Buying dive gear on a budget - NEW DIVERS

Follow these tips and you’ll be set up for your next dive adventure. Buying dive gear on a budget is easy.
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You all know that I have been reestablishing my life and saving money by living in a van for almost a year now. During this time, I have collected all of the dive gear I needed by shopping secondhand. Buying dive gear on a budget is super easy and I'm sharing the websites and questions I ask sellers in order to get quality equipment.
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[@AzulUnlimited]

Where do you buy your used gear?? Share resources here 👇 Support this channel by buying one of our shirts: azul-unlimited.teemill.com/

[@davidb5195]

will do

[@davidb5195]

and got my shirt ordered

[@axeffektt]

Facebook marketplace is the only place I look. I don't buy a whole lot of used gear, but I will look for tanks that are in good order and within their inspections.

[@timgosling6189]

I've done a bit of on-line used buying and selling recently and there is some good gear out there. I used a UK-local facebook group that has about 6 to 10 posts a day and it worked really well. There were a few items that were probably just junk but they were a minority. As you say going for older model kit can save you a lot but if a reg set or a computer dates from the 1980s it should probably be given to a museum! I looked out for full discription of items and clear photos including of servicing records where appropriate. I'd just add that with regulators, unless they were serviced literally immediately before sale and by someone you know or can trace, I'd get them serviced myself just to be sure. It is your life after all! Oh and wetsuits, eughh! I'm with you! I'd definitely buy new/new old stock.

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@timgosling6189 oh yes, definitely get regulators serviced yourself. Super important. Love that you've been able to find good used gear in the UK. Thanks for watching!

[@Biodoc100]

As a diver on a budget, one thing I have found is that outsourcing gear purchases is really helpful. I was in need of a new BCD, mine was wearing out (bought it used several years ago). It was showing signs of wear. I hate the idea that if one part of a BCD goes, you need to replace the whole thing. Therefore, I opted to go with a backplate and wing. Also, I don't feel comfortable asking people for expensive gifts. What I did was I asked one person for the backplate. Another for the harness, another for the crotch strap and book screws, and trim/weight pockets from another. I used the cam bands off of my old BCD that were in excellent shape. Found a New Years sale on a store branded single tank wing. All in all, I replaced my setup for $199 out of pocket.

[@AzulUnlimited]

yeeeessss!!! That's amazing. Great point. Didn't think to mention parts and just fixing what you have. thank you!

[@timgosling6189]

A great point. Minor bits can wear out on a jacket BC and you have to replace the whole thing. Get a backplate, wing and harness and you just have to change one part, although they tend to be a lot more robust anyway.

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@timgosling6189 Yes yes yes, big fan of the backplate. They're just not as common used (at least on the US west coast) so that's why I didn't mention, but great point.

[@martin_outdoors]

Your comment on 'older' divers is so true. Many areas have local Buy-and-Sell groups\sites which is where many divers leaving the sport go to sell their equipment to fellow divers. Depending on where you are in the world, your local\county ational scuba diver community is often small, so people know who the seller is, and how they kept their gear when using it. Love the videos, keep them coming, hugs and cuddles to Abby :-)

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks so much! Abby appreciates the cuddles :)

[@johnashford2829]

What a great wee presentation. Very useful for people starting out with diving. Love your energy. And your dog. Keep the videos coming. ❤️

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks so much! Trying to make this sport more accessible to people :)

[@ArthurRissoni]

YESSSS! I didn’t know till now that I needed that video in my life!!!

[@AzulUnlimited]

haha thanks for watching!

[@mattpearson4137]

Brilliant advise. All my kit was second hand as came back to diving with nothing. Make sure tanks stored with pressure a big one. Bought new mask and hood but everything else second hand. I enjoy bringing life back to kit. I even have an old aladin pro computer I replaced battery myself and reoiled it. Thanks for sharing 🙏 stay safe x

[@AzulUnlimited]

It's a great way to get some gear. Of course there are times when new is best. Thanks for sharing!

[@ellucas82]

This is great advise. We bought a lot of our first kit 10 years ago and always shop the headed gear racks at our local dive shop. They sell serviced and checked gear from customer trade in and their rental shop gear. An easy way to buy everything from computers to wetsuits. A-1 Scuba in Denver.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Rad. Thanks for sharing!

[@rajgounder5852]

Awesome video Sarah!!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it.

[@RiverRat734]

Great Vid! 🙌

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks so much!

[@victorgil298]

Great vid!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks so much! Hope you're getting your gear 🤙

[@stevemellor7989]

Good video. New divers need to know it’s okay to go used. I did for many years and saved a bunch. That’s how I got into vintage diving… the other extreme.

[@AzulUnlimited]

i LOVE that haha the really old gear is so freaking cool.

