What equipment is essential to buy/own versus rent, in your opinion?

[oreocookie]

Thanks Dan. As far as bc fit and tank movement go, I imagine most newer divers who don't own their own gear probably have no conception of how much the tank is moving or how well the bc fits until they experience something else. I had that moment when I bought mine; in the store I realized how badly the rentals had fit me even though I had thought they were fine, the first dive with it I realized how badly out of trim I'd been with rentals. It's an extension of me and the only thing that moves is the air in the wing - I could dive with a rental if I had to, but I wouldn't if given the choice. It's classified as a "travel bc", but maybe I just got lucky (and it appears as though they got the rear OPVs figured out). If a diver hasn't experience something better, then I agree with you that rentals are the way to go.

 

[HorizonDiveShop]

i'm owner for Diving store,,EGYPT
the right choice for You, is the Reg, BCD, Computer, Horn and Mask
the rest can be rented and almost will not influence badly on Your dive.
and You can check its weight and will not be more than 3Kg.

 

[DaveTheGreat]

I am often a traveler who dives (as opposed to a diver who travels), and balancing out my dive gear with my hiking gear and skiing gear and lounging-around-the-hostel gear is enough to drive me absolutely batty. Getting it all into luggage that I can still lift onto buses and ferrys is a chore. Here's my advice though:

Buy your mask.

There ya go, that's pretty much it. If you travel to a lot of places, you will find the wetsuit you bought is too thin or too thick from one vacation to the next (unless you exclusively travel to one type of diving area. Me, I go from ice to tropics to mountain lakes to rivers. One size does NOT fit all for me). Fins are bulky and usually are not the most important part of a diving kit. Gadgets are things you are going to buy no matter what advice you get (we are all gadget addicts in the diving community), BCDs and tanks are way too bulky to travel with unless you are taking a vacation that is entirely about diving and nothing else, and weight belts are ... well, heavy. That's kind of their whole purpose. Regulators are bulky, require expensive annual maintenance and if something goes wrong while traveling you are far more likely to wind up renting one rather than wasting a day or two trying to get it fixed on some remote island in Central America or something.

Dive computers are a great purchase too, mainly because a lot of dive destinations feature a wide selection of dive shops and it's not uncommon for a traveler to dive with a different outfit each day. Most dive computers will have a multiday function to keep track of your bottom time and safety data, and if you use the rental ones you wind up with a new (thus: useless) set of data each day. Rental shops in much of the world don't even bother with renting out computers because this continuity problem makes them nothing more than expensive depth gauges. Of course, you can do it the old-fashioned way and keep your dive tables recorded on paper every day. I know some divers who just toss the computer in a BCD pocket or something and don't bother to look at it during the dive (they have their console for that); solely for the purpose of keeping accurate multiday nitrogen saturation data as they wander from one dive shop to the next over the course of a week. They record the numbers after each dive.

One other good thing to buy if you are a family that dives together is some kind of uncommon identity device. A distinct mask strap, tank band or some other easily-portable thing that nobody else will likely have so you can figure out who is who underwater (with everyone wearing rental suits, BCDs and tanks, you may have only seen your family's gear for a few minutes topside and thus won't remember if your wife has the black-on-black Scubapro suit or the black-on-black Bodyglove suit). It saves maybe five minutes of dive time; not a big deal but worth it.

Anything else is a toss-up. Snorkels are usually cheap and depending on where you travel you may enjoy a lot of (free, no need for boats/guides/gear) water fun with a snorkel and mask. Lights seem to be a pretty strong personal choice, but any place you go night diving with rental gear likely means they will rent a top-quality light for a fairly low price.

 

[DeeperOut]

I always carry my mask, computer and regulator. wetsuit if the weight allows.


