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

[markmud]

I wanted to be in control of what equipment I dove and I didn't want to have dives affected by cheap gear that is poorly maintained. I am glad I did. When you are on the boat and see the problems that occur with some rental gear it will make you glad you own yours. When you have gone over your gear and it is good to go it enhances the experience. Familiarity and the ability to customize and always have a proper fit and know what your weighting needs to be to achieve proper trim is really important to me.

I agree with Ray,

But, we don't dive like you do. So, only you can answer the rent/own question.

I would put together a checklist that zeros in on your short term and long term diving goals.

1. Do you plan on diving a few times on cruise ship trips, or a few times on a trip that is focused on other activities? Better put, is your diving a secondary adventure and not the main reason you chose that destination?
2. Do you think you will do group diving trips, or destination dive trips that may require you to be an advanced recreational diver (I don't mean AOW, I mean a truly experienced recreational diver with a combination of formal training and diving experience gained while not under the tutelage of an instructor)?
3. Have you studied some destinations that have deeper sites, like the Oriskany or Spiegel Grove? Have you thought you might like wall diving (St. Croix's Vertigo, Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Wall, Bonaire's Thousand Steps)?
4. Drift diving Cozumel?
   
5. Do you think you might like a regulator that is tuned to your preference and maintained to a high standard by technicians you know and trust? A regulator that breathes effortlessly at 130 fsw or 30 fsw?
6. Do you like knowing by subconscious and muscle memory where your knife is in case you get tangled in fishing line or a fish net? Do you want to know where your u/w flashlight is without thinking about it? How about your SMB and thumb spool? Your spare mask?
7. Would you like to hog loop your primary second stage and necklace your back-up second stage?

If you gave a positive response to question number 1, then don't buy any more gear.

If you have contemplated diving experiences as I described in the other questions, then definitely buy your own gear. There are BCs that weigh no more than 7 or 8 pounds and fold up nicely. Or BPW. Or side-mount that weigh next to nothing.

My gear fits like a glove and I know where everything is without a thought. All by feel. But then, I would never answer question number 1 in the affirmative.

Good luck,
markm

 

[RayfromTX]

I will add that once you have your own gear you may find that you enjoy it more and are more comfortable and all of a sudden you are planning more trips and expanding your possibilities. Liveaboards suddenly seem like something to consider. You may find it opens a whole new chapter. I certainly didn't know I would end up where I did and I'm only scratching the surface.

 

[mac66]

Just got my OW cert and plan on being a vacation diver (mostly on Caribbean cruises). I did my book work and confined dives back home and did my OW dives while on a cruise on two different islands in two days with two different instructors.

I asked my original back home instructor what equipment I should buy and he said I probably didn't need equipment if all I was going to do was dive while on cruises one or two times a year.

I'm 64 years old and kind of skinny (I have no fat on my body) so was cold diving the Caribbean in just a shorty wetsuit. I am debating buying a full length wetsuit for my next cruise in April but that's about the extent of what I intend to buy unless I start diving at home in Michigan.

 

[scrane]

I rented equipment for the first 8 or 9 trips until I ran into a string of disappointing regulators in Roatan. By the time I bought my stuff I knew exactly what I wanted.

 

[GrafCanuck]

Have been diving for 3 years now. I'm a typical vacation (warm water) diver. I now have all of my equipment. Here's the order of purchase(s) by year.

Year 1 - 3mm wetsuit, I did my O/W dives in a shorty and disliked them, never a perfect fit and then heard that divers pee in them. I'm now having 2nd thoughts on whether I should have bought a 5mm. Note that I have had masks, snorkels and fins for years. Highly recommend open heeled fins with boots, stay away from the closed heeled if you intend on being a diver.

Year 2 - BCD (back inflated), regs & onto

Year 3 - Dive computer, extra compass, Eezycut knife, din to yoke adapter (I have a DIN 1st stage).

So I am now fully invested with dive equipment. I love diving in my own equipment. Excellent fit and I know where everything is and that it is working. Be safe and dive for life.

 

[RayfromTX]

Have been diving for 3 years now. I'm a typical vacation (warm water) diver. I now have all of my equipment. Here's the order of purchase(s) by year.

Year 1 - 3mm wetsuit, I did my O/W dives in a shorty and disliked them, never a perfect fit and then heard that divers pee in them. I'm now having 2nd thoughts on whether I should have bought a 5mm. Note that I have had masks, snorkels and fins for years. Highly recommend open heeled fins with boots, stay away from the closed heeled if you intend on being a diver.

Year 2 - BCD (back inflated), regs & onto

Year 3 - Dive computer, extra compass, Eezycut knife, din to yoke adapter (I have a DIN 1st stage).

So I am now fully invested with dive equipment. I love diving in my own equipment. Excellent fit and I know where everything is and that it is working. Be safe and dive for life.

I take a 3 mil to the caribbean and also take along a vest hood combo. When the 3 mil isn't enough I layer. It works nicely for me.

 

[edwants2dive]

Love this thread! I want to tell my story too!
Got certified on vacation and knew this was something I was going to do every chance I got so I got the bug to buy my own gear. Did my looking and realized it was not going to be cheap. Made my wish list and started figuring out how I was going to be able to buy it and explain the expenditure to my other half or how long it would take to save the money out of my "weekly" play allowance and not have to justify the cost. Well long story short I was spending some of my play allowance on slot machines (they are all over here in the state of IL) and got lucky turned $100 in to $2600 the money wasn't even cold before I was at the dive shop buying the full set! I don't get to use it as much as I would like but it is mine I know how it is kept up and I am familiar with it. That alone to me is worth the investment. Owning the gear also makes me find somewhere to do some diving on our vacations (my wife loves the beach so it's not hard) and it gives me something to do (that woman can lay in a beach chair for hours upon end). So the choice is purely personal as to buy or not to buy but for me having the gear makes me want to dive even more.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Always owned my own gear. Deciding to go diving on a whim in Puerto Vallarta with rental gear one time reminded me why that is. I know my stuff fits and I know how it was cared for and maintained.