Gear and travel

[tracydr]

My gear has been hauled all over the world. I rented once,only because I was traveling light enough to carry on everything for two weeks in a small backpack and wasn't sure if I was going to dive. In retrospect,I would have taken my gear that trip too if I knew that trip was going to be so easy.

---------- Post added October 30th, 2013 at 08:10 PM ----------

A big issue with renting is sizes.
If you are very small (or very large) it may be hard to find gear that fits.

We take all of our own gear.

I'm very small and that's one of my problems. I know that my gear fits me well. Most fins won't fit,most BCs won't fit and I have a hard time finding wetsuits that fit.

 

[gcarter]

I like my gear. I take it with me.

 

[chillyinCanada]

My trip to Colombia wasn't a dedicated dive trip and so I carried only my mask and computer. First descent and the SPG oring was obviously toast. I twisted it a few times and did the dive anyway but the experience definitely reminded me that I'll continuing to haul my own gear with me, no matter the hassle.

 

[DeputyDan]

My gear has been hauled all over the world. I rented once,only because I was traveling light enough to carry on everything for two weeks in a small backpack and wasn't sure if I was going to dive. In retrospect,I would have taken my gear that trip too if I knew that trip was going to be so easy.

---------- Post added October 30th, 2013 at 08:10 PM ----------


I'm very small and that's one of my problems. I know that my gear fits me well. Most fins won't fit,most BCs won't fit and I have a hard time finding wetsuits that fit.

One of my adult daughters is under five feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds. - We never found rental gear that would come close to fitting.

 

[Scuba-dan]

I got the same question from my too... I definitely take my gear. Some of the rental gear at some holiday resort looked so in bad shape.

 

[jameseg]

My wife and I bring all our own gear. If it was just a half day of diving in the middle of a week-long trip, we might just bring mask and reg/computer setup, and rent the rest. But for any trip with significant diving, we definitely want our own gear.

We bought our own gear after back-to-back trips in which our rented gear had malfunctions (broken depth gauges both times).

James

 

[DjDiverDan]

Okay, this is gender-stereotyping up the whah-zoo, but I'm gonna ask anyway. You indicated a woman challenged you taking dive gear, which presumably takes up limited luggage space. If your dive gear weren't going, by any chance would your wife be re-purposing that space to haul more stuff (such as clothes)?

I got a kick out of this post -- reminded me of a spur of the moment trip to Cozumel I took one time - a 4-day weekend on a charter out of DFW, in the days before baggage charges. I had only my dive bag and a carry-on. Dive bag had plenty of room for my dive gear, 2 swim suits, 3 t-shirts, 2 pair of shorts, 1 pair long pants, 3 clean short-sleeve shirts, my toiletry kit and one pair of shoes. I was standing next to this young woman in line, and she was toting 4 bags. I asked her if she was a diver; she said no. I asked why she needed 4 bags for a 4-day trip. She said she needed 3 complete changes of clothes for each day, and she needed 1 bag just for shoes. I had to ask - she was bringing 14 pairs of shoes (PLUS the ones she had on in the airport) for - I'll say it one more time - a 4-day trip. If this is typical, then any woman wondering about the hassle of dragging dive gear on a trip is just insane.

 

[tplyons]

Everything but the tanks and weights come with me.

This way I know exactly where everything is, and can find it by feel.

 

[Carlos Danger]

So the missus and I were having this discussion the other night - she wanted to know why we are taking all our own gear with when going on a dive holiday. (Yes she is not a diver and probs won't ever dive) so I told her all about reliability, being familiar with your own gear etc.

So the question came, how many people actually take all their own gear and how many will rent the gear at the local dive operator?

Would be interesting to know and if you could also indicate what certification you hold as I believe most DM's and Instructors would only use their own gear!!!

Cheers

Generally I always take everything, but it could depend on where I am going to be diving and/or the conditions. For example; I had the opportunity to dive the Georgia Aquarium back in March. In that case the only personal gear we were allowed was a mask, everything else was provided by the Aquarium due to concerns over contamination and so-on. In some cases I might take my own weights, and tanks too (back when I actually owned my own tanks). The only time I would rent is if something broke or was stolen, or whatever, and I had no other options, or if I needed something specific that I did not bring with me. I just prefer to have all my own stuff because it is optimized to my preferences, I know it is all in good working order, and I am fully familiar with its' operation. Renting has its' place, but for me, I want my own stuff every time if possible.

 

[Lorenzoid]

In this respect, diving is very much like another pastime I used to participate in: snow skiing. Most new skiers jet off to the ski resort and rent equipment. As they progress and find themselves doing more skiing, they inevitably buy their own equipment for all the same reasons divers give for buying their own equipment, such as familiarity, proper sizing, reliability, etc. In both sports, rental equipment is typically not as high a grade as the equipment a diver purchases.