Vacation divers - when did you decide to buy your own gear?

[Diver below 83]

No. My shiny metal plate is not lighter than my wife's jacket. It packs in one tenth of the space, I grant you: I can pack all my gear in a slightly oversize carry-on while her jacket needs its own checked bag. But lighter it isn't.

I spend maybe 3-4 hours/trip carrying it through airports. I spend 20+ hours wearing it underwater. I think the trade-off is very reasonable.

Which model BP and which model jacket? Because my statement stands very true. Most BP/W Packages weight less than jacket BCD’s. Those are just facts. Can you find a rare jacket model that is extremely light? Sure. But “most” will be heavier than a Bp

 

[dmaziuk]

Which model BP and which model jacket? Because my statement stands very true. Most BP/W Packages weight less than jacket BCD’s. Those are just facts. Can you find a rare jacket model that is extremely light? Sure. But “most” will be heavier than a Bp

SB-approved BP of course. It weighs around 4 lbs, ask Eric for exact weight, and that's w/o the harness, wing, and cambands. Now go to LeisurePro, check the listed dry weight for any/all of their "travel" jackets, and report your findings here.

 

[rsingler]

The stuff I'm mainly asking about is BCDs and Regulators at this point. For BCD I've really only used the jacket style and I like how they feel and fit. I don't think I'd go with the BP&W right now since I'd be traveling with it and that would just add weight and bulk, and plus, I like the jacket style. But I see some that are like $300 and some that are like $800 and I don't really know why there is such a drastic price difference.

I will check out some of those videos by that guy you all recommended on youtube to get an idea. I'm still not sure how I would go about testing out regulators if I were to check some out at a local shop. Using them out of water is just different than when under water.

Budget isn't that much of an issue right now either but I also don't want to spend more money on stuff if it doesn't make much of a difference either. Obviously I'd rather spend less than more though lol. I did buy my dive computer used though since it was just a tad more than the brand new Zoop but had accessories I wanted as well as more features, in case I wanted to use them in the long run. So I'm also open to used gear, although with used regulators, you really don't know how they were treated.

As for the annual maintenance on regs, what is the ball park price you are looking to spend on them? And do you typically have to send them somewhere? Or will the LDS (if I got it locally) handle that part of it for me?

I understand where you're coming from.
The gear itch is hard to resist, and I was the same way. There have been lots of valuable comments made so far.
On the bcd side, I travel with my BP/W and like how small it stows, though it is heavier than my travel jacket. At this stage in your career, unless you want to jump into the (ever-popular on SB) BP/W arena, give a little thought to the Scubapro Go. For the type of diving you describe, it may be perfect, for a jacket style. Lightweight and stows small.

For regs, there are a gazillion options, and again, the advice you've gotten so far is great. You shouldn't hesitate to buy your own gear now, because as your preferences possibly change, there is a HUGE eBay market out there to unload your (well-maintained) gear, and subsidize your next upgrade. That differential is probably no worse than the cost of renting different gear each time, with variable results. I've seen some really crappy rental gear on dive trips.
As for choosing a reg, my biggest recommendation is to buy what you can have serviced locally, IF you trust your local dive shop. Have a conversation with them, and try to get a feel for their service capabilities. There are a lot of mediocre technicians out there.
If you can't find local service that you trust, there are several well-regarded places to mail your gear, at a modest extra cost for postage. But you'll have service you can trust.
Once you determine where you'll service, buy a brand in your price range that they handle. It'll pay off. If you end up changing your mind down the road, pay the price delta between what you got for your gear on eBay and what your new stuff costs, and stay happy. There is nothing like diving your own regs, unless what you rent is better than (and as well-maintained as) what you could afford.
Thirty years into this hobby, I almost only dive bargain, used, high-quality gems that I then service myself. But I still have (and dive) my old Mk10/D400 that I bought new right about where you are in your training. Do I like my new titanium stuff better than my old? It's often hard to say...

 

[Diver below 83]

SB-approved BP of course. It weighs around 4 lbs, ask Eric for exact weight, and that's w/o the harness, wing, and cambands. Now go to LeisurePro, check the listed dry weight for any/all of their "travel" jackets, and report your findings here.

