I went in to by snorkeling gear and was blown away by the informative and thorough explanation of…read morehow to select a mask, snorkel and fins. I've never owned snorkeling gear (just rented) and was highly impressed by the selection and service. Top notch and glad I didn't buy at a general sporting goods store or Amazon. Highly recommend buying at this store.

The owner Laurie Hannula has a lifetime of diving expertise, and their safety record is…read moreunparalleled, with no training fatalities. This is because they have the highest standards, they have amazing dive masters teaching. John Cook, Eric, and of course Laurie. They are patient, thorough, and fun to be taught by. Laurie will not up-sale gear, in fact they are one of the only shops that include scuba gear during the lessons, this is particularly useful if you are not certain if this sport is for you. Highly recommend this team!

Be weary of their 'refresher' course. They are located in Tigard and used to use the Tigard High…read moreSchool pool. Now, you have to drive all the way out to St. Hellens. And, they do 'final paperwork at the pool', so if any of your paperwork is not correct, you will have done the drive for no reason and will not be allowed in the pool. Even if Gretchen tells you your "good to dive and all our paperwork is completed" online (with green checkmarks) you still may not dive. When I asked if I could 'redo the paperwork', I was told, "PADI does not allow redo of paperwork". I argued that clearly PADI ethics would allow mistakes to be fixed but the dive instructor was steadfast that they do not. What a complete joke. I asked for a refund and I was told they would not give one. I called and talked with Gretchen the next morning and she said I could not get a refund. After further discussion, she gave me a partial fund.

I recently had the pleasure of becoming a certified PADI Open Water diver through Under Water…read moreWorks. The instructors and divemasters were undeniably competent and incredibly patient. As someone who learned to swim as an adult, I felt like I was always in great hands. They knew exactly how to build my confidence in and above the water, and helped me to work through any mental/physical blocks. Thank you Gretchen, David, and Justin x2 for an amazing open water weekend and intro to scuba diving! For those who are already certified, they host monthly fun dives at different dive sites around the PNW. They provide dive site info, help pair up single divers, and even guide those who are beginners. Check out dates/locations on their website! My open water weekend dives occurred right before their fun dives, and it was encouraging to see other divers of all experience levels come together. It is truly a testament to UWW's love for PNW diving and the fostering of our local dive community. I can't wait to participate in them!

This is my local LDS in my new neighborhood. I went to this scuba shop to see about getting my Open…read moreWater certification. Larry's instructors Toby, Brent & Will were top notch! Very professional yet bring all the fun! We dove in Hoodsport, Washington for two days, stayed at the Sunrise Resort where they have all the dive amenities you could need, nice accommodations and even a hot tub overlooking the sound in the Olympic Peninsula! We swam with sea lions, and saw all sorts of radical seaside and small shipwrecks! I highly recommend getting your certifications through this shop. They will make you feel very comfortable and show you the best time!

Fun and friendly place. The owner is very knowledgeable and takes the time to make sure you know…read moreall the features and options. I have been having him service our gear for a few years now and have found the service to be honest and dependable. It is not the closest dive shop to my home by a long shot, but I like the vibe and the prices. Never any pressure for unnecessary accessories or repairs.

The nice girl that works there, Nico was so helpful and kind. I really appreciate how she helped us…read morepick out exactly what I was looking for. I'm new to the winter sports world so I came in not knowing if I would get anything but I'm happy with what I left with!

BMX gloves, pants and shoes. And didn't break the bank…read more The issue at PIAS is that they have a ton of kids working there. One kid might give you WAY less for your trades than another kid. There isn't any standard except who happens to be behind the desk that day. That's unfortunate. They have a good selection but like 8 said before you can find a totally crap pair of sneakers or cleats that week filthy with crappy laces for the same price as a really nice pair. It's kind of dumb honestly. They should have certain hours for trade and have one person or a couple do it. Because the bredth of judgement is WAY too wide.

I can't claim to know how Gorge Performance does with experienced surfers, but I can say they were…read moreAMAZING with someone (me) who knew nothing about wetsuits. The owner, Kim, and an employee were both incredibly knowledgable and helpful. Lots of suits from which to choose, and the price on the one I got was really good.

