Question What to bring vs rent?

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shopguy

Contributor
Messages
95
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Location
Washington
# of dives
200 - 499
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 :wink:

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).
 
I bring everything. If there's anything I might rent it would be BCD, regs and fins so long as I knew they had good gear. The compass is nice to have and takes no space but I only use it on shore dives. Leave knife and gloves at home - they are not allowed in the marine park which is the majority of boat dive sites.
 
Bring everything except tanks and lead. My wetsuit, mask, fins, and computers go in the carryon, along with a swim suit, shorts, and a T-shirt.
 
If you plan on staying and diving with Scuba Club you should be able to rent for the week. I don’t remember anyone renting anything but tanks and weights, but we kept our weights all week long.
 
On the dive lights: 10 or 15 years ago, I might have said sure, why not rent a dive light if you don't have one and don't do many night dives. But dive lights of the type that are more than good enough for a Cozumel night dive have become so inexpensive that renting can quickly add up to what you'd spend buying them. Here, for example: DGX Gears 600 BUTTON Handheld Light
 
Travelling light? What's that? ;^)


That ended when I started bringing dive gear. Without it I can do any trip with a carry-on and a personal item.


Or maybe I'm just to picky about the gear I use.
 

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