Again I asked what brands specifically you were quoting. Because as I said. “Most” jacket bcd will weigh more than BP/w combos. I’m not cherry picking here either. My statement stands true as overall most BP/W will be lighter than jacket type BCD. That’s just a fact. Are there ultra light weight travel jacket style bcd? Sure. There is also ultra light weight aluminum style BP/w. So we can both cherry pick the lightest available options out there, but for the overall mass of BC’s on the market they are heavier.

 

[Diver below 83]

SB-approved BP of course. It weighs around 4 lbs, ask Eric for exact weight, and that's w/o the harness, wing, and cambands. Now go to LeisurePro, check the listed dry weight for any/all of their "travel" jackets, and report your findings here.

Mares XR Aluminum Back-Plate

Just over a 1lb for the plate. After harness and wing addition you right around 5-6lbs. Hardly heavy and right on par with most travel BCD.

 

[Diver below 83]

TUSA Liberator Sigma II BCD, Black (BCJ-0101)

And for fair comparison this is the rental jacket I used all through training. I was using the M. So just over 8lbs. So my point still stands. BP/w are typically lighter than “most” jacket style bcd’s and on par with the light weight travel versions too. Granted you can choose to get a steel plate which is going to raise your weight. But if your going to use a travel BC as the example then let’s be fair and compare to aluminum back plates. Not your steel 4lbs plate.

 

[Pat.D]

To compare, I just weighed my travel rear inflate BCD (Scubapro Litehawk) and it's exactly 4.9lbs.

 

[Diver below 83]

To compare, I just weighed my travel rear inflate BCD (Scubapro Litehawk) and it's exactly 4.9lbs.

Exactly so on par with an aluminum BP/w set up. Travel vs alum. Good comparison. Steel vs travel? Not so much.

 

[Kimela]

You know the adage "there's a sucker born every minute"? We were the suckers. We bought our gear as soon as we were certified and before we took our first trip to the ocean (the Keys). There were many pieces of gear we regretted buying (titanium knife that made me feel like Lara Croft - jacket style BC that I've replaced with a Zeagle Zena - expensive regulator that wouldn't freeze up in COLD water, which was totally unnecessary since we're warm water divers - Atomic split fins - just to name a few - and I still have all but the original BC). Read about other's decisions and why they made those decisions. Maybe you'll find someone who is similar to you and emulating their choices will make sense? Try on as much as you can. As much negative as you may read here or there, divers are generally giving and generous folks (my experience). If they have something you'd like to try on, look at or play with (computers, fins, BC) just ask. All they can do is say yes or no - no harm, no foul.

I would probably pay full price for a few key pieces of gear like dive computer (but you said you already have that, right?) and regulator. You can't be certain the previous owner really serviced it and took good care of it. Just my 2 cents. Boots, fins, wetsuit, snorkel ... who cares?

 

[nolatom]

I'm a "vacation diver" I suppose, who also makes occasional day trips over to Pensacola area from New Orleans. Or over to Texas and the Flower Gardens. About 250 dives in almost 20 years now, so maybe I could've just rented. Or not.

But I bought gear fresh out of OW, at my local shop. I still dive that same gear, except for computer upgrade about 16 years ago, and replacing small stuff that got lost or broken, or upgraded, such as a prescription mask and computer. My original reasoning was--I'm cheap, so if I have to pay to rent, I'll find reasons not to go. But with my new gear, I *had* to dive more frequently, just to "get my money's worth". And so I did. I had a buddy in OW who was "going" to buy gear after kid's college tuition, then after something else, repeat, repeat, so he never bought gear. Or ever dived again. Though he "meant to".

No regrets. God willin', I'll do my usual "vacation" over in Southeast Florida next week, where my wife has friends and her own hobby to do (horses, which cost more than scuba ;-). Will meet up with an old dive buddy friend there I hope, and "swim with the Lemon sharks" off Jupiter. And a morning high tide under Blue Heron bridge.