Question What to bring vs rent?

[bhalah]

We have clubs in NYC for both of those scenarios.

Those must be Tech Diving clubs

 

[Snoweman]

I bring everything with most of the dive equipment going in my carry on bags (a backpack counts as a personal item). The only items that get checked are my fins and booties. I don't wear a wetsuit, but I wouldn't be bothered to rent one if I needed one.

BTW, none of the dive police have confiscated my dive knife in the park.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Unicorns don’t flyView attachment 699310View attachment 699311View attachment 699312
They hide on shop walls


I could be talked out of it, maybe.

Those must be Tech Diving clubs

Mm hmm. Sure. We'll go with that.

 

[Charred]

I'll never understand the desire to video a dives so they can watch it when they are home. Be in the moment and enjoy your dive. Then go to youtube and watch someone else's dive at the identical site with the same fish, corals and swim throughs.

Each to their own of course.

 

[formernuke]

I'll never understand the desire to video a dives so they can watch it when they are home. Be in the moment and enjoy your dive. Then go to youtube and watch someone else's dive at the identical site with the same fish, corals and swim throughs.

Each to their own of course.

When diving for fun I agree.

However I wish I had more videos of me diving while doing drills so that I can see any mistakes and correct them.

 

[Lorenzoid]

When diving for fun I agree.

However I wish I had more videos of me diving while doing drills so that I can see any mistakes and correct them.

Not just drills. I wish I had even one pic* of me diving. Neither my wife nor I wish to burden ourselves with a camera.

Edit: Except for GoPro vids of me doing drills, my avatar is the only dive pic I know of that was taken of me in the 23 years I have been diving, and it was taken by a fellow SB member I ran into in Cozumel.

 

[DandyDon]

Neither my wife nor I wish to burden ourselves with a camera.

I did a lot of traveling before affordable digital cameras, didn't bother with cameras as I didn't want to bother with developing, saving, etc. It's really unfortunate that I don't have any photos of those trips. I am grateful for a horde of family photos passed down to me even tho I don't know who many of the people are.

Nowadays I am happy that I can shoot decent photos with my phone as I always have it with me. I usually have a point & shoot on my belt, and I probably have a spare packed. It's great to download photos from trips or occasions, edit them, save them to online albums and my computer both - the latter backed up on an external hard drive. I may or may not get back to them anytime, but it's almost without cost so why not? I usually know where to look for those when I want if I file them well.

I do get irritated with other camera shooters who block a trail lining up shots as if that extra three feet is going to make a difference. "Stand on the other side of the path, folks!"

I am certainly not good at underwater photography, but it's fun to save those too, share the better ones with friends. And I am glad someone took a shot of me on my 500th dive and shared it with me.

 

[Marie13]

I was lucky to be diving with someone with a really good camera for my 400th dive in FL. Dive once or twice a year with someone who takes great photos. A regular buddy has a GoPro and so I get decent photos semi regularly. I only carry a camera myself when wreck diving. Friends regularly give me their cameras to get video so they can see how their trim, kicks, etc., are.

 

[MMM]

3 adult divers flying Volaris from Ciudad Juarez -> Mexico City -> Cozumel. We are staying at Scuba Club for the first week of April. What is the baggage allowance on Volaris? says we can have 2 carry-on bags each, 22lbs TOTAL weight, 22x16x10. We will use standard size duffle bags, which should come in just under the size restrictions (depending on how you stretch/shape them).

My thoughts on what to bring vs rent:

Neoprene - n/a or Rent - hopefully nobody needs any, my wife might, if so she will rent

Mask - Bring? I'm leaning towards brining, it could be hard to find one that fits well and doesn't have fog issues, and they are pretty small

BCD - Bring -- they are large/bulky, but fairly light weight (Cressi Start Pro x3), but also one of the more expensive items to rent, plus the comfort factor of having your own fit/gear and knowing how it works

Regs/Octo - Bring - critical expensive gear, seems most people bring these. Ours are setup for DIN, I have 2 DIN->Yoke adapters, and should have time to get a 3rd. Including adapters this will add weight, but I think worth bringing anyway.

Dive Computers - Wrist Style - Bring - small, light-weight, and nice to have your personal dive logs.

