Sell or store BCD

[jclin10]

Greetings

My wife and I purchased new BCDs about 10 years ago prior to our kids being born. We probably won’t use them again for another 5-6 years before our kids are old enough to join. We moved our BCDs from our parents’ basement and have to pay to store them somewhere. Is it worth it to store them or just sell them now and buy new models in 5-6 years? Basically, will BCD technology change at all between when we bought them and when we will need them? We’re exclusively occasional travel/vacation divers. Also, during that time, our body shape has changed, so they might not fit as well as they used to, and we’ll be 15 years older, so not quite as physically able to lug around heavy equipment as we used to be!

Thanks in advance

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

What kind are they?
Brand, style, model...

How much other stuff are you storing? Is the dive equipment just incidental to a bunch of other stuff that’s going to be stored anyway?
If you guys are only occasional vacation divers, you might be better off to sell the stuff now, then rent whenever you go somewhere in 5-6 years. It doesn’t sound like you do any local diving or do enough vacation diving to warrant owning your own gear.

 

[Damselfish]

Technology-wise I expect they'd be fine. Gimmicks come and go but the basics haven't really changed much in a long time and I doubt they will. People dive all sorts of older gear. But if they're unused for 10 years and will sit another 5-6 you might find the bladder doesn't hold air anymore, mice ate something important, or as you implied they might "shrink." And after all that time some service on the valves and inflator would be a good idea.

Have you tried to figure out what you could sell them for? Depends what they are exactly, but for a 10 year old BC, good chance not much.

I probably wouldn't pay _only_ to store 10 year old used BCs for another 5-6 years, especially if it's going to cost more than they're worth.
If it's just a couple more things you're storing with other stuff and won't actually cost extra to store them, it wouldn't hurt to keep them. If they fit and work when the time comes, great. If not, you probably haven't lost much.

 

[D_Fresh]

I think if you want to hang on to them, that's probably just fine. I would store them well protected, in bins, away from heat, sunlight, etc.... And probably pull them out once to twice a year to blow some air into the bladders, wash the BC, and maybe treat any rubber with a conditioner (UV Tech or something). All of this should help prevent any degradation and keep them usable.

 

[Rechno]

As the others said, it depends on the circumstances.
If I for sure knew, that I would/ could not dive for at least 5 years, I would not store the gear. Check what you will get for the BCDs and what you have to pay for storage for 5 years, then calculate it against the cost of new or used (but younger) gear in 5 years.

 

[rhwestfall]

unlike the regulator question (which I say keep), I'd be dumping the BC on the garage sale market....