equipment...own or rent?

[DiveMaven]

We bought our gear right after getting certified.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

It's a serious question. Believe it or not the most experienced diver I know in the real world has been diving for 30 years with hundreds of dives logged and has never bought a single piece of equipment outside of her own fins and mask. I thought this was strange, so I just wanted to find out if I was the strange one for buying a full set up right out of OW.

Amazing. I also think I came across slightly stronger than I intended. What I meant was that the poll will probably be VERY lopsided in the direction of owning. Of all of the people I know with >20 dives, only one still rents his own equipment and he is primarily a vacation diver.

 

[Brandnew2Scuba]

Amazing. I also think I came across slightly stronger than I intended. What I meant was that the poll will probably be VERY lopsided in the direction of owning. Of all of the people I know with >20 dives, only one still rents his own equipment and he is primarily a vacation diver.

No worries, I took no offence . Based on the voting so far it does seem like it isn't a serious question. The diver I spoke of, strongly suggested I never buy, her reasoning being renting is cheap, you get to always use different equipment, and you don't have to worry about maintenance or storage. During my OW, 2 out of 5 days in the pool I could barely pull a breath out of the reg I was given and I don't think they were cleaned all that well because one day the reg I got was full of sand. That convinced me it was time to buy, newbie or not.

 

[REII]

My wife and I own all of our own gear, including 6 tanks. We would have rented the tanks instead of purchasing as others have said, but we take a lot of trips on our own boat. Many dive shops in the keys will not rent tanks out to use on your own boat during their busy days for fear of running short themselves. And in Grand Bahama, dive shops will not rent tanks to take out on your own at any time. I have heard some other island will, but not where we like to go to.

Buying your own equipment is very expensive. That being said, if you can afford it, it is worth the money. Rental gear is hit or miss. And it is is so much nicer to dive with your own gear that you are comfortable with.

TOM

 

[ChrisEdwards]

I did a resort dive and then signed up for the OW Cert. During the 2 month period between the resort dive and the OW class, I did a lot of online research, visited many dive shops in my area, trying on BC's etc., although not in the water.

So I plunged in and bought all my own equipment prior to the OW Class. My Son, 13 years old, also did the class with me. After the pool session and passing the written exam, I bought his regulators and octo prior to the lake and ocean dives.

He passed this past Sunday and we bought his BC yesterday.

I might add that I bought everything from a variety of three LDS in my area. I know I could have got some stuff slightly cheaper online, but the wealth of information and being able to see the equipment first hand, more than offset the slight price premium.

On buying prior to class, the only piece of equipment I did not like were the fins I bought for the resort dive. They were a solid fin and caused my ageing legs to cramp a little. I replaced these with a set of Atomic Splitfins, what a difference.

I'm a skier also and just don't like the hassles of equipment rental.

The only thing we don't have is tanks.

 

[TSandM]

We bought all our gear at the end of our OW class.

Then I replaced almost all of it six months later. It was worth it. I actively love the stuff I have now. I honestly cannot even imagine going someplace to dive and having to rent equipment. I know where everything is on my stuff, how it works, what it feels like. I know the vagaries of my drysuit dump valve, and what to do when my wing isn't venting easily. And then there's my Salvo light . . . How did I dive without it? I love my gear. Not to mention I'd be bankrupt if I'd been renting for almost 200 dives . . .

 

[Ron Brandt]

I had all my gear including tank before I finished my last cert dive. Back in those days rentals were rare. I still maintain that if you want to dive and keep diving you shoud own your gear, but with that being said I know lots of people that travel to dive frequently yet do not own because of the added "hasle" of taking(draging)it with you on vacation.

Ron

 

[goodeatsfan]

Wow! I'm shocked! I always imagined more divers rented than owned their own gear, especially in my part of the world. But after reading the various posts, and really thinking about, MOST divers I know who have had more than 30 dives do have their own gear, myself included (recently geared )

 

[oly5050user]

It's a serious question. Believe it or not the most experienced diver I know in the real world has been diving for 30 years with hundreds of dives logged and has never bought a single piece of equipment outside of her own fins and mask. I thought this was strange, so I just wanted to find out if I was the strange one for buying a full set up right out of OW.

if the experienced diver has been diving for 30 years and only has hundreds of dives-how experienced is she? if its 300 dives thats only 10 dives a years,not very much diving to remain proficient enought to claim to be experienced..900 dives thats 30 dives a year,better but not that much better..I tell students that if they are serious about getting good at this activity to own their own gear and be responsible with it.For those that only rent ,if it suits them thats ok ,but their abilities will never be as good as it can be with their own gear..

 

[S_SIMON]

I have been diving just over 3 years, have 400+ dives....bought my equipment while taking OW. Best investment I have ever made.