Costs of diving equipment for beginners

Diving equipment is an extensive matter that costs accordingly. You should know in advance that most diving courses include the complete rental equipment in the price, so that you can first learn the most important theory about diving and the equipment before you then buy diving equipment that suits your needs.

Many divers only buy certain pieces of equipment, partly for reasons of hygiene and partly for reasons of habit, and hire the rest from the diving centre.

The cost of diving equipment for beginners also depends heavily on the quality, whereby you should bear in mind that you need fully functional and safe diving equipment under water at all times and that you should therefore prioritise good quality for your own safety. The frequency of diving also plays a role when buying diving equipment. If you realise after a diving course costing around €300-400 that you would like to dive regularly, the cost of diving equipment for beginners should of course be assessed differently than if you only want to dive once a year on holiday at different destinations.

Costs for diving equipment for beginners - the basic equipment

Basic diving equipment consists of a diving mask, a flexible snorkel and fins. A well-fitting diving mask that you can also use for snorkelling costs from around €40 upwards. The snorkel should be flexible due to the prevailing pressure under water, and pay particular attention to a comfortable mouthpiece. Snorkels are available from around €10 upwards. When it comes to fins, you should bear in mind that you usually wear neoprene booties in your fins when diving to minimise heat loss under water. Good fins that are easy to put on and take off cost from around €40-50 upwards. As you can see, the cost of diving equipment for beginners is not initially that high, as you can also go snorkelling with this so-called ABC equipment. The cost of basic diving equipment for beginners is therefore around €100.

Costs for diving equipment for beginners - the clothing

For reasons of hygiene, it is of course always advisable to have your own wetsuit and socks. You can wear a bikini or swimming costume under the wetsuit, although women who freeze quickly should opt for a swimming costume. The cost of a wetsuit varies greatly depending on the quality, workmanship and thickness of the wetsuit. You can buy a reasonably priced wetsuit of reasonable quality from around €200 upwards in a sale, although prices are slightly higher in normal sales. Socks are available from around €40 upwards.

Which wetsuit you need depends on the diving area: if you are diving in very warm water, a short wetsuit with only 3mm or 5mm may be sufficient, whereas if you are diving in colder months you may need a long 5mm or 7mm wetsuit, depending on the region, even with a bonnet and ice waistcoat underneath depending on the water temperature. It's a bit like jackets: depending on the water conditions, you need a thicker or thinner "jacket".

You recognise the problem: if you're a beginner learning to dive on holiday and you're not sure how often and where you'll be diving in the future, it's difficult to find the perfect wetsuit for all regions. It is therefore advisable to dive with a rental wetsuit during a diving course until you are a little more sure about where and when you can dive next and what type of wetsuit you want. All dive centres have wetsuits in different sizes and brands available for hire, so you can get a feel for exactly what you want before you buy this expensive piece of diving equipment.

Costs for diving equipment for beginners - the technology

When diving, you will need a so-called buoyancy jacket (BC jacket), which you can use to carry your tank and stow weights in. The BC jacket is also used for ascending and descending and for attaching the rest of your diving equipment. Costing from just under €300 upwards, this is an important part of your diving equipment - but not essential for beginners. BC jackets are also provided together with the rest of the diving equipment on the diving course or can be hired. Your own dive computer is one of the most important and unfortunately most expensive pieces of diving equipment. Cheap dive computers in the form of watches are available from around €300, although prices quickly become significantly higher. If you dive a lot and regularly, you may spend up to €900+ on a very good dive computer that also has the corresponding range of functions.

You also need to carry two regulators with you when diving, one as a spare and one that you use all the time. Costs for diving equipment in the area of regulators: approx. 200 € upwards, multiplied by two. You also need a pressure gauge, which is available from around €50 upwards and is used to measure the pressure of the tank (= the remaining air). All the cables and the "octopus" for connecting all the components to the cylinder and the jacket cost a further €100 or so. The only thing missing is the weights, which cost around €6 per kilo, and the tank, which costs around €150 depending on volume and material. The total cost of diving equipment also depends on other accessories; for example, you can buy special underwater cameras for photography or lamps for cave dives.

Conclusion: What does diving equipment for beginners cost?

The basic ABC equipment for beginners costs around €100 - this is the basic equipment that every diver should definitely buy.

A wetsuit + booties cost from around €250 upwards, and the cost of technical diving equipment starts at around €1,100, although the sky's the limit here. As a beginner, you should shy away from the high costs of complete diving equipment and get used to diving first in order to find out which aspects of the equipment are important to you. For those who don't want to spend so much money and only dive a few times a year on holiday anyway: On a guided dive in Mallorca, for example, you can get all the diving equipment you need for around €40.