The trick to not going over the limit is either getting a special jacket with lots of pockets or rigging a raincoat with extra pockets.
That way I can put about 10kg of weight into my jacket that the airline does not know about. phone, batteries, small camera, buoy (I do not go into open water without one) I might look like a homeless hunchback with all that extra crap on me, but when airlines want up to 60 euros for an extra bag, and a last minute round trip flight to malta is 40 euros, it is worth it...

In the summer, I wear light nylon or silk clothing that can be rolled up neatly and dries up in a couple of hours. that way i only need two pairs of pants, one shirt, two t-shirts, three pairs of socks and swimming trunks... rinse, wash, dry, repeat.
all weighs very little.

That said, in Europe you can buy last minute charter trips cheaply and they allow 20kg of weight and 7kg in carry on.

 

[cliavn]

I take everything with me except tanks. I don't see the point in brining tanks on holiday to a place where tanks are included with the diving price. I live and dive in Indonesia we get around 20kg and each additional kg is less than 2 USD so why not bring it all

 

[NAUIWOWI]

I always carry my mask, computer and regulator. wetsuit if the weight allows.


The trick to not going over the limit is either getting a special jacket with lots of pockets or rigging a raincoat with extra pockets.
That way I can put about 10kg of weight into my jacket that the airline does not know about. phone, batteries, small camera, buoy (I do not go into open water without one) I might look like a homeless hunchback with all that extra crap on me, but when airlines want up to 60 euros for an extra bag, and a last minute round trip flight to malta is 40 euros, it is worth it...

.

I have a scottyvest, and you can carry enough to go on a weekend trip without checking a bag! Only problem is that a fleece looking jacket on a flight to the BVIs might look kinda funny......

 

[mala]

I want to buy my own equipment, but I often fly on airlines that only allow a small weight, max 40 pounds.
My question is what equipment do you consider essential to own and not rent at the dive shops?
Also if you could suggest brands you like I would much appreciate. I have done so much research but need advice.
Do you recommend a combination dive computer/transmitter combo? Will long-term storage between yearly dives be a problem?
We are a diving family (all older now) but only get to dive on one long vacation every summer, just for some background.
I appreciate the help.

if you dive once a year on holiday i would buy a mask and rent everything else.

 

[RonFrank]

Gear in order of importance weights approx.

• A Mask is about what fits you. Some folks are an easy fit (like me) some are not. I like Atomic. Under 1lbs
• Signaling Devices. A Safety Sausage, 6ft. A reel is nice but not necessary. Under 1lbs
• Computer. Buy one and learn to use it, many are one or two buttons, so not difficult. Under 1lbs
• Fins. I would look at Mares Quattro as they are light and have good pockets. Manta Rays will also work. 2-3lbs
• Booties. They prevent painful chafing and sores. 1-2lbs
• Wetsuit. More important depending on water temps and your body type, IOWs are you a hard fit. 2-4bs
• Inova light, handy for more than diving, lite and inexpensive. Under 1lbs
• Snorkel. Good for snorkeling of when diving in the ocean with current. Under 1lbs

That's 13lbs of gear max, likely under 10lbs. Everything else rent as its bulky and/or heavy. I bring all my gear and less clothing but that is me. The stuff above is all small except for the wetsuit which may be optional. IMO the top 5 are mandatory as an ill fitting mask or fins can ruin a dive. Safety equipment is not optional and a computer is something that keeps divers safe as well.

Have fun and dive safe.

 

[Lucas Cordina]

Well, this is what I would take with me in order of priority

1. Mask- fit is important in this piece of equipment
2. Computer - helps keep you safe, and you familiarize yourself with it before you travel, if you could rent one, you'd spend an hour just mashing the buttons and hoping for the best, stick with tried and tested
3. Regs- Safety equipment, while rentals do the job, I'd put more faith in my own set
4. Wetsuit - I love a comfortable and snug fit, not to mention, I feel bad getting into a wetsuit that's been used by someone else before me, I half want to sniff 'em for pee

Of course, the mask is the most important part when travelling, you can manage to rent the rest with little consequence