To rent or not to rent.

[ccx2]

Just rent, go have fun , pack light, and as you get more experience with diff gear buy your own if you stick with Scuba. Pay attention to what you rent for future reference ,you will find that you can't tell one reg from another when you are new to diving and will probably come back to Scubaboard and ask for recommendations of good gear if you stick with diving and buying your own gear. Go have Fun in Cancun.

 

[Mike126]

Since you are already in the process of getting certified I assume you have had some pool time and now have a feel of what its like to breath underwater with a regulator. Some people just don't like that feeling and never persue their OW cert. When I was certified, I realized it was something I wanted to continue with so I decided to buy shortly after I completed my cert dives. This was mostly due to a planned dive trip a year later.

Personally, I have found that the rental regs are harder to breath from and always perfer to have my own gear for a number of reasons. First and probably the most important is I know the condition and and exactly how it will feel when I use it.

You don't need to spend a lot. Most of the recreational regulators (middle tier) all breath very nicely. You can get a really good setup with Octo for under $600 new. A basic set of guages and computer will set you back maybe another $300 - 400. So for under $1000 you should have a nice setup. I would not buy something really inexpensive with the idea of selling to upgrade later. To save even more money you should look at the classified section here. I have seen some really good setups for around $400.

A word of caution with LeisurePro, they are a good company to deal with from my experience but as others have mentioned some of their gear is not covered under the manufacture warranty (Aqualung being one). Scubatoys is also a great source as it Dive Right In Scuba.

When my kids decide to get certified I will either look at the used market or wait until Aqualung runs their Octo free promotion and get them a Titan LX with a simple computer like a Zoop.

If by chance you decide to get way more serious and get into technical diviing chances are your regulator with some hose configuration changes will at least get you started there. And one can never have too many toys!

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your trip!

 

[Lorenzoid]

For the first few years after getting the OW cert, I took maybe one dive vacation a year, using rental gear from whatever dive operator I was diving with, before finally ponying up the money to buy my own. Some of that rental gear had seen a lot of wear, but all of it was in working order. If a rental reg was difficult to breathe, then I told the divemaster and got a different one the next day. A thousand bucks for a set of gear was (and still is) a lot of money to me, and I wasn't sure I was going to be diving that much. As it turned out, for the first few years I did not in fact dive that much. So in retrospect I believe holding off on buying a full set of gear was a good decision for me. I think the quality/safety of rental gear is generally fine, and the decision whether you should buy or rent should depend mainly on whether you fall in love with diving and how often you go diving. Sometimes it's not apparent at the time one gets certified, because at the time we finish the cert course most of us are all gung-ho about diving and tell ourselves we plan to do a lot of it. As the months go on, and things get in the way of our plans, we find the reality may differ. All of us have different situations.

 

[scubamarketing]

LeisurePro is another good option except that some of their lines carry their equivalent warranty instead of the manufacturer's since they aren't licensed dealers. It's generally going to be the stuff where their price is phenomenally better than you can find elsewhere. Their warranty coverage is spelled out on their website but it's basically ship it to them for anything. You may/may not want to do that. The problem will be that you'll pay full price for service if needed somewhere else - even if that dealer also sells your gear. On LeisurePro this is mostly an issue with ScubaPro gear and maybe a couple of lesser brands. They are licensed dealers for many of the lines they carry. Every mfr. has a dealer locator on their website to check.

Actually, we became authorized SCUBAPRO dealers several years ago, so that all comes with the full manufacturers warranty. The brand named after a Jethro Tull album is the one that still doesn't allow online sales, so we provide our own warranty instead.

 

[highdesert]

We rented BC's and regs on our first two dive trips. Now our dive trips are generally about 12,000 miles and 5-6 flights one way. All of our own gear goes with us on every trip. We use the dive op's tanks and weights, and nothing else. Would renting be easier? Oh yeah! But I'll stick with the hassle to have my own gear.

 

[diversteve]

Actually, we became authorized SCUBAPRO dealers several years ago, so that all comes with the full manufacturers warranty. The brand named after a Jethro Tull album is the one that still doesn't allow online sales, so we provide our own warranty instead.

Sorry, fixed that. I knew it, just confused my premium gear mfr's...

 

[Skittl1321]

We rented BC and regs from the dive op we dove with in Cozumel. Everything was in excellent condition, and the reg tasted like fresh detergent every morning. The regs also had a computer on them, which was unexpected.

Overall, the condition of the gear we rented in Mexico was better (regs breathed easier, BC fit better) than the gear at our local dive shop we certified in; though both were perfectly serviceable.

You just have to find a place with a good reputation. They've earned it for a reason.

 

[Texasguy]

In Cozumel, btw, "Dive with Martin" scuba op has their rental scuba gear for FREE. And, they are 8 or less customers per boat operator.

 

[pjhansman]

The brand named after a Jethro Tull album is the one that still doesn't allow online sales

At least most of us over 50 know the reference

 

[Doc]

... The brand named after a Jethro Tull album is the one that....

Sorry, fixed that. I knew it, just confused my premium gear mfr's...

No, I fixed it:

The Jethro Tull album named after the brand....