for individual pieces, tips for saving money on gear, and the best times to buy equipment on sale. Scuba gear costs range between 800-5000 for a full set of new recreational gear. To add a unique touch to your scuba diving equipment, consider versatile, functional, or colorful accessories.
Basic scuba diving gear typically includes a mask, fins, snorkel, dive exposure suit, BCD, and regulator. A decent entry-level set, including a mask, fins, snorkel, dive exposure suit, BCD, and regulator, would cost around 700-1500, not including a scuba computer. BCD costs range from 350 to almost 1500, with most falling in the 500-700 range.
Scuba packages come in various shapes and prices, and with the right scuba diving gear, you can enjoy hours of underwater adventures without feeling cold. A decent set of warm water dive gear costs about 1000, including a BC, regulator, octo, computer, mask, fins, a 32 wetsuit, and possibly a BCD. Diver Supply offers inexpensive but still decent gear at prices ranging from 500 to several thousand.
Scuba diving gear packages (1,000-,8000) include BCD, regulator, gauges, and dive computer. When deciding on a package, the regulator should be the top choice. The 2020 Scuba Diving magazine Gear Buyers Guide helps find the best scuba diving gear for every diving style.
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I have no idea where you buy your SCUBA equipment, but I’d love to know. $250 for a mask, snorkel, fins, and a wetsuit? A decent mask is at least $50, a snorkel $20, fins $100, and a 3mm shorty wetsuit $150. That’s $320 at the very very low end. High-end gear for $999? BCD, computer, and regs? Yeah, each maybe. I consider an Apeks XTX50, a Shearwater Peregrine, and an Aqualung Pro BCD the bottom end of the high-end range. That’s over $1600 at the lowest end. You want to go real high-end, then you’re shelling out closer to $3000 for a ScubaPro Mk19, Shearwater Perdix, and a backplate & wing.
Good article, just two more points to consider: If you dive mainly on holidays abroad, you may have to pay for the extra weight of your equipment. On the other hand, rental gear is usually entry level at best and in some places often hardly maintained. I rented equipment for years until I was sick of crappy gear.
Great article!!! I plan on getting my Padi Open water dive course next month and considering where I live and where the company is based, I’ll probably dive about once/week if weather permits. That gives me about 10-12 diving days/year…gotta hate living in such a cold country! I just want my own gear so I can also use it on practice dives like at the local pool (if they allow it) and also because I like the idea of having my own gear (As I’d know it’s well taken care of) and it would also force me to spend less sunny days in on my article games and get me out of the house 😛
I made the mistake of buying my first gear right after my owd without any knowledge. Most things I had to buy a second time to fit me and my job properly. So I’m sitting on a full set of equipment that I never really used or will never use again. I wish I would have rented gear before I bought everything.
Great article. In Alaska you’re looking at roughly $160 per day + $50 cleaning fee and that’s if you have your own Computer, Compass, Snorkel, Fins, and Mask. Yeah, you’re more than likely going to need the Dry Suit, it’s that extra $75 per day…Dry Suit (includes hood, gloves, boots and undergarment).
I bought my BCD regulator and tanks for like 1700 dollars from a dive shop this dude said 999 bruh nothing in the shop was that cheap xD, if your getting into diving id suggest a budget of around 2000 US dollars for gear, class prices are usually from 300 to 400, never do the one day certification thing make sure your class requires around 5 dives to complete and that you make at least a 90% on any tests they give, also make sure to do research on the type of gear and certification you will be getting, I did research before my classes for scuba diving and passed easily, the class to certification took about 2 weeks to a month, idk how it is in other states but for north florida spring diving expect around the same cost of nearly 2k for your own equipment, may be different in other states or south florida since its mostly ocean dives down south
Seconding what John David said re: prices in Canada. Last year I decided to engage bucket list and jump in with both feet, into Scuba. I used a “Solo Dive Course” gear list to decide what I wanted to get. Also, I am of the belief, buy something once, not something I would want to replace in a couple of years. Some things I purchased used, most new. My mask, however, was well over $200 by itself and my fins were over $250, Atomic Venom Frameless mask and Hollis Yellow Tip bat fins. I also carry a basic Bare mask as a secondary. Hollis DSX and LX200 regs with a Zoop Novo in a console and a Scubapro Hydros Pro bcd both used. Bare Trilam Tech Dry drysuite new. All the little bits needed, Dive Alert, knife, shears, cutter, Hollis DSMB, PADI smb, Nautilus GPS, 2 spools, Sola 1200 primary light, Gobe 1000 secondary light, Nightsea and red lens for Gobe, Gobe 500 backup backup, wrist slate, fleece, base layers, pony bottle (used), G260 stage 2 new, and a new Shearwater Peregrine as a primary. I now have a bigger pony ( Catalina 30cu) and have transferred the Hollis regs to that, while I now have a Subrapro MK25 Evo 1st stage for my primary. 2 steel Faber HP100cu tanks used. With the cost of my OW and AOW (after 40 dives), I am into the sport for around $11 thousand. I am also diving 2-4 times a week, from shore. I got my OW last Sept and I am currently sitting at 132 logged dives. If I had rented for all my dives, I would be around the same $$$s as what I spent on my purchase. Which means from now on, my equipment cost per dive is about to start going down.