Fins - Rent - Our Apollo Bio-Fins are pretty large, and they have non-removable spring straps so we would also need to bring or rent booties to use them comfortably.

Dive Light - Rent if Needed - I only have one between the 3 of us, and it is a smaller one. If we do a night dive, will be our first, so I would want a guide/DM to lead us, and would rent/use whatever they recommend.

Compass - Bring - I love my Suunto, so will bring it.

Whistle + Sausage - Bring - Since doing lots of boat dives -- I think we'll have room.

Knife - Bring (kind of) - Good excuse to buy one of those non-knife knifes, since I don't want to try taking a knife-knife to Mexico, not after being harassed/robbed by police in Rocky Point Mexico for a co-worker having a network cable splicing knife tool in his pocket walking outside our hotel (where we were installing a wi-fi network for them).

Camera - Bring - just my small GoPro

Dive Bags/Backpacks - n/a Leave at home - I have two mesh style backpacks that are great for shore diving at home, but for this trip it will either be boat, or a shore that is not a far hike. Plus, without neoprene, there isn't that much to carry.

Tanks + Weights - lol? rent, of course (although we did fly with our weights to Puerto Rico, which I'm glad we did, but that was a month trip with lots of shore diving and US airlines allowing a 55lb checked bag easily/cheap).

Clothes - I was told it is a nudist-friendly place

I've seen other threads similar to this, but don't think I have seen one specific to Cozumel, and I feel this info is site specific (i.e.-need neoprene or not, and what type of rental gear is available on site). There is so much info on Cozumel here though, so I probably just haven't found it yet. Feel free to just point me at existing info and/or delete this post if duplicate and not needed

I am curious about Scuba Club specifically though -- quality and availability of rental gear. Would we be able to rent gear and keep it for the entire week, or have to go through the hassle(?) of returning each day and maybe having to get/learn new gear each day? Or maybe I should rent somewhere else, even though Scuba Club seems like the obvious choice, with the on-site dive shop.

We are just open water divers, using air, and staying above -60 feet elevation except for the rare occasion to chase a mermaid deeper (the cute kind, not that Johnny Depp movie kind).

In April, you will probably need neoprene. 3 ml wetsuits are widely available for rent but size and for can be sketchy. I would bring my own, weight permitting.

Mask.. definitely bring your own. Nothing is worse than an ill fitting mask.

BCD I would rent. They are bulky and take up valuable travel space.

Reg; if you have space I would bring but generally widely available for rent.

Computers.,a wrist computer doesn't take much room so if you have one you know, great. Otherwise, widely available for rent.

Fins are widely available for rent but be aware that most rentals are slip on variety if you are used to wearing booties, you may experience blisters. Find out from the op what they have. Also size might be sketchy Best yet, bring your own.

Dive light unnecessary for daytime dives.

Compass Unnecessary.

Whistle and sausage yep. Needed safety gear and not available for rental typically.

Knife nope.

Camera if you want

Dive bag yup. How were you planning on schlepping all this ****?

Tanks and weights are supplied by the op.

As far as Scuba Club, I haven't dived with them but I assume they will assign gear to you for the duration of your dive. You can always ask them.

 

[ggunn]

Fins are widely available for rent but be aware that most rentals are slip on variety if you are used to wearing booties, you may experience blisters. Find out from the op what they have. Also size might be sketchy Best yet, bring your own.

I bring my own fins and booties but I also use full foot fins occasionally. A pair of low rise cotton socks between skin and rubber works well to prevent uncomfortable rubbing.

Dive light unnecessary for daytime dives.

I disagree. I always have a light with me and I use it on nearly every dive for peering into hidey holes and for auxiliary light in swimthroughs. Also in swimthroughs I usually follow my wife; I shine my light around ahead of her frequently to let her know I'm OK so she doesn't have to turn around to check on me.

Compass Unnecessary.

I have found a compass to be very handy when we shore dive at night, especially when the current is light or nonexistent. If we swim around a lot looking at stuff it's easy to get disoriented if we can't use the current to orient ourselves. I use a cheap fluid filled hiker's compass and set it so that when it's oriented with mag north the arrow on the plate points to shore.

A light and a compass are small items that are easy to pack and may come in handy.