[@397coney7]

Alec Peirce?😂That guy got me into buying vintage gear for display purposes. It is pretty cool stuff. What I was doing was buying say a 1960’s regulator and then searching for the advertisement for it.

[@phillipholman9558]

So awesome!! I just found your channel. I currently live in Okinawa and received my open water cert here. Love the water and I am nervous about getting back to the states and probably not diving as much. How was the transition from tropical warm waters for you? Also, how is van life treating you with diving? I am looking to build out a skoolie when I get back and definitely plan on allocating space for my dive gear. Thanks for the awesome content!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Yes to all of it!!! For me, it just took time. Living in the van helped with getting used to being cold too. Something that helped me was making sure to have a rain jacket or something to put on at surface intervals to warm up between dives. It's not hard to make space for scuba if it's what you really want to do. I live in a much smaller space and have all the equipment I need. I'd love to hear about your build when you do it! Connect with me on ig 🤙

[@toddrich9278]

Very useful iam a old diver looking to get back into it again , Dive master in the 80 ,s. Calif Diver.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Heck yeah! Welcome back🤙

[@toddrich9278]

My dive Instructor told me There are Old Divers and there are Bold Divers. But there ain't no old bold Divers ⚓⚓⚓🦈🦈🦈🌊🌊🌊🦞🦞🦀🦀

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@toddrich9278 :)

[@davidb5195]

Sweet

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks for joining me for the premiere! appreciate you!!

[@Majovegana]

Que linda asistente tienes, trabajar así es un honor💙 tus videos son lo máximo como siempre, abrazo, genia del alma🤗

[@AzulUnlimited]

muchisimas gracias guapa! abrazo enorme. espero que todo este bien en tu mundo :)

[@397coney7]

Great ideas! I'm just getting back into diving and was looking for used gear. The problem I had was that I live inland. Offerup, FB, and Craigslist didn't have much of anything for scuba. The little bits and pieces it did have was all old stuff, that didn't even look good in pics, so I didn't bother with them. eBay, ugh. The prices on eBay were too high for used gear IMO. I did almost buy a Scubapro regulator setup..... the same dude had four of them. All looked great and were manufactured in the early to mid-2000s. The problem was that by the time I buy it and have it serviced with labor and Scubapro parts kits, I was only saving $100.00🤷‍♂️. I ended up waiting for this black Friday for deals. I wasn't very hopeful because from what I remember, scuba gear doesn't go on sale very often, unless its packages they put together, with the China-made stuff. Anyway, after racking my brain over purchasing scubapro, which Ive used in the past and likeed it, or Aqualung........On black friday, nothing from scubapro was on sale, shocking🙄, but Aqualung had plenty on sale and that's what I went with. Still pricey, but saved a bit over $500.00 compared to non-sale prices. If you live along the coasts, definitely hit up online used gear sales. And with that, you can negotiate. In doing so, explain the costs of overhaul and inspection services.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Yeah that’s completely normal for a location like you describe. Part of the benefit of being nomadic is I’ve gotten some good deals just by being in the right place at the right time🤪 glad you got your set up!!

[@YouTube_user3333]

Always make sure there are spares or service kits available for the items you buy second hand. Tanks, I prefer to buy new or close to new. Second hand tanks are usually very close to new prices, I’ve found. Not worth the risk, as you said.

[@johnwilliamsscuba6487]

Agreed 100%

[@AzulUnlimited]

Great points about the service kits. So true.

[@davidhibbs5114]

Good video

[@AzulUnlimited]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jamesyule9585]

Hi I have been following you for a year now. Could do a video on the maintenance of you dive equipment. Like when the dive shop needs to look at it for safety.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks for following along! That is a great idea. I'll have to see if I can get someone to do a collab :)

[@Mrveescuba]

cant agreed more!!even wetsuit it is more than fine to have used!!it compress but that suit if is compressed from used its age gunna tell thats not the rigth one for you!! i have the (chinese) one osprey with a nice logo on the shoulder and the neopren after 400 500 dives it became like a cardboard!!still usable but yes!!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks so much. Yes, that's the thing, the gear is made to have a long life, but it depends on the conditions that it continues to be used in. When a cold water suit compresses too much, it can become your warm water suit, etc. Appreciate you watching!

[@Mrveescuba]

@@AzulUnlimited pleased to watch good content..so many sofa divers here on ytb

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@Mrveescuba i love that phrase. Sofa divers :)

[@manosbak]

Used regulators, yes of course with one condition. Check the model and who will be servicing it in your area. Half of my gear is used, bought from marketplace and working fine

[@AzulUnlimited]

That is a great point. Should've mentioned that about availability of parts, servicing, etc. Thanks for watching!

