How long did you wait before ...

[seibert.kyle]

I bought my gear right away. I didnt want to waste any time or money in rentals, Trying out different gear is not a bad idea. But most rentals are not good

 

[kimbyh2o]

Right after my first Cert. I bought a set of used stuff from a dive shop. Shortly after my dad went and got new stuff for himself... he doesn't dive as much as I do, so I had all new stuff about a month after my first Cert. I got my mask, fins, and boots before class even started.

 

[TravisD]

We bought wetsuits right after finishing our OW checkouts. Rented the rest a couple of times that year until the season was over. Prior to the next year's local season starting (a/k/a when bonus check came in) we bought the "rest" of our gear (BC/Regs/Tanks). Later that year we went ahead and picked up 2 more tanks since we mostly dive the local Quarry, and quickly relized that we'd get more bang for our (quarry entrance fee) buck if we could do multiple dives per day.

 

[khblair]

right after AOW is when i bought mine. it was an investment that was worth the peace of mind

 

[Danninella]

I got certified in october (AOW in nov) and I have just bought my own gear, drysuit, BC, regs and other stuff. I felt that it would be expensive to rent all that stuff each time I wanted to go diving (because from now on I want to dive alot!). The reason it took me so long was that I did not want to start diving during winter (swedish winter) and because my boyfriend and I spent a lot of time reading reviews of the stuff we were buying. So now we have bought the stuff and I can´t wait to try it out.

 

[wmessin]

Here's my thoughts on the subject.
I bought my equipment right in the middle of my pool sessions. Many people will say that waiting till after getting certified is the best way to go as you'd know for sure you like diving and you know a bit more about the equipment.
But for me, trusting the opinions of the experienced LDS employees and purchasing during my class allowed me to get comfortable with one set of equipment in the pool first. Once I got into a real OW environment I didn't have any concern about learning how a different piece of equipment functioned. I already knew the ins and outs of mine.
My peace of mind was in tact and I'm very glad I purchased during my class. This may not work out well for everyone, but it worked out well for me. Plus, I got a good deal on equipment plus interest free financing on all of my equipment at the LDS by purchasing during my class. I couldn't have asked for a better situation.

 

[JimHar99]

I bought most of my equipment right after AOW. By then I was sure that I would keep diving. For most of the equipment, I went with the recomendations of the instructors at my LDS.

 

[Charlie99]

Most sets of rental gear DO NOT come with what I consider essential safety equipment. Before I bought my own gear, I bought some small items that I felt were important to have -----

• Surface signalling sausage (even a cheap 6' x 6" orange plastic tube is a good idea)
• Knife and/or EMT shears
• Whistle
• Mirror
• Slate
• Small light, such as UK Q40

I also bought a couple extra snorkel keepers to use as octo holders since on rental gear the octo holder seemed to always be either missing or not work very well.

I also brought along a small mini-ball compass since a compass was also an item often left out of rental gear supplied by boat operators.

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When renting gear, particularly BCDs, take good notes on what makes/models and sizes fit you well and work well. I found my dive logbook was the best place to jot down notes on gear.

 

[cricfanSD]

Most sets of rental gear DO NOT come with what I consider essential safety equipment. Before I bought my own gear, I bought some small items that I felt were important to have -----

• Surface signalling sausage (even a cheap 6' x 6" orange plastic tube is a good idea)
• Knife and/or EMT shears
• Whistle
• Mirror
• Slate
• Small light, such as UK Q40

I also bought a couple extra snorkel keepers to use as octo holders since on rental gear the octo holder seemed to always be either missing or not work very well.

I also brought along a small mini-ball compass since a compass was also an item often left out of rental gear supplied by boat operators.

=========================

When renting gear, particularly BCDs, take good notes on what makes/models and sizes fit you well and work well. I found my dive logbook was the best place to jot down notes on gear.

I bought my snorkel,mask, booties and gloves during my OW classes. I didn't dive much after the OW because of various reasons. Once again started diving after my Baja California trip and after I moved to Santa Cruz. I bought some more equipments such as wetsuit, knife, secondary lights during my AOW certification. Finally bought my Aqualung Titan regulators,octo and Suunto Gekko from my LDS' annual rental gear sale which saved me lot of money. I bought my Mares Morphos BC from ebay for 1/4th the actual price. After diving few times with my Titan regulator I sold that at the same price to another OW student and bought a new Oceanic GT3 at a very good price from Dive Sports. Though the Titan regulator was good I didn't want to pay for an overhaul
During this time I always kept notes of the rental gears that I liked and the ones that were not good. Right now I am debating whether I should buy a steel tank or just keep renting. The LDS is very close to my home and pick-up/drop-off the tank is absolutely not a hassle.

 

[SoCalSwami]

I waited 10 years to buy my reg.
Waited another 10 to buy BP/W, drysuit, HID and everything else this year.

I didn't want to be one of those people who regrets buying $1000's worth of stuff, only to find I didn't like the sport. Turns out, I ended up filled with regret about not having bought my gear sooner. It would have forced me to be more active.

Craigslist is the BEST rental agency. Buy it, try it, sell it.