Buy or rent - when to invest in equipment?

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

I often tell new divers who are contemplating their first dive equipment purchase to consider what often doesn't come with rental kit. The first items that come to mind are often the ones most needed if you get into a jam on a dive. Most often rental kit doesn't come with a SMB/safety sausage, whistle/noise making device, cutting device, or light. You can often purchase these with a low investment cost, clip them to your rental kit and have them available while you determine what set up is best for you. They also pack small so traveling with them in addition to mask/fins/snorkel/exposure suit is rather simple. Just a little food for thought.

 

[MrTW]

I usually divide the gear into what I refer to as personal fit items. It's the gear that you need to fit you like mask, fins, wetsuit, BC, etc. then there is the any fit items like regulators and computers. I usually recommend starting with the personal fit items since not every manufacturer's small, medium, and large is different. Unless it's easy for you to fit in standard rental gear I'd get a wetsuit and BC first, then anything else at whatever interval you want.

That makes sense. Fins are on my list as I had too many blisters on rented fins before. I did own a wetsuit in the past but sold it as I only used it once here in SOCAL. Diving in Asia is warm enough to wear a thin wetsuit but def good to have, if for anything, sanitary reason. A dive computer, from my perspective, is a must as it took me a while to learn all functions.

1. Cost effective depends on how often you dive. In the strictest financial sense take how much you spend per item renting then multiply by number of dives. If it cost $75 per dive for full set of gear and you dive 10 times then you spent $750 on gear instead of going towards your own gear. But if you don't dive that often it will take years to recoup the value. But there is also something to be said for owning your own gear so that you are familiar with where every buckle and clip is so you can find them with your eyes closed. There is value in that beyond the how much more did it cost.

I try to dive roughly 20 times per year during travel. That said, the main purpose of my trips to Asia are work related and diving is an absolute luxury and strictly on weekends if I can find time. Diving in SEA (mainly Philippines) is extremely cheap ($30 per dive all gear included). Therefore, amortization of gear would not necessarily be the deciding factor. However, most of the gear I rented in that area before is very worn. Having ones own gear would add some safety as i would know whether it is maintained adequately.

2. Your LDS may be able to work with you if you ask for discount on gear. Other option is obviously online retailers. Keep an eye out for models that are being discontinued since they will get you biggest discount. One word of caution is make sure you can get the BC and regulator service easily. If you buy brand "x" and your LDS doesn't service that brand you will have to mail it to get serviced. I'd also recommend gear that can do double duty. Your BC for example should be light enough for travel but have enough lift for local diving if you dive cold water. For that matter I know many posters recommend back plate with wing but I'd say a back inflate does the same and is more available online with more choices.

Yes, very good advise - I would probably buy from a LDS to take advantage of future service as oppose to online.

Regarding back plate vs standard BC; I am not familiar with the BC/W setup and would want to learn more about it.

---------- Post added December 27th, 2014 at 05:59 PM ----------

If you owned gear, would you dive locally? If so, it is utterly worth buying everything. You live where some of the best diving in the world is to be had; not to do that diving would be sad.

I live in SOCAL and do have access to dive spots here. I would not classify diving here as world class but def available. Having my own gear would enable me to dive more - that is one of the reason, I actually decided to look into purchasing.

If you only travel to dive, then the first question you have to ask yourself is whether you are willing to haul gear on an airplane. If excess baggage fees, or second bag fees are going to make or break anything for you, then you can't really own much, unless you absolutely do not wear clothes

Good point! For now, I have the luxury of extended luggage restrictions due to airline status. Hence, I can carry an extra suitcase free of charge. Rolling two suitcases should not be a deal breaker.

Much dive gear can be bought perfectly well used, and often at good or even ridiculous discounts from new. Lots of people take up the sport and don't continue with it, and their gear often goes on the market at very low prices. You do have to know a bit about what you are buying, because there are things sold which are no longer serviceable, and there are things which are sold because the current owner has figured out that that particular gear is a piece of junk and has replaced it. (I sold my split fins!). But if you know what you want, and there is no urgency to acquiring it, watching Craig's List, ScubaBoard, and other on line forums can be a good way to get gear inexpensively.

Since I am very unexperienced regarding purchasing of dive gear, I might be better of buying from an LDS.

---------- Post added December 27th, 2014 at 06:01 PM ----------

For BC's if you are interested I would highly recommend paying a visit to Tobin George at Deep Sea Supply. If you are interested in diving locally it is a great reason to buy your own gear and buy locally. If buying local matters, Atomic is also made in Huntington Beach. You're going to pay a premium for the Atomic regulators, but if supporting local businesses matters to you, then you are able to buy regulators and a BC that are all made within 20 miles of where you live....

Deep Sea Supply is a manufacturer, but you can call Tobin and pop in for direct sales from him and he's a super cool guy.

Great info - thank you!

