Spending 6 Months In Thailand, Bring Own Gear Or Rent\buy Here

[Billpro785]

Hello all,

I will be spending 6 to 9 months in Thailand, renting a house or apartment in Koh Chang area. Plan on doing some diving ( lots ), take some courses , have PADI advanced water now. Should I have my gear shipped over from the states, or would be better to rent or buy gear here ?

Thanks !!

[Quero]

Estimating a cost of about $20/day for rental fees and multiplying that by the number of days you plan to dive--an average of one day per week for six months gives you around 25 rental days--yields a total cost of about $500 USD. Seems to me to be a lot of money to spend when you could bring your own equipment (especially if you like it and are comfortable diving with it) and spend the rental budget on more diving, training, etc. If it were me, I'd carry my gear along and leave most of the clothing at home, buying whatever I needed along those lines locally.

[PhuketdashScuba]

When making that many dives you should be able to negotiate the rental rate down a bit, ending up at about 300 Baht per day, or 10 US$. Having said that, your own gear will always be more comfortable.

I would recommend to take it with you, but don't ship it independently. If you ship there will, unless you're very lucky, a about 100% import tax be applied on the perceived value. So if you are taking lots of other things already for a 9 month stay, rent.

[commande]

Your own gear is always better, most rental gear is not in great shape as it's used all the time and thrown around. If you have the room bring it with you on the plane, as advised don't ship it because they will tax you on the perceived value.

[IrishIvan]

It depends which airline you are flying. A lot let you take sporting equipment free of charge. For example most airlines flying from Australia to Bali they will let you pack a surfboard. If you were say going from Singapore to Korea then it would be ok to pack ski gear for free (in the right season). Dive gear is ok too. But you cant be on a plane to Las Vegas to claim it free. Check with your travel agent/airline

[Billpro785]

Thanks all for the information. I was worried about the import tax . So, would be 100 percent of the value ? What about buying gear here ? ( mask, reg, gauge, BCD) . I would guess most shops carry name brand stuff ?

[PhuketdashScuba]

About 100% of the perceived value (so basically any value the customs feel like).

Yes, DC's will have major brands available like Cressi Sub, Aqualung, Scubapro, Mares, Seac Sub, etc.

Especially for masks it is also worth checking the locally made brands, excellent value for money.

[Billpro785]

if I take a dive-master course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?

[commande]

if I take a dive-master course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?

If your coming from the USA diving gear is cheaper there than here in Thailand and you also have more choices. Most the dive shops in Koh Chang sell Mares gear which is good quality especially for taking courses but it's in my opinion not top rated as other offerings. I look at things this way, purchase the best gear you can afford, it will last you a long time, I like Scuba Pro and OMS but I am a Tech Diver via ANDI and a Dive Master via PADI so maybe my quality standards are different than others and generally my stuff is much different than what a recreational diver uses. Generally training with your own gear is better because it's your gear, you learn on it and when your done training you don't go out and replace it immediately costing you more money as long as you took care of it while you where training.

Dive shops will love to sell you some gear, they make money selling it to you especially when packaged with training courses. They might give you a discount on the gear but it won't be much or they will make it appear to be a great discount because they charge you more for the training classes. Being a Dive Master here in Thailand and a lot of other places in the world you will get a 10% discount on diving gear from major suppliers like Dive Supply which is a vendor here and dive shops that recognize the discount. But you probably wont get 10% off until you are Dive Master rated.

I learned long ago to always split the training courses out from the price of dive gear when possible. Seemed for me that I always ended up with a better price on both sides, training and dive gear and most importantly I got the diving gear that I wanted and not what was recommended by the dive shop because it is what they sell or have in stock. In Thailand stock can be an issue and there are long lead times to order anything, it's not like the USA where you order and maybe a couple days to a week it arrives at your doorstep. I was told it would take over a month to get me my twin tank to single tank adapter for my OMS tech BCD, I ordered it the next day from the USA, it arrived in a week and I paid VAT and Import tax but at least I didn't have to wait forever for it. These types of issues you don't want to have while training.

[Quero]

I agree with commande in as much as avoiding buying any training package that includes equipment purchase bundled into it. You don't get to choose what equipment the package includes, and if you want to substitute certain items, you end up losing control of the costs since you've got to pay some surcharges in order to switch. Having said that, yes, normally you can expect at least a 10% discount when you purchase gear here through your instructor/dive school, and in addition, you can get a rebate of the 7% VAT tax when you export the goods on your departure from the country (not sure what the exact rules are for a delayed departure months after the original purchase, but it's worth looking into).

If you already own gear that you are used to and that you like, make an effort to bring it; if you don't own gear and perhaps don't know what you want to buy and need guidance, then just come, start in with your training in rental gear, get a better sense of what you'd like to buy, and take your time with your purchase. I actually bought a lot of gear in Thailand when I was living in Malaysia and doing my training there. At the time, there wasn't much selection in Malaysia (now there is, but that was years and years ago), and I couldn't get to the US to make my purchases, so since the big shops on Phuket offered a pretty good range of products and I could get both a small discount plus the VAT tax back, it made sense for me at the time. You need to decide what makes sense for you--while you have access to everything you could want in the US at better prices than you can hope to get here (even with a discount the prices are usually much higher than regular retail prices in the US) perhaps you're unsure of exactly what it is that you do want. I'm about to invest in some new equipment for sidemount diving, and I plan to get it in the US next month and bring it back since it costs about 1/3 less there than it does here--for now I just rent

[IrishIvan]

if I take a dive-master  course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?  

