Like many people, I had absolutely no issues with using rental gear at first. I trusted that the shops would clean things properly. I used it for the OW course and for a bit after that. Then, I bought my own gear but still didn’t have much of an issue with using rental gear in a pinch (which I sometimes did) but my mind has completely changed now. Why? 3 reasons:
1) Back in 2015, I went diving in the cenotes of Mexico. Under water, my mask kept fogging up. The DM kindly offered to exchange his for mine. I took the offer. After the dive, while chatting over lunch, he mentioned that he was still recovering from “the worst flu he had ever had”. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together. A couple days later, I also suffered from “the worst flu I had ever had”, which lasted for more than a whole month. Did I learn my lesson? Nope. I continued to use rental gear once in a while, when in a pinch.
2) Fast forward to December 2019, my sister and I went to Roatan so she could get certified. She bought herself a new 5mm wetsuit for this purpose. I also wear 5mm in such tropical waters so she bought the same. When we got there, her instructor convinced her that 5mm was way too thick and that she’d be too hot and too floaty. She offered my sister a 2mm shorty instead. I did not object because the instructor had a point and my sister was convinced. After 2 days of diving with the loaned shorty, my sister developed a rash. It got worse despite hydrocortisone, Benadryl and Claritin. That was all the meds we had on hand that we thought would work. By the end of the week, we started to get very scared. Could it be flesh eating disease? I dare not open my mouth for fear of scaring her to death. We left for home and we went straight to the ER upon the plane landing. It ended up not to be flesh eating disease but just a really bad rash. My sister now refuses to finish her certification out of fear.
3) COVID-19 - what can I say? I’ve already got 2 bad experiences with shared or rental gear already. I figured with the COVID-19 situation, it was about time I learned my lesson, forever.
Just last year, prior to the 2019 incident and COVID-19, I actually considered leaving my own gear at home and switch to rental gear for good due to the hassle of the 50lbs luggage limit and the washing after every dive. That is no longer going to happen. If I continue diving, it will only be my own gear from now on. And I don’t think I’ll let the shops wash it anymore either. Definitely not the regs.