[@manosbak]

@@AzulUnlimited i learned from my mistake, bought a 20yo sherwood brut, a fine piece of equipment, a real workhorse, which i cannot get serviced in my area, i even sent it to the dealer and after two months he replied "sorry can't do it, it's too old" :-(

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@manosbak such a bummer

[@DoctorWessamAtif]

Hello and thanks for all the good videos. I tried to buy a shirt on your website, it says on FAQ i will see a list of countries you ship to? I couldnt see that list till i reached paypal checkout so I cancelled. Do you ship to the Philippines? thanks!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Hey! Thanks for trying to get a tshirt. This is what Teemill says about shipping: "We deliver to most countries worldwide. The only limit is the availability of services provided by our payment and courier partners in a country. You can see the full list of the countries that we ship to in the cart, this is before you pay for your order. If your country is not shown in the list, unfortunately, we cannot deliver orders to this location. We are unable to offer to ship to a country on a one-off basis, or change territories by request." I hope that clarifies things. I don't know of anyone specifically that has bought in the Philippines so I can't answer that outright. Please let me know if I can help in any other way. [e-mail]

[@johnwilliamsscuba6487]

If you want great dive gear and are on a tight budget buy used gear on fb marketplace. Face it new divers get certified buy the best of the best of the best dive gear and never use it then a year or so later sell it. That is when you should but it.

[@AzulUnlimited]

I hope more people will feel like diving is accessible by getting used gear. Nothing wrong about it!

[@johnwilliamsscuba6487]

@@AzulUnlimited I am taking my dive master course with almost all second hand gear

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@johnwilliamsscuba6487 Yeaaaaahhh!!! how is it going?

[@johnwilliamsscuba6487]

@@AzulUnlimited I enjoyed Master Diver better.

[@carlokop556]

As a side note. You should really buy a proper quality regulator for years to come. I bought a good quality regulator for my first gear over 15 years ago. I still use every dive. Even for the more technical dives I make nowadays. Cheap hard to breathe regulators I would have replaced by now. You can buy used equipment, but buy a model that they still sell, so it can be serviced for many years. You really should service a used regulator first which isn't particularly cheap and I don't think it's worth it for 10 year old entry level used equipment.

[@AzulUnlimited]

It really depends on the equipment and level of the diver. I wanted to put this out there as a way for people to feel like diving is more accessible. Sometimes you don't have the resources to get something really nice and used equipment (as long as it's in good condition) can remove that barrier.

[@echols2010]

Where in Cali are you diving I'm currently in San Diego

[@AzulUnlimited]

I'm currently in Morro Bay. Just got done with 2 weeks in Monterey and thinking about diving Santa Barbara next weekend. Hit me up on instagram if you want to connect and go diving!

[@snap4433221]

Loved the topic. I've been spending WAY too much on dive gear in the last year. The biggest problem I'm experiencing right now is that in Europe you can't really find any used gear that I'd be interested in or it's priced so high that you can buy it new for 10% more :/ Soooo, anybody want to buy a kidney? 😅😅😅

[@AzulUnlimited]

It's true, location really makes a difference in buying options. I should've mentioned that. Keep your kidneys!! you'll get the equipment you need eventually hehehe

[@cliffh8486]

What’s your travel plans like this summer?

[@AzulUnlimited]

I have BIG plans. Hitting the road in my van. Heading to the pacific northwest, montana and who knows where else. Planning to head to Baja towards the end of the year.

[@miked2783]

What about buying new primary or use primary?

[@AzulUnlimited]

I've just recently bought a used primary and it works great! Whatever is accessible and in your budget :)

[@sashavoitoff7514]

What kind of scuba gear do I need for scuba diving

[@AzulUnlimited]

BCD, regs, fins, mask, weights, tank, exposure suit, computer 👌

[@zakaria600]

I bought my regulators (primary & octopus )and yoke 1st stage for $300 brand new. My BCD for $199 brand new. How? CRESSI company 😁😀

[@AzulUnlimited]

Good point. Brand names make a difference in prices, but this is basically just sharing that you can save even more by buying used :) thanks for watching!

[@sashavoitoff7514]

Do I need for warm water diving azul unlimited

[@AzulUnlimited]

You'll need standard equipment (BCD, regs, mask, fins) then whatever exposure suit you need for the water temp you'll be diving in.

[@surfreadjumpsleep]

How am I supposed to get any work done with videos like this!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Hahaha you gotta work to buy the gear! 😜

[@surfreadjumpsleep]

​@@AzulUnlimitedExactly, but I can't work because this looks way more fun. oh well.. back to work

[@ianbrown9743]

Walkies

[@AzulUnlimited]

The best word in the English language🤣

[@ianbrown9743]

@@AzulUnlimited Hi if you ever get the chance go to the cook islands, for diving beautiful place. Picific divers are a great company to dive with very friendly and professional visibility endless love from Australia see ya