---------- Post added December 27th, 2014 at 06:03 PM ----------

I often tell new divers who are contemplating their first dive equipment purchase to consider what often doesn't come with rental kit. The first items that come to mind are often the ones most needed if you get into a jam on a dive. Most often rental kit doesn't come with a SMB/safety sausage, whistle/noise making device, cutting device, or light. You can often purchase these with a low investment cost, clip them to your rental kit and have them available while you determine what set up is best for you. They also pack small so traveling with them in addition to mask/fins/snorkel/exposure suit is rather simple. Just a little food for thought.

Excellent advice - thank you!

 

[tbone1004]

If you're travelling more than local diving the odds of you needing local service are minimal. If you choose a BP/W, Tobin is local so he trumps a LDS by leaps and bounds and will obviously service his own gear. Good there. Most LDS's will service any regs they are authorized to service regardless of whether or not you bought them from that shop, so buying online doesn't carry any penalties.

Aaron from DRiS posted on here and they are an Atomic dealer, as well as Apeks, Poseidon, Hog, and others with a world class service department, so you can have anything shipped to them for service if need be. Edge Epic would be my first choice if I were in your situation, from DRiS, and I would highly recommend swinging by Deep Sea Supply and checking the out and having Tobin talk to you about BP/W's and options for travel from him.

https://www.deepseasupply.com/
unfortunately he does only run normal 9-5 m-f business hours.

 

[MrTW]

If you're travelling more than local diving the odds of you needing local service are minimal. If you choose a BP/W, Tobin is local so he trumps a LDS by leaps and bounds and will obviously service his own gear. Good there. Most LDS's will service any regs they are authorized to service regardless of whether or not you bought them from that shop, so buying online doesn't carry any penalties.

Aaron from DRiS posted on here and they are an Atomic dealer, as well as Apeks, Poseidon, Hog, and others with a world class service department, so you can have anything shipped to them for service if need be. Edge Epic would be my first choice if I were in your situation, from DRiS, and I would highly recommend swinging by Deep Sea Supply and checking the out and having Tobin talk to you about BP/W's and options for travel from him.

https://www.deepseasupply.com/
unfortunately he does only run normal 9-5 m-f business hours.

Thank you, tbone1004.

 

[TMHeimer]

Of course it depends on how much you have/want to spend. If you're a millionaire you could buy it all even if you dived one trip a year.
But, I would go this way: I bought mostly good used stuff and still use most of it 10 years later. First things to buy may be mask, fins, snorkel (this is always required--everyone on SB agrees...just kidding--you may opt for a foldable one). Body wetsuit for protection as you say. BCD. Possibly weight belt if needed. Other accessories mentioned previously. Tanks, weights if diving locally.

Owning your stuff obviously makes you more comfortable. When & what to buy depends on how much you dive. Obviously rent money goes out the window. How many trips would it take renting stuff to add up to what the stuff would cost. Can you invest the money, keep renting, and come out ahead that way?

Oh, of course it may be a good idea to rent something to check it out before you buy it.

 

[TSandM]

I would highly, highly recommend going out and talking to Tobin. He makes excellent gear and he is painfully honest and frank about advising people on which of his products will work for them.

I have been diving for almost 10 years and have had the good fortune to go a lot of interesting places. I personally believe the most consistently fabulous diving on the planet is along the west coast of North America, starting with the Channel Islands and moving up through Monterey, through Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, and all the way to the tip of Vancouver Island. I just spent three days on wild scooter dives off Catalina, in 50 feet or more of viz and blue water, in huge schools of baitfish and with rockfish of various species everywhere. One of the best dives ever was doing the sea lion rookery off Anacapa on scooters, and having the puppies play with us for a solid half hour.

I love color and coral and the plethora of nudibranchs in the southern Pacific, but the West Coast is consistently amazing.

 

[MrTW]

I would highly, highly recommend going out and talking to Tobin. He makes excellent gear and he is painfully honest and frank about advising people on which of his products will work for them.

I have been diving for almost 10 years and have had the good fortune to go a lot of interesting places. I personally believe the most consistently fabulous diving on the planet is along the west coast of North America, starting with the Channel Islands and moving up through Monterey, through Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, and all the way to the tip of Vancouver Island. I just spent three days on wild scooter dives off Catalina, in 50 feet or more of viz and blue water, in huge schools of baitfish and with rockfish of various species everywhere. One of the best dives ever was doing the sea lion rookery off Anacapa on scooters, and having the puppies play with us for a solid half hour.

I love color and coral and the plethora of nudibranchs in the southern Pacific, but the West Coast is consistently amazing.

Thanks for another recommendation on Tobin. I will pay him a visit.

Also, your feedback on Channel Islands/West Coast diving is nice. I only went once up there and I did not like it, mainly because I got sea sick on the way over. I should pop some sea sickness pills and give it another try - hopefully with my own gear that time around

 

[KevinNM]

Transdermal Scopolamine is a wonderful thing.

Owning gear allows you to get good with it. I can't imagine how much of pain it would be if every time I dived I had to figure out buoyancy and trim for a random wetsuit, BCD and fin combination. I'd be bouncing of the reef and surface for the first few dives on every trip.