New diver, wht gear should you own vs rent?

[t to the maxx2]

My mom, my brother and I just got certified. We bought fins, snorkel, masks, 3mm full suits, gloves and boots, and dive knife. What gear do you recomend owning vrs renting? And what is a good suggestion for each thing? We aren't cheap when it comes to this, as SCUBA can be dangerous and my dad fears us getting hurt so he wants us to buy pretty good stuff, so what do you recomend buying? We live in chicago so 99% of our diving will be after flying, so I know not to buy tanks.

 

[jepuskar]

Well, you are all certainly off to a nice start....all that is really left is a regulator and a BCD. As far as what to buy....there really is no right answer, the common one though is....have a budget and try to meet it....if you have a $1000.00 budget, dont spend $700.00..spend $1000 because you usually get what you pay for.

If you have to pick which item to spend more on as far as quality....go with the regulator.

J

 

[Desert Pig]

I agree about the regulator - hook it up to a tank and breath through it for awhile. This ia a GREAT article for choosing a BC http://www.scubaboard.com/cms/article93.html. Unless you are a gadget geek, get simple guages or a good computer.

 

[jeckyll]

One of the best pieces of advice I heard on this topic:

Buy the gear that you hate renting the most.

Good luck

Bjorn

 

[MSilvia]

I disagree with J about the price... you don't necessarily get what you pay for, and some of the worst available gear is quite costly. Other high priced gear is very good, but makes use of unnecessary and expensive materials like titanium. Better than buying the most expensive kit for it's own sake, research (outside of asking dive shop employees who are motivated sellers) what brands have the best reputations for quality and performance, and go with those.

I think you'll get plenty of agreement with regard to the regulator and BC, but you'll also want to select some sort of pressure, depth, time, and direction instruments.

With the BC, I'd recommend renting both traditional and back-inflate systems several times each until you decide which style you prefer, and then trying to select the simplest and most durable BC of that style that has the features you want. Personally, I like stainless steel hardware, dislike velcro, am somewhat picky about where my D-rings are placed, and don't want any strap across my chest that might interfere with a dry suit inflator. Other people like zippered pockets, ditchable weight holders, and a variety of other stuff. Get what works for you, but avoid the H.U.B. systems made by several manufacturers.

For regulators, I personally use Apeks regs because I like their reliability and the way the hoses route, but Scubapro is also a popular and very highly regarded brand.

As for instruments, I find the big all-in-one consoles to be unwieldy and conducive to poor streamlining, so I don't use them. I have a small brass pressure gauge that I keep clipped off to my BC so it doesn't smack into things or get tangled up, and wrist mounts for my Uwatec bottom timer and my Suunto SK-7 compass. I like the wrist mounts because they keep all of the information where I can see it easily, because they're streamlined that way, and because I don't need a free hand to check them, which makes ascents easier. There are lots of bottom timers, dive computers, and analog gauges available... again, use what makes sense for you.

 

[vondo]

My mom, my brother and I just got certified. We bought fins, snorkel, masks, 3mm full suits, gloves and boots, and dive knife. What gear do you recomend owning vrs renting? And what is a good suggestion for each thing? We aren't cheap when it comes to this, as SCUBA can be dangerous and my dad fears us getting hurt so he wants us to buy pretty good stuff, so what do you recomend buying? We live in chicago so 99% of our diving will be after flying, so I know not to buy tanks.

I'll tell you what I did in your situation, not that I'm suggesting it (or not). The next thing I bought was a computer. First, they are hard to rent. Second, I'm a gadget freak. My first dives after certification were with a rented computer and I didn't want to go back.

After that I bought a BC and Reg set up.

If you want to avoid wasting money, I'd recommend diving a few times with rental gear to get a feel for what you want.

 

[jepuskar]

Matt, I did say usually....


Ohh yeah, I did forget the computer didn't I.. minor overlook! If you are going to be doing multiple dives a day over multiple days on your trips, then a computer is a good idea...this you will want to purchase also and become familiar with before the trip.

If you are going to be doing one or two dives a day with long surface intervals you could get by with a depth, air and timer devices only and just use the tables.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

I'd buy a Reg for sure. BC could wait if not in the budget

Rap

 

[RocketMan]

My mom, my brother and I just got certified. We bought fins, snorkel, masks, 3mm full suits, gloves and boots, and dive knife. What gear do you recomend owning vrs renting? And what is a good suggestion for each thing? We aren't cheap when it comes to this, as SCUBA can be dangerous and my dad fears us getting hurt so he wants us to buy pretty good stuff, so what do you recomend buying? We live in chicago so 99% of our diving will be after flying, so I know not to buy tanks.

A lot depends on the type of diving you're doing and how often. If you’re just vacation diving once or twice a year, renting may be a better option than owning. If you plan on diving a lot but only at recreational depths, then most any reg will suit that purpose, even the cheaper ones (I'll get heat on this). Your local LDS will, in general, steer you toward the more expensive items, which isn't necessarily bad. Just be informed. Read and ask questions. Visit a local dive club and talk to other divers about their gear, how often they dive, where they dive, etc. The more info you get the better.

Anyway, welcome to the diving world. Enjoy. It's a great adventure.

 

[Xanthro]

First Question:
How often are you going to dive?

That's the first question to ask. If you are only going to dive on vacations twice per year, it may be better to always rent.

Even with your own gear, if you dive only ever 6 months you have a large learning curve to become re-aquainted with your gear, so the advantage of familiarity is gone.

Second Question:
Where are you going to dive?

Only resorts, no cold water diving? Then you don't need a cold water rated regulator or a drysuit.

Third Question:
How much do you want to spend?

You can get a nice Regulator Aqualung Titan for around $150, and a Scuba L Orion BCD for $225. Add in a simple Octo and gauge, inexpensive depth guage and timer and you have a complete nice setup for around $600. The regulator is not the best for cold water, so no diving below 50f. The Orion is a decent back inflate BC, but isn't the best in the world either and its a bit big for packing. But, the setup will would be fine for warm water vacation diving.

Now, you can spend thousands on better gear, but you need to determine how much and what kind of diving you plan on before making gear decisions.