I was incredibly lucky to have people in person (including Twain himself) set me straight on paddle fins before I wasted money. I was also very lucky to get my dad's 30-year-old Aqua Lung Rocket Fins for free.

I'm sure there are many lurkers out there looking forward to your obviously forthcoming "I wish I'd known" article on BCs. Write it quickly before they buy what their LDS tells them to buy!

Anyone here ever used Sports Express? You can get quotes on their site at www.sportsexpress.com . It could potentially be even cheaper than other shipping methods if you're sending an enormous amount of stuff and want it done well, especially if you can't be there to do it yourself. I wrote a whole dissertation about shipping huge bikes on BikeForums, some of which is probably relevant here: <a href="http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php... " target="_blank">http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=302410...