Scuba equipment rentals

[Skittl1321]

We rent. The cost of gear and maintence of the gear will not be worth it for the amount of time we dive. Rental gear costs $60 for everything but mask/fins (wetsuit 3mm or 7mm, console mounted Zoop computer, regs, hood/gloves if necessary, BCD, weights, tank with air) at our shop ($65 if you want BP/W).

The shops rental equipment is well maintained. There 7 mm rental wetsuits fit me well, the 3 mms are always huge on me- they just seem to be missing my size. I've been happy with the BCD fit.

Since we have to stop by the store to get air fills anyway, it isn't like it is an extra step to also rent gear. Whereas, with our kayak, it made sense to buy it- because now we can just go out on he water whenever. The shop is really good though about if you go diving on Saturday and return the gear on Monday, if you only got enough tanks for 1 day of diving, they only charge you one day.

I've chosen to buy my own computer (for continuity) and wetsuit.

 

[TMHeimer]

I bought most of my stuff (mostly used) from the LDS during the OW course. I knew I would continue to dive and didn't want to spend a dime renting. I bought a new steel 120 tank and sold it later on as I found it heavy walking any distance to the shore. I bought my used 7 mil wetsuit a bit later in FL and still use it (patch it yearly). Our shop here doesn't sell course-used equip. until Spring, thus I waited on the wetsuit. OW graduates here get a free equip. rental coupon, which I recommend students take advantage of.

 

[btw2459]

Before I purchased my own kit I waited until I did the PADI equipment course which helped me decide on the kit I would buy - especially my regulator.

 

[Colliam7]

A friend of mine said that "most" divers start out by renting equipment and that it's usually only when you warm up to the sport that you begin purchasing your own gear.

Some truth to that, but not universal by any means. As you can see from many responses, experiences vary, from completing OW in personal gear, to buying personal gear shortly after OW certification, to continuing to rent. What you choose to do depends on available resources, how much you are able to dive (as often as you want vs 3-4 times a year), and how much you want to dive, among other things.

How about you? When you first started scuba diving, did you buy your own equipment or did you rent one from a dive shop? Did you have any issues with the rented equipment?

I purchased a BCD and regulator about 3 months after I completed OW. I still have both items 11 years later. Although my BCD preferences have evolved and my Ranger gets little use, my first reg is still my primary personal single cylinder reg. Having my own gear (including cylinders) definitely encouraged me to dive more.

I would love to know your take on rentals.

I have no particular problem with (nor am I 'afraid of') rentals, although my need for rental equipment is limited. I prefer using my own gear, because I know how it has been maintained. Three years ago I was in FL helping with a tec class, and our trailer was broken into and a lot of our gear stolen. I ended up renting a set of doubles, a set of regs and a TransPac (which I had never used before) to allow me to continue to dive. When I jumped off the boat ahead of the group to descend and tie onto the wreck sitting at 165 feet, I confess that I had not a little anxiety. The gear performed flawlessly, I found out I didn't have a problem with a 'soft' backplate, and I didn't really notice that I was diving gear other than my own. Most competent dive operations are not looking for liability issues by renting poorly maintained gear. You might not be able to rent exactly what you want, but you can usually rent what you need to dive.

 

[fjpatrum]

I bought my equipment before I finished OW. I buy all big ticket items used, except wetsuits. I've known for 20 years I would enjoy this sport and I see no reason to limit myself by working around a shop's schedule and sizing. I spent $350 on gear and was good to go with a BCD, regs, computer, and console. I already had multiple wetsuits and mask/fins/snorkel from other activities.

The only time I've ever rented gear was when mine got delayed on a flight to Florida for a business trip. By the time I got back to my hotel after my first night of diving (of 3 nights) my gear was waiting for me. That said, I don't worry about renting if I need to rent. I know what to look for in maintenance (as everyone should after OW) and how to deal with any equipment issues I might have.

If the economics of renting work better for you than buying, by all means rent. You should be perfectly fine either way.

 

[jazzymusicman]

I knew I would love diving and when I started my OW course I went on a research rampage (a lot of facilitated by scubaboard). Living in Miami, warm tropical water diving is something we have access to almost year round so I expected to do it often.

By the time I did my checkout dives I had everything but tanks. My wife was a bit apprehensive about diving but also got her top of the line everything for two reasons: 1) guilt her into diving with me [within reason] and 2) to give her utmost confidence in her equipment. This worked great and saved us a lot of headaches with having to drive to the shop for the gear and then having to go again the next day racing around town. Sure it takes me an hour or two to meticulously soak two sets of gear, but I feel it's well worth it.

As far as gear selection, I don't regret a single piece of gear that I bought simply because I did so much research ahead of time. I know that one day I want to do tech diving and that will require a BP/W, but I've seen and read about a few tech divers who use regular back-inflate recreational rigs for the leisure dives so I was ok with going with a back-inflate.

Since I love to dive with steel 100s instead of AL80s, I got tired of running around town looking for shops that rented them that could give me good fills and the nitrox mixes that I wanted. So after 3 months, I ended up buying our tanks as well and with the amount of diving my wife and I have been doing (she loves it now btw), I think they'll be very worthwhile investments.