Vancouver Diving Locker

Very cool place, and I’m not even a diver. Went there to get my daughter a wet suit for lifeguarding, and great, friendly service. Tells you the discounts up front etc. Looks like they have local scuba trips and classes etc. Makes me want to become a diver!

I recently took my Open Water course with the Diving Locker, and it was great. The instructors were really nice, and really knowledgeable. The course was run smoothly. They have a great selection of diving gear, and if you keep your eyes open, some good sale prices. I’m glad I took my course with them, and I plan to continue on with my diving education through them. Five stars!

I found the group too big and the area we had in the pool too small for such a large group. It would have been nice to be able to actually move under water with the gear on. Also I would have enjoyed it more having a wet suit on since it was pretty cold and it gives a better idea of how it feels like with the complete gear going out in the ocean. It would be nice to include the rental in the lesson and offer people the opportunity. Sice it was an introductory lesson and I assume most of the people have never had the experience to breath through a mask under water before I would have liked to practice breathing under water as a first step. i felt kind of rushed through the course. Also the theoretical class in the beginning was a lot of information at once. I believe that it was an important information and should be treated as such and not rush it through with having to fill out a questionnaire at the same time. What I liked about the course was that most of the instructors were really nice and created a nice atmosphere.

Awesome! I came to learn how to dive and I left with so much more
The instructors are awesome and so much fun. So helpful and patient… I definitely couldn’t do their job
And the sales staff is equally as awesome. Being new at diving I have no idea what I’m looking for or need when it comes to buying my own gear, but they are so knowledgeable and really great with helping you out. I can’t wait to get out there on the Sunday Safari’s!

I took my Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Dry Suit specialty here and have a mixed review. In terms of equipment offered they sell Bare suits and a decent selection of other gear. Their shop prices aren’t the cheapest in town but you don’t buy gear at an LDS for the prices, you buy local to keep your LDS afloat so they’ll be there when you need them. I’ve bought a bunch of gear from Diving Locker and have gotten good advice from the staff and instructors (of course I always search reviews and
first anyway). One of the best things about the Diving Locker is their flexible class scheduling. They teach so many divers that they have several PADI classes running every week so you can arrange to jump into whatever class meets your schedule to complete the various programs.
My mixed review comes because of their instructional staff. Diving Locker has been around for a long time and has some great resources in terms of instructors available to call in when needed. However, they seem to go through a lot of different instructors, and their instructional staff turns over quite a bit. I’m not sure if this is because of how much the owner is paying them or how they are treated but it makes it so you never really know what you’re getting. Sometimes you’ll get lucky, other times you get instructors that don’t inspire a lot of confidence and aren’t the best educators. I saw one website describe them as a revolving door of instructors — and the quality of these instructors is all over the place. One of the defining aspects of a dive shop is its instructors and ideally a shop will have at least one instructor on staff who provides an anchor that sets the bar for quality, experience and educational ability. While some of the folks who used to teach at DL are fantastic instructors (including Greg from what I hear), the shop is really lacking that anchor. If you are lucky enough to be part of a really busy dive weekend and they have to call in one of their former instructors as a contractor you could be in for a treat! However, it’s hit or miss. I’ve heard similar reviews of Rowand’s Reef.
In summary, the shop sells great gear and rents great well-​maintained gear, the shop staff are knowledgeable and helpful, the course module scheduling is probably the easiest in terms of your time that you’ll find in Vancouver, but their instructional staff is inconsistent.
If you are serious about learning to dive correctly, rather than just learning how to not kill yourself and your buddy, I’d recommend International Diving Center, Vancouver (teaches PADI as well as GUE) and Ocean Quest Water Sports, Burnaby.

I came here b/​c I was in town for the weekend and wanted to get back into the water no matter cold it was. It was just myself and Greg took me to Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver. We had a good dive. Lots of seals and starfish of every color. Everyone at the store was very nice and I’ll go there again if I ever have the opportunity.

The Diving Locker is the shop I consider my LDS (Local Dive Shop). There is a fairly good selection of equipment and accessories. The staff were well-​informed (especially if you talk to the owner) and the shop is located at the very convenient West 4^th and Macdonald (well, if you live in Kits anyways). For that forgotten item before the holiday, I’ve found the Diving Locker quite useful.
They also service and repair equipment. I was very happy to have my Apeks regs serviced at this shop — as a lot of shops round here don’t want anything to do with this particular make.
Sure buying dive equipment from one of the big online retailers may be cheap but consider important things such as warranty and servicing and it’s always nice to examine your potential purchases and speak to a real human being.

I was a very loyal customer buying gear and training to rescue diver with the diving locker. Every holiday I service my regulators and was typically charged about $ 85. My last servicing jumped to $ 350(with no approval) including a battery replacement for $ 70… The battery the year before was $ 15 on their books (its a $ 3 battery and 1 minute replacement). Guess in a recession, Nail your customers to make ends meet. I Left 3 (nice) messages for the owner.. he is choosing to ignore me.
–Bryan Ward

Just stopped in here to pick up a mask & snorkel for the annual sun trip, I’d always been fine with rental equipment, but last year’s diving experience in Thailand ended that.
The sales girl was extremely helpful and informative, handing me different masks to try on & explaining the pros and cons of the cheaper & more expensive masks & snorkels. They offer a discount when you purchase mask, snorkel, and fins — but I find fins take up too much space to actually cart around the world; The Diving Locker was still able to help me out with a bit of a discount for the two pieces.
Based on my experience as a customer I would definitely make The Diving Locker my first choice for local dives, if only my diving partner weren’t a wimp about the cold waters.

I grew up in Florida, and am no stranger to the water. However, I’ve never done much in the way of diving. I went in here to get a snorkel and fins– for a trip down to warmer waters. The staff was extremely helpful,
I spoke with Catherine about scuba lessons. She was very informative and has me seriously considering getting certified.
On a side note– this place is easily recognizable by it’s funky sea-​shell covered exterior! Very festive!