Go here for your next board, you'll thank me later…read more Gorge Performance is truly a hidden gem in the world of outdoor gear. Their pricing is incredibly competitive, actually best pricing in town beating out larger chain store prices, and the staff is absolutely the nicest group of people you'll ever meet. They took the time to help us pick out the perfect snowboard for my daughter, ensuring it matched her skill level and style. The personalized attention and genuine care they put into their recommendations made the entire experience enjoyable. My daughter can't wait to hit the slopes with her new board, and we couldn't be happier with the service. Highly recommend checking them out!

The crew at Acquatic Sports is top-notch! This business has been in their family for more than 3…read moregenerations, and it is clear how much they love diving and introducing new divers and season divers to incredible experiences and new skills. I decided (at age 54) that I wanted to become open-water certified as a SCUBA diver. After looking at a number of options online, I was referred to Acquatic Sports by a trusted friend. I was immediately impressed with the commitment to safety and ensuring that equipment works for each individual diver. The owner, Jeff, and his daughter, Shelby, as well as the other incredible staff are great resources, and are very knowledgeable about what they do and the latest diving equipment and diving opportunities. I especially appreciated the way my SCUBA instructors took time to explain concepts and allowed me unlimited pool time to practice outside of classes to solidify my skills. I would highly recommend this dive shop both for SCUBA education, as well as that instant feeling of camaraderie with everyone who works there. 10/10

This my local dive shop and I have been buying from them for years. Great staff, very friendly and…read moreknowledgeable. The product selection is good. The best part is the pool. They offer classes and if you're a scuba club member ypi can use the pool for practice.

Best experience to get dive certified. They were friendly, knowledgeable and cared about my…read morelearning. I had a trip coming up quickly and they were able to work around my schedule and now I am fully open water certified! Dea was a great instructor and everyone in the shop was so helpful.

Salem SCUBA is 5 star in every way. Not only, are the legitimately a 5 star PADI certified shop…read more(meaning they are the absolute experts in training both novice and growing divers) but the owners, staff and instructors are exceptional. I needed to obtain a certification in a tight timeline before a big trip and they worked with my crazy schedule to be sure I had more dives than the minimum and to be sure each was a qualified dive, no corners cut. In addition they helped me select my gear and outfit me for the type of diver I want to be. Rather than just sell me the most expensive, I got an in depth education on all of my options and the pros and cons of each. This is expensive gear and I was worried I'd be sold the expensive stuff without much guidance because I'm new, not the case. In fact, they worked with my budget and gave me a discount on a custom package to fit my needs. It was one of their guys who gave me the tag Line of "almost everything is negotiable in SCUBA". Just an amazing and inviting group all around, you'll feel like family!

Ron and TJ did a great job running the open water certification program. Strongly recommend.read more

I got certified at Adventure Sports Scuba with Ramon, Mark, and Irene at Ron's shop and can't…read morerecommend them enough. They were extremely patient with all the students, the instruction was clear and well paced, and the SDI certification and knowledge from the instructors put me in a great position to get my open water referral at my dive sites in Maui. I saw poor divers firsthand on my actual dives and was very thankful for the instruction I got here. Ron was a huge help in processing my certification when my referral dive company was a different certification group and was knowledgeable and patient through some logistical hoops I had to jump through due to the dive companies I chose. I'm recommending Adventure Sports Scuba to all my friends for certification and I hope to dive with their team and social dive network a lot more in the future!

Wonderful customer service. Professional and kind. Great products. Convenient location.read more

I took the Open Water certification course at Thunder Reef, and the instructors were excellent!…read more They did a great job of teaching the coursework and thoroughly reviewing the skills in the pool. I really appreciated that at the end of the course, they set up all of the certification dives for you, so that you can immediately get certified at the end of the course. Sometimes dive courses don't do that, and it leaves you having to figure out where you're going to dive to become officially certified. Thunder Reef lined up multiple options for dates to complete the dives, as well as affordable hotel options. All of the staff really go the extra mile, and I could not recommend Jen and the whole team enough. :) I left the course feeling confident and excited to explore the world of diving!