To buy a regulator or not...

[pbr]

My 13 year old son is in the middle of his O/W certification (two class and two pool sessions left) and he will do his check out dives in the Bahamas next month.

So far so good but I'm wondering if I should buy him a regulator for his open water dives. I have a reg and have never rented one when on the road. I've heard that it's a roll of the dice and a "bad" reg could make for an unpleasant dive.

What do y'all think?? Also, if you vote for buying one, which one would you pick? I dive with a Scubu Pro.

 

[pt40fathoms]

If you have the extra cash, then by all means buy him a reg. It's a known fact that people who own their own equipment tend to dive more often. This would work out well in retaining your son in the sport.

As for the choice of reg, I'd stick with the same type you are diving with. Makes service less of an issue, and will give your son a feeling of "being just like dad". Besides, if yours is out for service, you can always borrow your sons.......

 

[paolov]

Buy your own gear. Having your own gear would easily alert you to avoid problems with equipment you use underweater.

 

[garyfotodiver]

After the mask, fins, & snorkel, get a regulator.

I gave my daughter her own BCD, regulator, and skin for our trip to Florida this past April. She loved it, and I dove with greater peace of mind.

If you want my opinions on gear, PM me.

 

[DandyDon]

I've heard that it's a roll of the dice and a "bad" reg could make for an unpleasant dive.

Or, maybe a dead son. Sorry, that's blunt, but while I just might risk a less than preferred piece of life support on myself, and I'd never do it to my child, even if I had to buy a new reg every year.

Get him the best.

 

[00scuba]

I agree with Don...and that is not too harsh. That is something I would not rent...its someting you want to know how its been serviced, treated and how it works. When my children are old enough....i'll make sure to extend the same safety views about diving as I have...i am pretty tough...but one life thats all you get.....not worth saving the $$$ on doing a rental.... IMHO

 

[sdbdrz]

I have rented equipment when I first started diving and the best decision I ever made was buying my own equipment. In particular my reg. I usually get a couple business trips a year where I am able to squeeze in a day of diving, if I do not take any other equipment I always take my reg. It is the one piece of equipment that I am not willing to rent.

 

[Michael Schlink]

I don't know if I would totaly agree with everyone here. Yes I agree that those that own their gear stay in the sport more so than those that don't. There are quite a few resorts and dive shops that rent excellent quality and properly maintained equipment. Somebody once told me that they would rent once or twice and see how there children "take" to the sport and then make a major purchase. One of the questions you need to ask yourself is, is the approx. 4-600 bucks much of a financial setback, if it's not that big of a deal then go ahead and if it doesn't work out then you have a spare set or you can sell them. Now if your dipping into the kids college fund then why don't you rent for a couple trips and see how things go. There are HUGE amounts of gear being sold all the time because people made the purchase before they really needed it. As far as rental gear, talk to your LDS, many will rent or loan you a set in anticipation of you making a purchase and some will even do a rent to own. Have fun on your vacation and relish the opportunity to go diving with your son. Regs -Atomics, Scubapro, Oceanic-M

 

[s7595]

buy the reg . ask your self this ? what is peace of mind worth ?
.as for brand I see you are from north usa,that means cold water . apex ,scubapro 600 ,aries, or any other cold water reg

 

[DiveMaven]

When my husband and I first got certified, we planned to rent equipment for the first year or so. We quickly realized that as long as we dove in the United States that we would more likely be very safe renting since the dive shops are under US laws and can readily be sued. However, in diving outside of the country, we would have very little to assure us that dive operators are maintaining their equipment. After reading a few equipment rental horror stories on this site and others, we decided very quickly to buy our own gear. We wound up buying all our own gear, but owing our own regs and computer would have been the minimum for us.