I own my gear except for the tank I leave at home and a wetsuit. I got the rest of it I’ve had and used in other countries. I would have to rent tanks and wetsuit only my gear if ok. I carry my own gear for safety reasons it works every time. I have seen rental gear malfunction on a dive but it happened as we got off the boat and his bcd blew up I simply snatched the air line off it told him blow it up as needed by mouth. That’s why I carry my gear I told him. That may never happen there but I will trust my gear personally.
I agree with your formula, but… Many of the components of diving equipment are legitimately considered life support equipment and as the lion’s share of good tropical diving is in remote developing countries (read: meager gear, poorly maintained) I would not recommend renting as a primary choice. Seldom have i encountered rental gear as good or as well-maintained as my own. Rent only until you are sure what equipment you want/need then buy it. It is questionable logic to reduce personal safety to financial formulae.
2 OMS 12l short tanks,2 tecline regulater sets + octo,2 sets of mares extream fins, 2 mares x-vision masks (1 with prescription lenses),1 mares maggelan travel bcd,1 bakplate whit wing with OMS comfort adjustebol harnes and patting and weight pockets and single tank adaptor,2 scorpena 3mm neopreme suits, 1 mares quad air computer,1 mares smart dive computer, 2 line cutters,2 Underwater Kinetics Mini Q40 MK2 Dive Lights, 2 smb with reel and mesh pocket,2 din to yoke adaptors (in case no din tanks availebol) total cost (shipping included as al was ordered on line) almost 4000$ (shipping was expensive as it had to go from Estonia to the Philippines) next buy will be a tank filling compressor with auto stop fan and water cooled, price 1500$, as we live in the provine and it takes 9 hr travel to get the tanks filled,my wife and i love diving i gues
That’s strange why the prices of rental equipment are so different .. I can understand lower price for thin shorty wetsuit in Phuket vs thick wetsuit+jacket+boots in Canada, but why is California so expensive? I bought mask, snorkel, fins, thin wetsuit (hyegenic reasons), watch style computer and DSMB. Thinking about buying bcd/wing. Regulator is the most expensive part + need regular service and pay 6 EUR per day for rent one is a big difference.. I think this is the cheapest way if you have 5-10 diving days per year.
$250 for mask+fins+wetsuit?? i know this was in 2020, but even then a decent (nowhere near top of the line) wet suit was $300+ as for regulator+bcd would you be comfortable diving in the cheapest set? I know those things are expensive, but that’s like trying to find a cheapest parachute before going skydiving.
I only managed to make it to 6 dives before buying my own gear – but hadn’t seen this before doing so – but I wanted a better computer than what they rent, and to go with an Air Integrated version meant a transmitter pod, and that meant buying my own 1st and second stage, because you can’t keep putting your own pod onto hired 1st stages. Your figures of $999 in the top tier is crazy low for Australia – you’re looking at $1000-$1500 for EACH major item – my BCD was $1000, my computer $1100, and my reg set $1000 and I bought at the lower end of the top tier, we averaged over $3k per person for the 2 sets of everything (one set for my wife) and that was on a very good bulk buy deal that we negotiated. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the end equation though – I’d expected a lot more dives to be needed to cover buying. I’m inclined to sit down and do it on the gear we’ve just bought and see how many dives a year we would need – it’s going to be a lot more, but I’d also expect a lot more than 5 years from my gear.