My friends and I got open water scuba certified at the Dive shop with the help of September, Teighan, Jeff and Luciano and it was the best experience of my life! The whole staff was so accommodating of our busy Hamilton tour schedule and made us feel very safe and confident throughout our training. It was so much fun learning a new skill, getting to experience a whole new world under the water, and doing it with someone who was so experienced and a great teacher. If you are new to scuba, I would definitely recommend The Dive Shop in Calgary. They are amazing instructors and wonderful people who will take good care of you! read more

The Dive Shop - Diving at Lake Chaparral - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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I had done the pool course for my PADI and signed up for my open water dives and dry suit training. I would not recommend any do this. Here is a summary of my experiences. First dive: It was going well until unexpectedly I was flipped around as I couldn't control my trim and then next thing, I know I am at the surface and had dropped my respirator from my mouth and didn't inflate my BCD. Once French Jeff surfaced, I inflated my BCD and put my respirator in and made it to shore. I told both Jeff's that my equipment didn't feel right. Second dive: It was going well until I went swimming following French Jeff and again couldn't not control my trim and then I am at the surface. I again said my equipment didn't feel right and the response I got was I surfaced to quickly. Third dive: Was bad from the start. We were doing the navigation and again my equipment was going from side to side even though the BCD was tightened. French Jeff was following me and said he had never seen this problem before. I called off the remainder of the dive as I did not feel safe to continue. I waited at shore and made the decision not to continue on Sunday as it would be more of the same. From my point of view there are four factors to diving. 1. Diver's comfort and ability in the water. I have been swimming since I was young and finished all of my red cross lessons by the time I was nine years old, bronze medallion at fourteen, bronze cross at sixteen and was in competitive swimming for four years. 2. Training The pool sessions from my perspective went well. The dry suit pool training was an hour long and there weren't any issues that I was aware of. Waterton training was non-existent as the Jeff's were doing four to five different courses at the same time. 3. Equipment The BCD felt fine to me when it was on, and the dry suit never did fit well. I was told several times that the dry suits that are used in training aren't the easiest to control and when I had my own it would fit better. 4. Conditions The water was high and as usual there was wind at Waterton but nothing excessive. Save your money and do the open dives with a wet suit. read more

Dive in to every diver's dream, at the Dive Shop. Undeniably the location with everything you need for diving; masks, snorkels, apparatuses, oxygen tanks, dive suits of every size and texture and flippers. Not only can you get the equipment here they will even teach you how to dive. Choose from basic snorkelling at $30 to open water dives to $150. They even have a bubble maker's class for the kiddies. Choose the Dive shop it ain't no dive! read more

The Dive Shop - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Oh, the Dive Shop. I had a great experience here getting my PADI OW certification last summer. The thing I love about this shop is that the staff is young, and fun. There were countless Hooters and Back Alley jokes that made the classroom portion so much more fun. My classroom instructor was Chantal. I'm not sure if she still works there, but she was fantastic, and very professional for her age. Although she's younger than me, she boasts a very impressive CV, and is full of knowledge about dive equipment. My OW instructor, Sean, is pretty hot. But once you're under water and he's wearing his drysuit, hood, and mask, you can't tell the difference. At least you won't be distracted by his good looks, and you can focus on his instructions instead. (Ladies, he still works there.) The Dive Shop has pretty decent facilities. The retail shop is large, the change rooms are clean, but the pool? Oh god. That is a different story. It's absolutely disgusting, but I loved it at the same time. They don't drain the water every night, so you see floaties everywhere. They just dump a bunch of chlorine (or whatever they use) in it. I don't know what the standard is for scuba training pools, but it was gross. It was an ongoing joke for the whole weekend. I recently reviewed Aqua Sport Scuba Centre, and gave it a recommendation. I would definitely recommend this place too. There aren't very many options in Calgary, but these two are the most reputable by far. I will continue taking courses at the Dive Shop because the staff is professional but fun, they have a nice facility, and I could really care less about the nasty pool. The only thing that I wasn't impressed with was the lack of training with dive tables. I know that almost everyone uses dive computers now, but when I was diving in Vancouver with Edge Dive Centre, they were surprised that I didn't know how to use dive tables. read more

If you want to become a certified diver in Calgary in a fun, professional environment, then head to the Dive Shop. That's what I did, and I've been reaping the exciting rewards ever since. I never thought I'd learn how to scuba dive in a stripmall across from a Hooters, in the dead of winter, in Calgary, but alas, I did. That's because the Dive Shop boasts a FIVE STAR training facility, with a newly renovated pool, change area, and classroom. The instruction I received had me well prepared and confident by the time I made my first open water dive in Cancun. Besides offering courses for beginners, they also offer courses for more experienced divers, and they have all the equipment you need available for purchase in their store. Moreover, if you want to put your new found skills to use, the Dive Shop has a travel division, which specializes in arranging exotic dive vacations. read more

This shop is just outside of downtown on Macleod Trail. The knowledgeable staff is younger than some of the other dive shops, and have newer experiences. The place is clean, well kept and I have done the splash here 5 times. The pool is large and clean. read more