Up to 20% if your really lucky a bit more

[PhuketdashScuba]

if I take a dive-master course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?

Up to 20% if your really lucky a bit more

Yes, we give 20% discount on gear to people diving with us.

[commande]

if I take a dive-master course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?

Up to 20% if your really lucky a bit more

Yes, we give 20% discount on gear to people diving with us.

You should also inform the OP what brands you sell so that he can compare prices online or at local equipment shops in the USA. 20% off is very good but without a baseline retail price to deduct from really not relevant. Markup on Dive gear in general is around 15-35% so not much profit for your shop giving a discount like that, I assume your making money off the courses??? It's business, no worries, it is what it is.

[IrishIvan]

if I take a dive-master  course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?  

Up to 20% if your really lucky a bit more

Yes, we give 20% discount on gear to people diving with us.

So thats close to 27% off if you add the VAT on. Thats a great deal

[PhuketdashScuba]

if I take a dive-master course , or something like that , I would assume there would be a discount on the gear ?

Up to 20% if your really lucky a bit more

Yes, we give 20% discount on gear to people diving with us.

You should also inform the OP what brands you sell so that he can compare prices online or at local equipment shops in the USA. 20% off is very good but without a baseline retail price to deduct from really not relevant. Markup on Dive gear in general is around 15-35% so not much profit for your shop giving a discount like that, I assume your making money off the courses??? It's business, no worries, it is what it is.

All locally available brands, so Cressi Sub, Scuba Pro, Aqualung, Seac Sub, Mares, Apeks, Suunto, Technisub, OMS, Tusa, Intova, etc.

[commande]

Excellent, well OP it's now up to you. Do your research get some prices and then send your list to the dive company here in Thailand for quote. Also be sure to ask for a discount for your DM course ... If your doing all your training with one shop you should be able to leverage a discount because there will be enough margin for the shop to extend you a rebate while they still maintain enough profit to operate a quality establishment with great customer service.

[Billpro785]

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful !! My plan is now us to bring my own stuff ( BCD, regs, gauges ), and buy a new mask and fins here .

Going to check the gear in at the airport .

One last question, have advance open water now, divemaster course next ??

[Quero]

Before you can enroll in the DM course, you need to have completed the Rescue Diver course which in turn requires a current CPR and First Aid provider certification. It's also helpful to have the Deep Diver, Underwater Navigator, and Search and Recovery specialty courses before starting the DM course, though there are ways to incorporate that training into the DM course.

[commande]

As was stated in the post above you have a lot of courses required to complete before you can go Dive Master. Suggest that you go to the PADI website and do some research, everything is there and it spells it out for in great detail. Your already Open Water but there is still a lot to learn, there is also a nice brand new wreck in Koh Chang you can dive on if you want your wreck certification and wreck penetration certification.

The certs I recommend are:

Wreck Diver

Wreck Penetration Diver

NITROX

Underwater Navigation

Search and Rescue

There are of course others to choose from that you might prefer. Yes you also have to get your Rescue Diver Cert which can all be done here in Thailand you don't need anything from the USA prior.

Deep Diver Cert is okay but to me it's nothing special, you want to actually dive deep you need to get TRIMIX Certified and go Tech. Just my opinion though, I know a lot of people with that cert but they still can't go as deep as I can because they can't use TRIMIX but it's a personal choice as not everyone wants to dive 75-100 meters underwater.

Good luck to you, you will have a great time learning all these new skills and getting a lot of dives in.

[PhuketdashScuba]

There are a few courses that can be recommended before your divemaster course, but overdoing it is also an art, mastered here.

Required are after advanced are Rescue diver (so current first aid and CPR) and you need to have 40 dives when you start the DM course.

I think good choice with the equipment BTW.

[IrishIvan]

As was stated in the post above you have a lot of courses required to complete before you can go Dive Master.  Suggest that you go to the PADI website and do some research, everything is there and it spells it out for in great detail.  Your already Open Water but there is still a lot to learn, there is also a nice brand new wreck in Koh Chang you can dive on if you want your wreck certification and wreck penetration certification.

 

The certs I recommend are:

 

Wreck Diver

Wreck Penetration Diver

NITROX

Underwater Navigation

Search and Rescue

 

There are of course others to choose from that you might prefer.  Yes you also have to get your Rescue Diver Cert which can all be done here in Thailand you don't need anything from the USA prior.

 

Deep Diver Cert is okay but to me it's nothing special, you want to actually dive deep you need to get TRIMIX Certified and go Tech.  Just my opinion though, I know a lot of people with that cert but they still can't go as deep as I can because they can't use TRIMIX but it's a personal choice as not everyone wants to dive 75-100 meters underwater.

 

Good luck to you, you will have a great time learning all these new skills and getting a lot of dives in.

Good advice. Nitrox is easy I think you can do it by elearning now. Deep, wreck, nav and search and rescue are good too.

Although I wouldnt worry too much about trimix. Thats very specialized diving and not really recreational.

Thailand has a lot of diving all through the southern islands from Koh Lipe up to Phi Phi and Phuket. The gulf of Thailand has diving and dont forget the Similans. Also Thailand has easy access to Burma for diving. I wouldnt limit myself to just one area. Accommodation everywhere is fairly cheap. And domestic buses go everywhere and they are cheap too.