Diver Dan's, Inc. Review

I'm not going to mince words: this place looks shady. However the owner is amazingly helpful and has a fantastic inventory to back it up.

Great pricing and finance options on new gear. Average to good diversity of equipment available in store. Could have more brands available and a department focused on Tech Dive separate from the rest with more gear options. Great menu of services and great results / quality, but services prices are a little above the average. Some of the people behind the counter may be a bit dry in the beginning, but they engage and provide all information you need. I had great customer experience there, as well as average ones. Never a bad experience at all.

This is one of the best dive shops I've been to, having multiple brands of diving gear and to having incredible nice staff. I got my divers certification here and everyone was so patient and helpful. I definitely reccomed everyone to come here for classes or any other dive needs.

I took my PADI certification and the instruction here is first rate. But recently, I asked if I can use the pool to test my gear with a buddy. Other dive shops are OK with this, for example, Pinnacle. But Diver Dan's wanted me to rent the pool for $100. When I asked what I should do as a beginner who got certified through their shop, she said, go out in the ocean and keep fiddling. I consider this pretty tightwad and unhelpful. Why can't they let me use their pool for 15 minutes when it's empty? Generally they are average, friendly, but they definitely don't give you that vibe of "we're here to give you want you want."

For the last 4 weekends a group of Flipper Dippers have been sharpening their dive skills with Padi classes given by Brian Zaugg and Mark Haviek. Great classes, great instructors! We all passed our Emergency first response ,(first aid and CPR,) Emergency oxygen provider,and rescue diver classes. Well worth the time and effort, I learned a lot of skills , I feel very confident in applying my emergency skills if necessary. Our instructors even set up a tour of the Monterey hyperbariac chambers!08

I got a drysuit rental from Diver Dan's (one of the few places that do drysuit rentals in the area) and was really happy with their service -- they did a good job fitting me out with everything I needed. They rent good equipment -- DUI drysuits, Oceanic regulators, Aqualung BCs etc. Their consoles have a computer and compass integrated too, so it's very easy to show up there with no equipment at all and get set up with everything and be good to go. Their rental period is one week (Tuesday to Monday) by default so you can just do as many dives as you want -- no need to hurry back.

One caveat -- they don't rent gloves (ostensibly because of wear and tear on them), so if you forget to bring those it might set you back another 35$ for a set of gloves.

I love Diver Dan's!!!

I Started Diving this past August and Diver Dan's has been with me every steps of the way. They have amazing instructors and Master divers that gave me the attention that I need to improve my skill set. They are also very accommodating to work with my schedule for classes.

Also Diver Dan's as amazing staff and very knowledgeable to help me when I am looking for gear, and equipment. Diver Dan's make me feel like I am at home when I come in.

Best dive shop I've ever been to in my entire life! I've never seen such good prices, knowledge and customer service. Ask for Dylan. He's the man!

Great shop, professional staff and prices below what you kind find on internet (rare these days).

This place is GREAT! I took scuba lesson with a few of my friends and I had a great experience. The people are very kind and very helpful. The workers were very helpful when I picked out my gear. When I was in monterey the people were very kind when I was qualifying for my diving certification. These guys really know what they're doing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I completed and received my PADI Dive certificate at Dan's. Love this place. The staff are very knowledgable and great selection of gear. I highly recommend this dive shop!

Great dive shop. Very honest and reasonable pricing on gears and classes. They also occasionally have big sales with discounts as high as 20% on virtually all items. And the staff is great, including the instructors.

I m not an avid review leaver, but after my experience at Diver Dans today I felt I had to leave one. Dan was so incredibly helpful and knowledgeable with helping me pick out some of my gear. Lots of selection of the best stuff, at competitive prices. I loved supporting his business rather than the big guys online. Thanks so much Dan!! :)

I went in later that afternoon and met with Dylan. I told him I was looking to get more serious about scuba diving and wanted to get fitted head to toe with everything. Dylan was an incredible resource who walked me through everything I needed. Sometimes the information was a little overwhelming, but you can tell he knows his stuff.

Their business model is training newbies and selling them their first set of gear. But that cultivates an attidue like they know it all and the customers are clueless and only going to hurt themselves....

They lost me as a customer, when I mentioned that I'd swapped a few hoses on my first stage and they acted like I was playing russion roullette. The guy said "well I hope you torqued them down correctly". I said "no, but I own a torque wrench, if you give me the spec, I can redo it." He mumbled somthing about me having to get it from the manufacturer...

