Questions about Dive Gear?

[rgkv]

I take all my gear, except weights and tanks, with me on every trip.. rental wet suits have, you can imagine what people do in them, rental reg sets that have been in hundreds of mouths,,Yuck. I have learned how to pack and on any one week trip everything fits in my one travel bag, clothes and all, and it still is under the 50 lb limits so no extra charge. My reg set, computor, camera all go in my carry on .

 

[JimGarey]

I agree with what was said previously. I prefer to take all my gear except for the tank and weights. You never know what quality gear you can rent. If you are going to dive a lot, I would consider switching from a BC to wings and a light weight backplate (Aluminum or plastic). Its so much easier and comfortable once you get used to it.

 

[SaltLakeCityDIver228]

We're South Carolinians (my wife and myself) with a good bit dive experience and are unsure about buying gear. We have done about 300 dives in 20 years, with no complete gear as of yet. (we own mask, fins, computer, etc). We're recreational divers and both PADI Advanced certified. In the past resorts and individual dives provided the dive gear. The great thing for us was never worrying about the weight of luggage and extra cost for bringing gear. We can spot quality gear and easily find it at dive shacks , when diving. We have booked a liveaboard (St. Kitts to St. Maarten) – and we are debating about buying our own gear. We are not worried about what other divers may think as we have our own reasons for not owning gear. One reason is our age, both of us are 67 years old so how many years of diving do we have left. Currently, we are in great shape and have no medical problems to dive. Cost isn't really an issue (well sort of), but timely servicing and reliable dive shops are. We know divers with gear service delays. We do about 50 dives annually, so a delay in gear service could be problematic. .We are seeking other divers insights: owning gear pros and cons, Cressi vs. Mares or others, basic or advanced gear, and whether to buy gear at all. Thanks, Buster.

We have always preferred owning our gear, (knowing it has been serviced properly, doing check out dives after service and general familiarity with the way it is set up). The luggage grief is well worth it! We had an episode a while back when we were in the Cayman Islands with my daughter and she opted to use rental gear and they had an issue with the inflator valve on her BCD and didn't have a spare on board! Practicing oral inflation for the entire 2 dives was not exactly a fun experience!

 

[JimGarey]

Many years ago I had a leak in a bcd on a boat dive that started just as I approached the anchor to get out of the water. Luckily, I just repositioned my body in a way that didn't let the air out as fast and got up the anchor line. It wasn't a rental but I could imagine you could get some pretty poor gear at some resorts. I got a new BCD before my next dive.

 

[thomschoon]

I am also 67 and just ordered a dry suit, and in the last few months bought a new regulator set, computer, and other bits. I like having gear I can depend on, I also like to be able to just go diving locally when I want, easy in Florida. I use Apeks as much as possible as I like the quality and serviceability. I bought a dry suit so I can go diving in Europe as well as get back to the west coast where I started. I never liked renting as every shop have different items and many that didn’t work well enough to allow me to get comfortable with the gear and just enjoy the dive. If you buy quality you can always sell it or pass it on to someone else when you finally stop, which could be a long time by the looks of some of the people in south Florida on the charter boats.

 

[ShelbyR]

We're South Carolinians (my wife and myself) with a good bit dive experience and are unsure about buying gear. We have done about 300 dives in 20 years, with no complete gear as of yet. (we own mask, fins, computer, etc). We're recreational divers and both PADI Advanced certified. In the past resorts and individual dives provided the dive gear. The great thing for us was never worrying about the weight of luggage and extra cost for bringing gear. We can spot quality gear and easily find it at dive shacks , when diving. We have booked a liveaboard (St. Kitts to St. Maarten) – and we are debating about buying our own gear. We are not worried about what other divers may think as we have our own reasons for not owning gear. One reason is our age, both of us are 67 years old so how many years of diving do we have left. Currently, we are in great shape and have no medical problems to dive. Cost isn't really an issue (well sort of), but timely servicing and reliable dive shops are. We know divers with gear service delays. We do about 50 dives annually, so a delay in gear service could be problematic. .We are seeking other divers insights: owning gear pros and cons, Cressi vs. Mares or others, basic or advanced gear, and whether to buy gear at all. Thanks, Buster.

The amount y'all are diving, it would seem like a no brainer to buy gear. But the time to buy it was 20 years ago when you started. At 69, I'm getting rid of my dive gear. I don't dive enough to justify keeping it. If you're diving with reputable dive operators, their gear will be up to date and properly serviced. At this point in my life, I'm looking for less hassles. If it costs a little more, so be it.

 

[JohnSr]

I always recommend owning your own quality regulator. While you can rent quality regs at many shops, there's no way to externally identify if/when/how those regs are serviced. They can look good externally, and have significant problems internally. The confidence of knowing how, when, and where your regulator is serviced provides peace of mind and enhanced safety. Plus you can have it configured and tuned to your exact needs.

 

[Litefoot]

I’m soon to be 65 and certified two years ago. I bought all my gear because I live in a remote area without a dive shop. Not sure I would buy if rentals were available. Two things: Gear buying is addictive, so have a plan and stick with it. Also, I bought new stuff, but sometimes I wish I had waited on some things to pop up here in the Classifieds.

 

[Green Frog]

“We are 67 years old…”? I’m getting ready to turn 75 and just upgraded my BCD to a new-to-me one since I’ve lost a bunch of weight as well as buying a BP/W to try out. My collection of regs is also continuing to grow. In fact, I’ve replaced just about everything but my dive skin over the last year or so, and I’m looking hard at that! By the way, I’m only doing a couple of dive trips a year for the foreseeable future. If I were going diving as often as you and for trips as long, there’s no way I’d be using somebody else’s used gear that they think fits me “well enough”. I service as much of my own gear as possible and watch the condition of that I can’t service myself so it’s all a known entity… after all, it’s life support equipment.

 

[Green Frog]

Buster,
I just reread your post and noticed your location is Charleston. You have a couple of good shops there in town (truly local dive shops). I discovered them while visiting my niece at Mt Pleasant and like one so much I’d deal with him long distance for some of my stuff. I don’t think it would be acceptable to brag too much about him on this thread, but if you can’t figure who I’m talking about, send me a DM.
It sounds like you’re diving all warm water and don’t require a real wet suit. I’ve been using a tri-laminate dive skin that takes up as much space and weighs about the same as a pair of jeans. If you already have mask, fins and snorkel, as well as your own computers, add a good regulator rig and a travel BCD or lightweight BP/W and you’re good to go!
Any reg & BC you rent will almost certainly be used, but if you buy used and have it serviced locally you know what you’ve got. With rental gear, you’ve got???
You’ve gotta be you, but you asked and that’s my studied reply.
Regards,
Green Frog