FAQ

Diving in general

Questions about scuba diving in general

Can I buy equipment online?

There are few good bargains to be had online. Add that to the fact that some equipment needs to be tried on: suits, fins, undersuits, stab jackets and especially masks and if a piece of equipment does develop a problem a friendly local supplier is much easier to deal with face to face. This is especially true with regulators where the shop may “tweak” them to your liking. Also if you develop a good relationship with a supplier it’s not uncommon for them to discount items to you.

Do I have to buy all the equipment in one go?

No. Our club has several sets of kit that can be hired out. This is very common when you first start diving. There are some items it’s worth buying early on, typically your own mask, fins and snorkel. Good quality items may cost you about £120. Your pool training will last a few months. After that you’ll probably need a drysuit and undersuit if diving in the UK. After that you can start buying the rest of the equipment.

How about secondhand equipment?

Some items are OK but cylinders and regulators need to be regularly serviced and that can make it not worth buying secondhand versions.

How long does it to take to get qualified to dive

Many commercial dive training organisation’s take your money and give you training in a set amount of time. You can get trained very quickly but if you can’t achieve a particular skill then you don’t always get enough time to become proficient at it.

At Trident, we train at your speed. If you want to repeat an exercise until you’re happy with it then that’s fine with us. We’d rather you considered yourself entirely proficient before using your skills for real.

There are several diver grades. From never diving before, you should attain the Ocean Diver qualification, the first grade, within a few months. We’re very flexible so how long it takes will depend on your ability and how frequently you can get to your training sessions.

How long does the equipment last?

Suits, undersuits, regulators, jackets, fins, weightbelts and masks typically last 10 years plus and they make up the bulk of the cost. Small items are more likely to get lost than go wrong and torches are getting cheaper and more reliable with the advent of LED’s.

How old do I have to be to learn to dive?

For health reasons, primarily the development of lungs, Trident recommends that no one younger than fourteen uses scuba equipment. Club members between the ages of fourteen and eighteen must have their medical self-certificate signed by a parent or guardian and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for their weekly training sessions and open water dives.

Isn’t diving kit expensive?

Well, yes and no… It sounds expensive but will last a long time. If you buy good quality kit, the most expensive items will last several years depending on the amount of diving you do.

Servicing? How much does that cost?

Again this depends on the amount of diving you do and how much kit you have. Typically regulator servicing costs around £90. Cylinder servicing costs around £80 depending on whether is just visual, hydraulic or oxygen cleaned for nitrox use. Regulators should be serviced every 1 -2 years depending on the amount of diving and manufacturers recommendations. Cylinders have to be serviced every 2 1/2 years by law. Once they’re out of test, no-one will fill them. All other kit servicing is down to personal choice and is mostly done yourself.

So how much does the equipment actually cost?

Mask fins and snorkel £120. Dry suit and undersuit about £650. Realistically a full set of equipment will cost you about £2000 – £2500 but remember that this will last you several years and of course if you continue diving you won’t be renewing it all at the same time.

Our Trident Sub Aqua Club

Questions about the club

Can I add a date/event?

Yes, and as always help is very much appreciated. However, you will need a Google Calendar account and you need to contact us to get added to the calendar with the proper role.

How can I become a member

The simpliest way is to visit the membership page of BSAC. Via “Join via a club” you can click through the siging up process and see the prices and different membership types (membership for the club and BSAC is required).

How can I contact all the members and stay in touch?

Sign up for the mailinglist: [email protected]

I changed an event, why is it not updated on the website?

The website only pull changes from the calendar every 2 hours.

Where do I find dates of events?

You can directly check out our event page online or you can use the following links to integrate our calendar into your calendar of your computer/mobile/pad:

iCal: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/th6ncpl6hejqqk7m4lo4ebquqc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Google ID: [email protected]

URL: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=th6ncpl6hejqqk7m4lo4ebquqc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Europe%2FLondon