Buy own gear or not, and what to buy?

[lardo5150]

sabbath999,
I live in St. Charles. I got certified through the Dive Shop (they are now part of the great american divers).
I have never heard of New Melle, I will need to look it up. Thanks for the info.
Shoot me a PM, would be nice to go diving with some people since none of my buddies dive.

This is all good info. I think it is going to come down to budget.

 

[Damselfish]

What does 2-3 times a year really mean? 2-3 dives it's probably not worth buying more gear, but if you're talking an annual week trip to Coz where you dive as much as you can combined with a few local day or weekend trips, I'd look into getting the other gear. Take your time looking around for deals, good used gear, etc. and you can do a good job of it without spending a ton. I'd especially look for a BC, often rentals aren't so great and it can be hard to get something that fits well which is really important to your comfort.

As far as a computer, they're really great for certain types of diving. But if you're only doing single days of a couple dives near home, and say morning 2 tank boats in Coz where you're with a group anyway, you may not gain that much from it. But if you want one, you don't have to spend $500. You can get perfectly fine new computers for under 300, even under 200. And you can get great deals from people upgrading. I normally suggest buying only Nitrox capable computers, but if you're not diving Nitrox anytime soon and can get an air computer really cheap, that may make sense for you.

Whether to get a reg can be a tough one in your situation. Diving with a rental probably won't be as nice as anything you'd likely get for yourself, and really sucks if you get a bad one. (If you get a bad rental you should return it and insist on a good one, though sometimes you can't know it's bad until it's too late to deal with it.) On the other hand, there is nothing to fit or get used to with a reg, unlike a BC. And with regs, you have the maintenance to consider.

 

[soamelt]

I think it depends on what the quality of the gear is that you typically rent is.

Where I got my OW cert from had decent Aqualung Titan regs, crappy old non weight integrated BCD's that had had broken buckles and an occasional zip tie holding something together.

My LDS rents brand new Aqualng Legends with brand new BCD's that the sell off at the end of each summer. If that was the gear I was renting, I would continue to rent for the minimal use it would get. If it were the former, I probably would want to buy.

 

[sabbath999]

sabbath999,
I live in St. Charles. I got certified through the Dive Shop (they are now part of the great american divers).
I have never heard of New Melle, I will need to look it up. Thanks for the info.
Shoot me a PM, would be nice to go diving with some people since none of my buddies dive.

This is all good info. I think it is going to come down to budget.

Here's a link to their website with more information.

The Dive Stop, New Melle, MO (just south of Wentzville off of I-70

They have a little forum there you can use to line up buddies. Watch for a PM from me later.

 

[jtpwils]

All of the opinions given so far are great opinions from the diver's viewpoint. Here is one from the viewpoint of a husband - or should I say from the percieved viewpoint of a wife.

You already indicated that your wife is "letting you dive".....if that is where the starting point is, then rent gear...period. You have a lot of expenses coming with a new child, and your wife's focus is on Ayla and she needs to know that yours is too. Buying gear doesn't mean that you can't focus on her too, but that's not the way women think in my opinion. (Go ahead and call me sexist but men and women simply don't perceive the same scenario the same way.) Rent until she's more comfortable with your diving desires. Otherwise your diving may well be resented more and let's face it...then you'll be diving less.
By the way, tell her that you decided this in the best interest of your child, that you're putting baby first. My creed as a husband of 20+ years is "Never let a good deed go unnoticed"
Happy diving and fatherhood!!!

 

[trigfunctions]

Just to throw out another option - can you rent the gear from a dive shop you trust in St. Louis and take it on the trip? I did that on one of my first trips out of the country and it worked out pretty well.

Also - Go Cards! They better get their offense back on track soon, and this weekend would be a great time to start!

 

[Damselfish]

All of the opinions given so far are great opinions from the diver's viewpoint. Here is one from the viewpoint of a husband - or should I say from the percieved viewpoint of a wife.

You already indicated that your wife is "letting you dive".....if that is where the starting point is, then rent gear...period. You have a lot of expenses coming with a new child, and your wife's focus is on Ayla and she needs to know that yours is too. Buying gear doesn't mean that you can't focus on her too, but that's not the way women think in my opinion. (Go ahead and call me sexist but men and women simply don't perceive the same scenario the same way.) Rent until she's more comfortable with your diving desires. Otherwise your diving may well be resented more and let's face it...then you'll be diving less.
By the way, tell her that you decided this in the best interest of your child, that you're putting baby first. My creed as a husband of 20+ years is "Never let a good deed go unnoticed"
Happy diving and fatherhood!!!

I'm a diver and a wife, and I think it's pretty hard to guess which way this would go. But an argument that say a used BC would be cheaper than renting after a year (or whatever) could be just as persuasive. Safety arguments might also be persuasive.

but if I detected any BS at all, that would not be persusive.

 

[SteveAD]

"Only going to dive 2-3 times a year" is often a self fulfilling prophecy.

Since I will not dive often, it is not cost effective to own gear, therefore I don't own gear, and since I don't own gear I have to rent which costs $ and the gear is often crap so diving isn't really that convenient or fun, so I don't dive often.

On the flip side, if you do have your own gear, diving becomes much more convenient. The quality and fit is dependable. You dive more.

 

[rstofer]

I wonder if 5150 means the same back there...

Anyway, I can't justify using a wetsuit someone else has peed in. Although I don't consider the wetsuit to be the most important piece of gear, I just want to be the first to 'use' it.

First you breathe, then you float - in my view.

After you resolve the wetsuit issue (I assume one is required for local diving), the next item should be your regulator. I'm not all that keen on putting something in my mouth that has been elsewhere. Sure, I can change the mouthpiece but that just isn't enough! Used regulators can be fine but make sure to have them serviced.

There are cheap BCs around. Check LeisurePro. As was pointed out above, you can rent them when you travel. I'm kind of out of the BC thing and heavily invested in BP/W's so I would only recommend what I like and that is the Deep Sea Supply BP/W. Maybe you need to wait a bit on this one. You can always rent locally.

I like the DiveRite Nitek Duo computer. It's on sale now that it has been superseded. See Dive Rite Express is now Dive Gear Express. It's a very capable 2 gas computer so it will carry you a long way in diving. Whatever you do, have the sales person demonstrate how to use ALL of the functions. Some of these computers, particularly the one-button models, have a menu system that only the programmer's mother would love.

You can do square profile dives with a watch, depth gauge and tables. I did well over 100 dives this way before I ever bought a computer. Even then, I only bought it because Nitrox gets a bit complicated when you have to accumulate your oxygen exposure.

Richard

 

[eelnoraa]

IMHO, buy something where fit is critical, ie, mask, boot. These items are NOT expansive.
And buy safety items that you cannot rent easily, ie, a simple dive computer, SMB .... If you dive a few times a year, chances are you won't need anything more than a very basic one, which tells your time, depth, .. You don't even need one with nitrox.

Other than the above, I don't think it is worth buying any of the big item, such as reg, bc, .. Most of these item require annual serivce, which can cost the same or more than you 3 time rental.

Yeah, you will be more consistent and more familiar with yoru own gear, but 3 times a year, by the time you get it familiar (the 3rd time), you stop. When you start again next year, you need to get used to it again.