$1000--buy or rent?

[knobber]

I'm going to use my tax return for what I thought would be my new equipment. Now, I'm not sure. If you had $1000 for scuba equipment, would you buy your own reg, or use that money to rent the equipment with. $1000 provides a lot of rentals of a regulator, but $1000 could also allow me to buy my own and use it when I want. What do you guys recommend?

 

[ScubaK-Dawg]

Depends on the diving you do. If you're diving all the time, definitely buy. If you're only gonna use the gear once a year on vacation, it may be more worthwhile just to rent. It's nice owning your own gear, then you know that it has been maintained well and you know it fits you...

 

[redacted]

I'd buy a full set of used gear for $500.00 & use another $400.00 to book a trip the the Flower Gardens and use the last $100.00 for local diving (or maybe buy a used tank).

 

[d33ps1x]

Out of all the pieces of equipment I would rather own regardless of how many times I use it, it would be Regs, BCD, and Mask.

Regs= Primary life support. Why mess around...
BCD= Familiar and reliable bouyancy
Mask = Lose that at 100' and good luck on your ascent rate.

For $1000 you can probably buy yourself some a lot better than any rental department has in it.

 

[ElectricZombie]

If you plan to stick with diving, buy a set of gear.

$1000.00 is enough to pay for almost a complete set.

 

[ScubaRon]

Buy a regulator and a BC for the reasons d33ps1x stated. Also get a dive light and a computer.
ScubaRon

 

[Mo2vation]

d33ps1x once bubbled...
Out of all the pieces of equipment I would rather own regardless of how many times I use it, it would be Regs, BCD, and Mask.

Regs= Primary life support. Why mess around...
BCD= Familiar and reliable bouyancy
Mask = Lose that at 100' and good luck on your ascent rate.

<snip>

I'd have to add exposure protection in there, too. But for me, regs are essential, because, well, how do YOU drive a rental car?

BC - no brainer. Fit and control

Mask - I HATE leaks. Someone else's snot is pretty below average, too.

For me, what pushed me over the edge to dive more was getting my own cylinder. I mean, OK... so I have a suit, and a BC and all that open water stuff (fins, mask, etc...) but all that stuff (sans BC...sorta) can be used by snorklers.

I felt like a diver when I got my own cylinder. And THAT is when I started diving more. It meant no longer did I need to go to a dive shop before I went diving.

Friday night... get a call, lets go diving tomorrow... dang - shop is closed...can't rent my stuff...

The tank completed the rig, was the last thing I bought (before upgrading all the rest recently) and is the only thing that has survived several gear upgrades over the years.

But you gotta start with Regs and BC, and add that to your OW stuff.

K

 

[bgbill]

Buy your own reg, there are several reasons but the main one is-

You don't know who was sucking on that thing before you rented it.

Dive shops do not clean their rental equipment, and I am sure they do not sanitize the regs either.

 

[knobber]

thanks for the replies folks. I own everything except a tank and reg, so that's what I'm trying to decide. With all I hear about malfunctions and the service, I was starting to wonder if I would be better off just using the money to rent and not worry about the hassles. but now I'll probably get my own set for a decent price, and use the rest for another FG trip in April.

 

[scubafanatic]

..........well, there's nothing like the warm feeling one gets from owning your own gear......I find it keeps me in dive mode, and lifts my spirits seeing it around.....brings back fond memories of past adventures, and generates anticipation of future excitement!

Let's face it, you're prone to do a lot more diving when all your gear is at hand, ready to roll......you know the maintainance history, it fits, it works....you've sorted out bouyancy/balance/weighting issues...you're independent of store operating hours, it's available 24/7.

If all you lack is tank and reg.......well, an AL80 new at full retail is $125--$150...and a good reg set (2 second stages, 3 guage console) can be had new for $350--$400 full retail...so for something like $500 you'll be good to go.

(I've spent a LOT more than that.....for example, got 9 tanks--2 twinsets/5 singles--but in my case I'm seriously hooked on diving...I'm incurable!

Karl