renting regs on vacation

[freewillie]

I was following 'first time travelling' thread and didn't want to hijack that thread. The subject came up about renting regs on vacation. I understand there are pro's and con's to owning your own regs. As a newbie just starting out I haven't yet purchased my own and was planning on renting for vacation but taking my own BC.

Are there places I should be concerned about the quality of the rentals, and if so where?

What are you're experiences with renting scuba equipment while on vacation?

Thanks.

safe and fun diving to all.

 

[DiverLS]

I wouldn't rent my reg. I don't want to trust my life to anyone else. That goes for the BC or BP/W. I made the mistake of renting my gear when mine was held up by the airline. NEVER AGAIN.

 

[Aggiebq86]

I've rented both a BCD and regs while on vacation. The important thing is to check out the equipment before hand and question. Ask to see the service records for the reg. If they don't have any records for the reg. Go somewhere else. Ask to take a shore dive with the gear in question to make sure you are familiar with the gear and to verify its performance before you go out in a boat to a dive site 80 ft deep. If the dives were more than easy to middle of the road, I wouldn't want to use rental gear. If the dives included wreck penetration or caves, I wouldn't use rental gear.

 

[Ste Wart]

Set out your priorities when it comes to equipment purchases:

If you know you will be a vacation diver, then there is little point in purchasing a wetsuit, as you never know what you will be needing. So here; in order,is what you should probably purchase.

Mask&Snorkel
Flippers ()
Computer - tables rarely get used on guided dives, and it's really good to know what is going on & what has happened after a dive. Don't rely on the DM
Regs - there is something about diving your own regs, that gives you a sense a comfort. There is nothing necessarily wrong with rental regs, but having your own just feels.. well right! Look for some solid cheap ones that will run & run e.g Aqualung Titans/Calypsos.
BCD - BCD's are balloons. Renting one on holiday is probably always going to be the cheaper option, rather than buying one and hauling it; by plane, down to the destination. If they fail on a dive, no big deal, if a reg fails... well..

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I rented regs for a while before I had my own. I was actually more put off by the "gross" factor, and the "each day a little bit different equipment" feeling than I was by worrying that they would not function as breathing apparatus. But both of those factors did affect my diving.

I never did have any that flat-out failed, but I did have torn mouthpieces and un-stoppable free-flow problems (my buddy, on the surface, and they gave him another reg set, but meanwhile I was hanging on the tag line in some obnoxious waves waiting for him).

Since you say you are going on a trip, if it's a longer one, you might want to make some calculations about renting vs. buying. For example, the reason I bought regs when I did was that I was about to go on a 2-1/2 week trip, and I was able to buy regs for less than it would have cost to rent them for that time period. Win/win, and now I have my own regs for all future trips too

In my case, I had already bought a BC and wetsuit, because I could never find rentals that fit (and again... I'd be diving with a "new" BC every time and could never get used to one with any consistency). Although I love having my own regs, having my own BC contributed much more to my diving proficiency, so I would still choose that first, for myself, if making a hierarchy of purchases. The same would apply to wetsuit and mask, since those are also "fit" items.

Blue Sparkle

 

[smootie]

I used to rent my gear and am only recently buying my own stuff. I mostly agree with The Wart's list except I would move BC further up the list. I found it impossible to find a BC that fit me well, which is why the first piece of equipment I bought (after mask/snorkel/fins) was a BC. Is this why you have a BC as well?

In contrast, my husband's priority was to get a reg. The rental regs/octos almost always had a slow leak somewhere, and the mouthpieces were always too big.

Renting isn't horrible, but you have to be vigilant about checking your equipment carefully before leaving the dive shop. Hook everything up, make sure all gauges work, that the regs octos breathe, that the air tanks are full, that all o-rings are in good shape, etc. I didn't find it more dangerous per se, just annoying that nothing fit exactly how I wanted.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Probably depends on where and sometimes who you are renting from. Most operators in Hawaii are renting all the gear to the majority of their customers.

My first dive shop/boat/shore employer and my current boat/shore employer have Oceanic reg sets (SP-5/Alpha 8/Alpha 8/2-gauge analog console). The second employer I worked for has 6 or 7 resort locations using Aqua Lung (Calypso/ABS Octo/Suunto analog 2-gauge). My third employer has a resort operation using same Aqualung/Suunto as above and a boat using ScubaPro (MK2/290/190/2-gauge analog?). Fourth employer, another resort, also same as above Aqualung Reg sets. The LDS I rent from as an Independent Instructor supplies and services all those resorts, so same as above Aqualung Reg sets.

The two 6-pac boats have at least 1 spare reg set on every trip, the 13-pac has at least 2 spare on every trip. Far and away the most commonly failing regs sets are tourist divers with own gear who dive one or two trips per year and just had their 8 months in the closet reg set serviced before they came on vacation. "Our" reg sets were in the water "this week" and when the first little bubbles happen we are fixing them.

The first dive shop above uses Oceanic BC's (which I hate). That "ScubaPro" boat also uses ScubaPro Classic BC's (OK if they fit, but integrated weights ). Everyone else uses Aqualung Wave BC's thumbs_up. Mares used to be popular with some operators.

If the tourist diver with "the failing just serviced reg" also has an Integrated Octo, They won't even be able to use their BC with our reg set; we are not going to swap hoses on first stages when gearing up just before splashing (unless you are super hot, super generous or super repeat customer ).

Some divers bring their own mouthpiece; that's no biggie to swap out. From my perspective as a tourist location instructor/guide, there would be way less "gear issues" in my life if everyone was using the local rental gear.

 

[jmasin]

I rented for my first vacation where I dove. Of course, it was Sandals, they run a very conservative Op and take good care of their equipment (or it seemed so to the best of my ability to evaluate).

As you've already seen you are going to get solid, justified answers on both sides.

Best I can say is make sure YOU are comfortable with the shop. If you are going to be worrying about your rental reg failing during the dive and stressing about that, it won't be much fun...

 

[freewillie]

thanks for really good tips so far.

we're actually going to Beaches at T & C. Website has Scubapro regulators included as part of the package. My local LDS has Atomic Zx as their rental regs so haven't feel pressing need to purchase just yet, and was interested in trying some different brands.

Anyone with really bad experiences renting regs? Might help justify to nondiving wife need purchase more gear !!

 

[Aggiebq86]

Whatever you buy, consider where you will be getting it serviced. If you want to deal with your LDS then you need to make sure and know what they service. If online is OK, that will open up more options.