Rentals vs Buying

[syruss32]

Originally posted by Liquid
Just one question-
Did the LDS rent the equipment also to others?

I don't know Liquid, like I said I thought I would ask and to my surprise he said yes...

So that is why I told everyone here!

You celebrate your 1/2 year anniversaries....that so sweet! (hint to belushi!!!!)

Actually I buy her a teddy bear on the 12th of every month for our anniversaries. And then about 2 times a year I get more expensive gifts, like a tablesaw, a scubatank etc...

 

[captdave]

One thing you all must consider. Every dive shop I have worked in always buys the cheapest least expensive gear for the rental locker. Most of it is poorly serviced and very few shops rent high quality equipment because of the abuse it takes.. There is a real difference in how a cheap reg breaths and a cheap bc functions but most new divers know no difference cause they been in rentral crap....Take some advise and purchase the best quality gear you can afford. Layaway works but Insist on testors choice equipment. There is a real difference.

 

[scubabunny]

Captain Dave,

I think the better term is "low end" rather than "cheap". The word cheap makes people think its going to fall apart after being exposed to water.

Most rental gear is low end (meaning no frills) because it DOES take a beating, and the more little gadgets and doo-dads it has means more things can go wrong. Simple BCs are easy to service and cheaper to buy. But, just because they are not the "top of the line" does not mean they are not good BCs.

Same goes for the regs..for the most part. Most regulators in rental are unbalanced pistons..which are good regs. But, I wouldn't recommend an instructor or a diver that whats to advance his education to buy one. But, again, they are reliable regulators that are easy to service and therefore good for rental.

Our shop goes through our rental gear at least once a week. It gets serviced every 6 months, unless it needs it sooner. I thought most shops were like that..maybe I'm wrong.

 

[captdave]

Hi Scuba Bunny,
I agree with you about the low end equipment being simple.
However, just because a piece of equipment is high end does not mean it is not simple. It surely does not mean it has a lot of doo dads that can cause trouble. Frankly They just breath better. Once you have seen the difference a rental (Unbalanced) reg is terrible. Reliable yes but it does not breath as good. The same holds true with BCD's. I agree the low end are good but the difference in buoyancy control is incredible also the ability to be able to adjust a bc to fit you perfectly is another feature low end units do not have. This does not mean one has to spend a lot of money either. Frankly there are fantastic BC's and regulators that are very affordable. The key is product knowledge and consumer awareness.
I have found that by putting my divers in real high quality equipment they keep diving. When they cheap out they usually burn out in a few years.

I think your policy of weekly checks is very good. I wish this was an industry standard but I am afraid you are the exception not the rule.

 

[Butch103]

I guess this is either a statement, qustion or an observation..........

Yes rental gear is generally not the quality one would buy for their own use.....however....if it is that bad why does it last sooooo long under such "abusive" wear and enviroment.

For all the abuse it takes and lack of care the gear does seem to last a long time.

The rental gear I have seen althought he BCs were faded they still worked, as did the regs.

I think if one was to be starting their OW stage in their diving career the rental style may be all they need. I know then comes the upgrade question (or problem).

Butch eace:

 

[Liquid]

My reg is a MARES R2-NIKOS. When I bought it, it was considered an OK reg, nothing fancy. Today the only ones holding it are dive-centers, becouse it is so cheap and so reliable. When you use a low end reg, you take care of it, and you adjust it to your needs (mid-pressure, sensitivity, etc.). I have dived with various other regs, from the most expansive balanced, to my humble R2-nikos. I love it, it's not balanced, yet when dived at EXTREME (and when I say EXTREME, belive me, it is EXTREME) conditions, I never had any problem with it. It's true, that when I am at 50 meters, and have to swim hard, It is less easy to breath than with another, fancier reg. But, under normal conditions the difference is minor.

 

[captdave]

Butch, Butch, Butch,
You need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Some people are happy with older used cars and they work fine. Other people understand the difference between that and a new Mercedes and can appreciate the difference. In scuba equipment it is the same but the added cost is not that much if you know how to buy.
Remember your talking about life support equipment. I again repeat if you have ever tried a high end reg and bcd you wonder why you ever thought about rental equipment. It is like the microwave oven how the heck did we live without one for so long.

 

[Butch103]

I am wide awake and just for info sake I use almost all Mares gear.(BC, Regs etc) High end?? definetly not rental.

It was just an observation, again the observation is the rental gear takes alot of abuse and with regular maintainance it holds up. I am guessing rental gear my even have more dives on it then the average "owned" dive gear. (not meant to create any arguement)

Don't get me wrong, I think if one is going to purchase their own gear they should purchase the best gear that they can afford. And also the gear that suits them and their dive style (tech etc) best.

Butch eace:

 

[captdave]

Hi Butch,
SO glad to know you have good equipment.. I sell Mares and it is fantastic stuff.
As a working scuba instructor I can say that my equipment is dove more often and under worse conditions than any of my rental equipment.. If I was using the less expensive stuff it would not hold up.. I tried it. The rental stuff is ok for the average 2-3 times a year diver providing they don't care or know the difference in breathability.
I dive an International divers Titanium Airtec..and International Divers Nekton 2000 BCDS..Fantastic and with over 300 dives a year no problem...I know the rental stuff does not get dove this much. On my last set I had over 2000 dives and sold it as rental....

 

[captdave]

One last comment.
Most shops sell off the rental equipment every one to two years. to keep it current and to avoid time consuming repairs.. We blast it out every year to get rid of it and bring in new..we sell it at our cost so it never costs the shop any money to own the rental equipment after the initial investment.....