a good shop is the PDA the shop northern side of hillarys Harbour. they also do diving lessons there and there is lots of good gear to thats where i got my norkelling stuff.

hookah in wangara

Ditto for hookah especially for free diving gear

If you're buying for freedive, you want low volume. That way you're not getting a lot of mask pinch, and you don't need much air to fix it.

Freedive masks can be too low voume for scuba, its a real pain that as soon as your mask has some water in it, its already up to your eyeballs.

I'm using a cressi-sub big eyes evo and its great!

Snorkel, for freedive, just buy a j-tube, forget dry tops and purge valves, its just drag.

Again, Hookah Dive has the best range in Perth for freedive gear, and the lowest prices in Perth too.

to a point, I dont know about freediving but for scuba they have a very small store with limited range compared to other stores in Perth, i went in there once about 2 months ago for the first time searching for some more comfortable booties, the storekeeper saw me standing there waiting for assistance for about 20 minutes, no hello can i help you in this time so i then walked out mumbling something about how he could jam his fkn store up his arse...

Id have to say PDA hillarys have always been a big help to me, they stock a large range and have the best gear you can buy. Also Dave the instructor has a true love for the sport and is fantastic to learn from...you leave his class feeling very self assured you know what you are doing and are trained to best practice IMO. I cant recomend them highly enough.

The only thing with a scuba mask i can think to add that you might not know is the snorkel goes on the left side of the mast so as its out of the way of regulator hoses etc

Hookah dive does most of the equipment service in Perth. If you put your regs in for service just about anywhere NOR, thats where the other shops ship them.

They do stock plenty of suits, fins and masks and perhaps they don't keep a lot of scuba gear there though, their focus is hookah and freedive.

They can be very busy but Wombat knows his stuff, certainly other stores have better salesman and shinier stock though.

I think PDA is the best buy far for a dive coarse and you do need to do the boat dives because that sorts out your fear ( the free fall so to speak ) lots of people freak when they do some dives that arn't from a shore where the depth comes gradually. As for gear i think you should shop around and then check out the scuba whare house on Scarbrough beach road as they are the cheapest in perth buy a mile. PDa dose all its own servicing and tank tests much to the disagreement of others and has done for as long as i can recall they actually do lots of servicing and tank testing for other shops in and  around perth

I'm pretty well busy with work until August next year, so after that I'll be looking into it.

But thank you for the heads-up, might be something to study up on while I am bored on a rig in the middle of the ocean......

so am i pushing you over the side in exxy next year for some crays

if I can fit it in. realistically, probably not. but never say never.....

I have never had a problem with Wombat, doesnt really sound like him to ignore someone to me, maybe it was a real bad day.

I have shopped at a hell of a lot of shops for scuba gear, never got good advice from those at PDA - always got great service (know which I value more and it aint the service), always push what they sell the most of at cheap prices (you get what you pay for in scuba I am afraid), if you want good gear your better off going elsewhere. Just my feeling.

I shop at real local shops (hooka or ccoastal water dive mainly) - dont like chain stores much, if you want something nice they order it in for you without trying to push other things on you like the chains seem to.

Just MHO

just go to K mart. power dive on stirling hwy seem to have a nice selection . got Sandy a great mask down there and never had a prob with the fit