Truth is, the captive O-rings provide the seal so torque has nothing to do with whether it leaks or not. There is no torque spec, because it's just not that critical. Any torque between "can't loosen it with your bare hands" and "about to strip the brass" will work, but I aim for the middle fo that range... :-)

The do a big volume in classes and have a nice pool, so it's good for basic training, but don't let them bully you into buying more stuff than you need.

A new diver should accumulate gear slowly, acting on the advice of more experienced dive buddies (without a financial interest in the sale) to select the right gear.

Don't buy anything unless you know you need it and have a clear picture of how you are going to use it...

Nice enough guys but goods are overpriced (typical dive shop markup I suppose) and I had a frustrating interaction recently. The frustrating interaction was that I needed a replacemnt shaft for my speargun. They had it in stock but it didn't have price on it. So the guy tries to find the price online from the manufacturer and can't find it. This goes on for about 15 minutes. Then he tries to get on the phone with the sales rep, still no luck. Then he tries again to find the part online. After about 30 minutes I tell them I have to go and leave my name and number so they can call me. They call me a few days later and I have to drive over and pick it up. Very frustrating experience.

As for the prices, they had a Mares Viper mask for $75 that I got on Amazon for $50, they had a BigBlue dive light for $170 that I got on Amazon for $120. I understand some markup but more than 40%? Really?

Excellent selection and great service. Complete education offerings from beginner to pro.

I made an online purchase and Dan made sure I got everything I needed. Super helpful and a great deal. Awesome place to purchase the gear you need with someone who will steer you right.

The conditions on each of our Catalina trips (onboard Magician, a great boat and crew) were up and down weather, vis. Fog and swell but Tim kept the group upbeat and focused on the positives and getting us certified safely.

Took my PADI open water certification here. The instructors were top notch and the staff quite friendly and helpful. I didn't share the experience of past reviewers. When I bought some new gear they were more than happy to let me try it in their pool to make sure I was happy with it.

The only complaint is that they like students to wear the se gear in the pool sessions as they will in the ocean, and they keep the pool way too hot for the 7mm wetsuits needed for the ocean here.

friendly staffs, good service and various diving courses provided. Best diving shop in south bay area.

I was certified in 1975 from a place in San Carlos (out of business), was patronizing Wallin's Dive Shop (out of business) and am now at Diver Dan's.
I am getting my teenage son certified and have been nothing but pleased with the retail service, dive instructors and ability to register over the website (every website needs a little work so no penalty).
My son had a small water 'leak' in his new mask and Dan took the time to adjust the trim (side to side fitting) so the mask fit perfect. The shop is organized and I totally trust them with my 16 year old.
And we look forward to joining them on dives. I always remind myself when I'm in a dive shop the goal is to get into the water. And I feel for the employees who would probably rather be in the water themselves. No need to be tolerant at Diver Dan's - they seem to be on the ball and fun to work with.

All of the instructors I have had at DIver Dan's have been patient, encouraging, kind and helpful. They are very knowledgeable and trustworthy. You can really count on their expertise when in a class or in the ocean. I have learned a lot and look forward to more and better diving with their help. Everyone who works at the shop is similarly helpful and knowledgeable. Good sales too!

Best scuba shop in the Bay Area. Staff is amazing, always eager to help you and tell you great diving stories, price are great. Lot of equipment choice/brand. They are regularly organizing international trips, as well as bi-weekly dives to local spots.

Jeremy assisted me with picking out a wet suit and diving computer. He was very knowledgable and provided great service. I highly recommend this place!

Picked the gear yesterday the young kid just did not know what customer service is all about especially after spending over 3000 dollars of equipment. He didn't even help me bring things to my car.

Friendly and well-stocked.
Dropped by to gear up before a trip and staff were very attentive, friendly and helpful. Selection is really good with all items I needed in stock. I have not taken any courses here but the shopping experience was good.

Very nice place to learn scuba diving. I completed my PADI certificate here. The staff was super nice, especially Rich. They patiently help you to get all the equipments and make sure they fit. Also if they don t fit under water and you can exchange them anytime. Diver Dan s has a swimming pool onsite and classroom on the second floor, so the training session is all done at one place, very convenient!
The coaches are very nice as well. Someone could be super strict :) and Steve is super helpful and friendly. They all made this a super fun experience. Highly recommend.

I am taking a PADI course here and went to buy some basic equipment. The staff was very helpful and answered all my questions.

My favorite dive shop. Store staff, instructors, gear selection and pricing are all perfect.

Good deal on fill cards but sometimes the counter staff seems to not even care I've walked in the store.

I completed my Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver as well as few specialties (Drysuit, Nitrox) at Diver Dan's. Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. I did most of my trining with Mudit, great diver & instructor, very personable and patient, decided to continue training for more specialties (Night & Deep) to get my Master Diver certifications.