Dive Shack

I really like the personal service and the people at Dive Shack. They make sure you have what's going to work for you and not just what's the fanciest. They sell products with a good reputation for safety, reliability and longevity. They're willing to take quite a long time with customers, they're friendly and helpful with new divers, and they give good suggestions about what will make you a more comfortable and safer diver. For example, I'm not heavy and I tend to get cold quickly The Dive Shack 's owner Rod recommended a hooded vest to wear under my wetsuit. This has allowed me to be pretty comfy while diving, even with this summer's chilly 50F temps in the depths. I will continue to do my dive shopping and get my tank fills at Dive Shack.

Despite my being a bit nervous about taking up scuba at a mature age, the instructors (Rod, Leslie, Chris) were very patient, thorough and made the experience fun, even when I was slow to "get" a skill! The classroom sessions were interesting (the instructors required students to have actually read their textbook before coming to class, which is good) and the pool dives instilled confidence by allowing students to practice basic skills in a very safe environment with warmer water and good visibility. The open-water (ocean) dives were fun - and our instructors made sure we were well supervised and always the emphasis was on safety and fun. For instance, our chief instructor Rod Tuttle actually postponed our first set of open water dives when we arrived at La Jolla Shores and the surf was deemed too heavy to be either safe or fun for beginning divers. As a new diver with 9-month-old hip replacement, I really appreciated this! The Dive Shack is a great place to go for scuba classes if you're looking for small class sizes, an emphasis on safety and plenty of instructor attention.