How Helpful Is Renting?

[shotthebreeze]

Nudgeroni, what part of CT are you from? I'm from the Litchfield area. If you need any help with gear or have questions about anything and you're within a half an hour, I would take a ride to Central Sales in Thomason. Ken should be able to help you out. He's the man...

 

[427Dave]

Here is how it went for me. Buying new equipment is, like Kracken stated, a man thing

1960 - Ordered all new Healthways from J.C. Penny including J-Valve tank
1960-1975 Added a few items each year. Another better regulator
1975 - Too much new stuff kept coming out, bought all new equipment and another tank. New type BC, weight integrated and back inflate (AT-PAK)
1975-1995 added a couple more tanks and better regulators.
1995 - Moved so I let my wife talk me into selling most of the gear and rented. Thought renting would be the answer to the ever changing technology and doing mostly vacation diving now so my bags became a lot lighter.
2005 - Tired of getting worn out rental equipment and did not like the jacket BC's. Missed my old back inflate BC (AT-PAK by Watergill) Started buying gear again, Zeagle Wing.
2007 - Bought new steel tanks 3442 psi, don't like AL80's (course traveling everyone seems to have nothing but AL80's anymore)

So see you just got to have all your own stuff I have basically replaced my entire diving equipment every 15 years. So it will last for a long time with proper maintenance and care. Even though the inital expense is high in the long run, vers rental equipment charges, I believe I have come out better. And your own gear is always so much better as you picked it out and it is personized. Now I am back to heavy bags on trips, which my wife gives me a hard time about, but it is my own!

Have fun!

 

[UWSojourner]

Theorum 1 on New OW Diver Purchases: Without research a new OW diver has an 80% chance of purchasing gear they will later regret and sell.

Theorum 2 on New OW Diver Purchases: With all the research in the world, with few exceptions, a new OW diver has an 40% chance of purchasing gear they will later regret and sell.

Theorum 3 on New OW Diver Purchases: You have a 100% chance of purchasing gear you will later regret and sell if you walk blind into a shop and say, "What do I need".

Corollary to Theorum 1 & 2 & 3 The proper new purchase methodology is (1) do some research including asking divers, (2) buy something that sounds good to you, (3) dive the heck out of it, (4) adjust, and (5) go back to step (1).

Conclusion: There is an inescapable law of gear reappraisal for a new active diver. It will take a while to hone in to what you want.

 

[spectrum]

Corollary to Theorum 1 & 2 & 3 The proper new purchase methodology is (1) do some research including asking divers, (2) buy something that sounds good to you, (3) dive the heck out of it, (4) adjust, and (5) go back to step (1).

Conclusion: There is an inescapable law of gear reappraisal for a new active diver. It will take a while to hone in to what you want.

That is true and the thing is to take your best shot and get out there and enjoy diving.

I broke my own rule on the gear for my wife and my self. On our last certification dive were were 100% in our own gear. A lot of research here and at dive shops went into doing that. We also took a number of BCs into a number of dive shop pools to weed out some dislikes. All of that original gear is still serving us well so we lucked out.

Another way to look at the issue is to bounce it against typical rental rates. Well before my first summer was up I was already money ahead. For the risk I had the convenience of having my gear ready and standing by. I got to dive gear I knew and trusted. If I messed up the gear would still have considerable resale value so it's not like it's a total loss. Give it your best shot and have at it.

Pete

 

[Nudgeroni]

I live near Hartford, so Central Sales is out (too bad, Shotthebreeze), but PG Dive is a great option on the way to the MA shore (thanks Rainer and Spectrum). I can skip out of work early some time for the dry suit pool class. It's nice to have another $$ saving option besides buying used.
...

Reading what I just wrote, I have to laugh, "money saving?!" It reminds me of that I Love Lucy episode where Lucy describes to Dezi how she has been "saving" money on a shopping spree. I think in a few months, I'll have some "splaining" to do.

Oh, the fever. It hurts. I'm glad to know that if I'm crazy, at least I'm not alone.

If anyone has tips on softening up a practical minded wife, let me know (I'm sure there are numerous threads on this).

-Nudgeroni

 

[ZzzKing]

If anyone has tips on softening up a practical minded wife, let me know (I'm sure there are numerous threads on this).

-Nudgeroni

My wife dives and I STILL get those sidewalks looks and "How much have you spent on dive gear?".

 

[lmorin]

Ok, re the wife, here is what we did. 1) We took the widespread advice to rent first (of course, this did not include fins, mask and snorkle). 2) Rented everything else until we began to rationalize along the lines that other folks here have posted, i.e., it's better to own. 3) First to go (after about 8 dives) was the rented wetsuit. We bought, rationalizing that it was the item that could be satisfactorily purchased in the absence of a lot more knowledge. 4) Then, after about 8-10 more dives, we decided that we truly wanted to keep diving and that provided the most basic bit of rationalization: it's better to own because you know your own equipment and, hence, "owning" becomes a safety factor (which, incidentally, I believe is true for most divers who own and is not simply a rationalization). 5) In those 8-10 dives, we experienced a several that included less that satisfactory rental gear (regs breathed wet; there was no place to put the octo or the octo had to be rigged in a different place or different manner for each BC rented). 6) We tried a variety of equipment in nearby LDSs and found items that suited our desires and needs (e.g., we were not after cold water regs; I liked the comfort of the Seaquest Balance BC and my wife liked the Diva). 7) Having identified reasonable BCs, regs/octos and computers, we approached 2 LDSs to create packages for us. As a result, we got competitive pricing, paid cash and saved quite a bit of money. As a result of this strategy, we did not buy until we had a bit of experience and knowledge, particularly about the variety of gear available. We are happy with the big items we purchased. My wife is into her third pair of fins, but I think that reflects more about her and her relationship to footwear than it does about dive equipment!