I highly recommend The Dive Shop for learning to dive. They have many levels of courses for beginners and the experienced. I just completed my Padi Recreational OW Diver certification with September. She was EXTREMELY patient even when some anxiety cropped up out of nowhere both in the pool and during my OW in the lake. She got me through the anxiety and I now have my certification! She was always helpful in answering my dive questions. I feel prepared for underwater adventures! This is a well used facility however the pool and surround was very clean and well stocked with gear for lessons. The locker room was also well taken care of. The shop atmosphere is very relaxed and fun; the shop is well stocked with gear for sale for every level of diver. LOVED IT. read more

This place is awesome! I signed up to do my PADI online about 5 years ago, and couldn't hack it. The Dive Shop gave me a full credit for my course to use at a later date in classroom. I put it off for so many years thinking that it would be hard. My only regret now was not finishing it sooner! September is such an incredible instructor. She makes everything so easy. She is SOOO patient, and calming. I still see her face calming me down when I dive in other countries to this day! The shop is clean, and relaxed. Top notch gear to buy, and rent for divers of all skill levels. The staff are super friendly and knowledgable. I would HIGHLY recommend The Dive Shop if you're thinking about getting PADI certified in Calgary!!! read more

Awesome Dive shop! Friendly staff! Great Experience! Visit September and the rest of her crew for all your diving needs in Calgary!

I must admit I was very disappointed in the lack of service I received today. I have been here before and received amazing service. I will chalk it up to just a bad employee. I walked in and the young guy (employee) was on the phone and did not even nod, to acknowledge he saw me. Two of us were in there waiting for help. 5 minutes is a long time when you are wanting to make a purchase. Once he got off the phone, it was obvious he was helping the previous customer, but stopped helping her to answer the phone. Once he finished helping her, I asked him a few questions about a specific product and he was vague with his answers and it didn't appear that he cared wether I bought something or not. I found what I wanted on my own and he was in the middle of answering more of my questions and I was ready to pay for my purchase, when the phone rang. He answered the phone and walked to the back room to help the person who just called. Instead of placing them on hold while finishing with me. At that moment it occurred to me that I have never seen service this bad. So i placed the item back and walked out. I called another well known store and received amazing service. I drove all the way to the Dive Shop's competitor and purchased the exact same item that i was in the middle of purchasing. It cost me $30 more, but it was well worth the excellent customer service I received from the Dive Shop's competition. She was amazing and answered all my questions, as she said she had lots of time because she did not have any customers in her shop at the time. My husband will now be buying his dive equipment from the competition as well. read more

I took my Regulator in to have the pressure gauge replaced with a new one. They inititily told me it would be done in a week. I called two weeks later, nothing had been done- they were waiting to ask me new or used. I told them new, again, called back a 10 days later and nothing had been done. Finally told them I would be picking it up in a week. When I went to pick it up, Used one had been put on the Regulator and they charged me $40. An absolute joke ! Avoid this shop unless you plan on purchasing something. read more

I would like to thank all the staff at the Dive shop for a very positive experience. I took the dive course and soon realized that my abilities were not very good and I was ready to quit the first day. I completed the course and I went back due to the encouragement and teaching methods used by the staff. They come up with alternatives and most important were patient with me, and let me proceed with my own comfort level. I am not a diver due to my ears but my abilities and skill level improved, and I will enjoy the snorkeling at much more comfortable level. I am going to work on my ears to see if there is a solution. I just want to say a great thank you to all the instructors for your time, patience, suggesting different approaches and suggestions. My skills over all have improved exponentially. It a great feeling. read more

Rough around the edges, but that didn't really matter. I took a PADI open water certification course here. This included the Classroom portion and pool portion of the open water certification. This was completed over a weekend. Pros: Expertise, equipment, experience, friendly staff, small class size, instruction Cons: size of pool, wear and tear on equipment, small facilities. Without a doubt, I am satisfied with my experience at the Dive Shop. It was the best price in the city, around $140, (a special) with 2 groups of 6 students who would rotate between the pool and class. The instructor had many dives and knew of various places and dive shops that she could recommend. The pool is small, and has a deep portion (~13 feet) and a shallow portion (~4 feet) with a gradual ramp to ~8 feet then a drop off. When the 6 of us were lined up gear to gear in the shallow end, it was tight. The change rooms are small with no lockers and there is 1 men's washroom. They have roughly 3 sizes of each wet suit and I had to use a large wetsuit since the other 3 were being used. The valves on some equipment (connects tank to the 1st regulator) leaked but only an inconsequential amount of oxygen. The 2nd stage regulators, (the piece that goes into your mouth) had some bite guards that had seen better days. My last set of gear had guards that were partially ripped off. Through one exercise in sharing air with my buddy and swimming around, I learned why this was. Did any of this really matter though? Not really. Overall very satisfied. read more

As of 5 months ago I was not a diver, didn't really like the water and was not a strong swimmer. I have since, through The Dive Shop, taken my PADI Open Water and my Advanced Open Water courses so I could dive with the rest of my family. September helped me feel safe and comfortable in the water and taught me so much more than what you would find in the book. Brad and Sabrina, with September, helped me through my Navigation dive. They were professional enough and patient enough to end the dive the first time when the current was too strong and have me do it again a couple days later when there was no current. Matt and September helped prepare me mentally for my night dive. They pointed out things I never would have found on my own and helped me avoid those Tarpon fish! In the shop, I have had prompt courteous service. Despite the fact that my husband dives, The Dive Shop staff were able to direct me towards gear built more for women. If you are learning to dive or looking for equipment this is the place to go. I have trusted them to teach my kids and myself to dive! Try it out, you won't be disappointed! read more