Thanks for sharing this important and valuable information
Hi, This isn't my story, I'm posting it for a friend who prefers to remain anonymous. But I can communicate any questions that people have to the OP and share the answers here...
Thanks for sharing this important and valuable information. We returned from a trip to the Caymans in November and after the flight back from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman, as we were deplaning and going down the short flight of steps on the Twin Otter, the young man walking in front of me dropped his bag and bent down quickly to retrieve it.
His shorts slipped down and I had an unwelcome and extensive view of his butt right in front of my face. The skin of his butt was heavily covered with ugly, red, angry-looking pimples and pustules. My first thought was impetigo, a nasty skin infection (Strep and Staph) that is more common in children but can also infect adults - but I didn't offer to do a culture!
I don't know if he had the infection before he went on vacation or if he picked it up (or it got worse) while on the island, and I don't know if he brought his own gear or rented, but I sure wouldn't want to use a suit after he was done with it!
I often see individuals sitting around all day in wet swimsuits, especially on liveaboards. It's true that your suit will partially dry if you spend your time outdoors in the sun (the risks of skin cancer is a separate topic!) but the suit usually stays damp in the nooks and crannies. There's a good reason that they won't let you into the salon and living areas while wearing your swimwear on LOBs. You will leave damp marks and things will eventually start to get moldy.
I like to bring 3 swimsuits with me and 2 sets of skins on dive trips so that I can regularly rotate them and have clean, dry items on hand. I also like to change suits during the day, before the morning, afternoon, and night dives. Not only is it icky to sit around in wet clothes but you are asking for skin trouble IMO.
You don't need to overpack, but the swim gear is stuff that you will be using a lot (hopefully!) on a dive trip and it is worthy of the luggage space.
We rented gear during our training and early days of diving, and one time when the weather/water was colder than expected, but for the most part we prefer to use our own equipment. I am always surprised when someone posts that they don't bring gear and like to rent on dive trips because it's "too much trouble to lug all that stuff." I suppose that if you are only going to have the chance to do a couple of dives on a trip that may make sense - but it is very nice to have your own gear for many reasons!
