To buy or not to buy...(gear)

[lovetoscuba]

Hi, I did my first discover scuba in Key West in the early 90's. Since then I have done the discover scuba several more times at different locations. Finally in 2008, I got OW certified. I love scuba diving and if it was up to me, I'd dive every week of the year. Right now due to financial and family reasons, I can only dive once a year when I go on vacation, sometimes not even that if we decide to go somewhere not near the coast. I only like warm water diving so local(NY) diving is out.
I really would like to get my own BCD and Regulator. I already have the mask, fins and snorkel, getting the BCD and the Reg would be perfect. My question is since I only dive once a year(one trip, multiple dives), does it make sense to buy my own equipment or should I continue renting? How long can a good BCD and Octopus last in term of years? Eventually I would like to dive more often when situations change. Thanks!

 

[Bubbletrubble]

When it comes to purchasing a reg, you need to consider the cost of maintaining that reg.

Some reg manufacturers offer a free-overhaul-parts-for-life policy provided that the reg is purchased new from an authorized dealer and overhauls are performed at the manufacturer-specified intervals (every year or every 2 years). The reg owner still has to pay for labor costs of an overhaul ($50-$80 for a reg that has 1 first stage + 2 second stages). Take that into consideration when estimating the cost of reg ownership.

It doesn't make economic sense to purchase a reg if you're only doing one week-long trip a year.
However, a significant advantage of owning a reg is that you know how it's maintained, stored, and tuned. There's something to be said for having a familiar reg in your mouth. A regulator that is rinsed, maintained, and stored properly should provide many years (decades) of service. My buddy has put 800+ dives on his reg over the last decade.

Regardless of whether you purchase a reg or not, please learn how to do a systematic, comprehensive reg inspection in your pre-dive preparation.
If you are renting a reg, make sure that you do the above set of functional tests before you even leave the shop! I have yet to encounter a rental department that wouldn't be happy to replace a malfunctioning (free-flowing?) rental reg.

BCD maintenance doesn't cost much. Servicing of parts is usually done on an ad hoc basis. A diver should do systematic, comprehensive functional tests on the BCD before every dive. If you rinse out a BCD properly after diving and store it under the right conditions, the BCD should give you many years of service. My buddy has been using his BCD for 10 years. In that time, he's put about 600 dives on it.

A BCD needs to fit properly. If you have a difficult to fit body type that rental shops might not be able to accommodate, I could see why purchasing your own BCD might make sense.

If your budget allows for it, obviously you should buy both the reg and BCD.
If you're only going diving once a year, it makes sense to rent the gear at your dive destination provided that the dive op has good quality, well-maintained rental gear.

 

[lovetoscuba]

Thank you so much for that informative response. I will take into consideration your advice in whatever decision I ultimately makes. Thanks again!

 

[Downing]

As Bubbletrubble said, it really depends on your budget and priorities. Strictly speaking, it may not make financial sense to buy a reg and bc under your present circumstance but owning your own gear has more rewards than just strictly financial. You'll know the service record, and you'll quickly be more comfortable with how your own gear works. And you might just be inclined to dive more.

Personally, I'd buy even if I were only going on only one dive trip a year. Scuba equipment isn't that expensive--especially if you're only talking about buying a reg and a bc. Since you're in no hurry, you can ease the pain to your wallet by buying them one at a time over a period of time.

But that's my budget and my priorities, and, as always, your mileage may vary. There's really no right or wrong answer, imho.

 

[lovetoscuba]

Thanks, I'm not so concerned about the initial cost of buying the reg and bcd, but rather the maintenance and upkeep of the equipment and having it sit in the closet for a whole year waiting for that one week to be utilize. Overtime, rubbers may dry and crack or the equipment might just break down from laying dormant too long? I just don't know and that is why I am contemplating whether to buy or not.

 

[theduckguru]

I know a lot of inland divers who are equipment rich and travel poor. After spending $2000+ on all the gear the LDS suggested, it sits in their home because they don't have the resources to go to warm water locations many enjoy.

If it's a choice of owning or rent/travel, travel.

 

[RTee]

...maybe having them sitting readily at home and calling your name at all times of day and night may motivate you to dive a bit more often locally...lol

 

[herman]

I agree with the rest so let me do my usual thing and go at it from a different angle.

Over the years and lots of discussions on gear maintenance one thing has become clear, one of the most likely times a piece of gear fails is right after service. The reasons for this are varied but for this discussion just knowing it happens is enough. In situations like yours where you may dive a few dives, have it serviced and put it on the shelf for 8-12 months before going again the odds of having issues with the reg when you travel is pretty good. You then either have to find someone to repair it or rent gear anyway. Once you are home, warranty service is not likely- it has been almost a years since it was done so your only real option is to pay for service again, taking the same chance next year.

Then there is packing and hauling the gear. Gear takes up a good bit of space in your luggage and is fairly heavy. With today’s weight restrictions, is it really worth hauling gear for 2 or 3 dives,esp if they are the shallow, easy reef type. I own enough gear to stock a small dive shop and I wonder if it's worth the trouble for 2 or 3 dives.

I really prefer my own gear but for a few dives once a year when you take into consideration initial cost, yearly maintenance, hauling it and the likelihood of having to rent or have it serviced on location anyway, I just don't see owning for a trip or 2 to easy dive locations as worthwhile.

 

[ElGaucho]

I don´t have that many dives under my belt, mid 20s, but I own my equipment. All of it. I live in a city that doesn´t even have water close by. But the comfort of diving in my own gear outweights everything. I even have a set of gear for my girlfriend, ready to go. Our plan is to dive as much as we can, even if that implies only 3 trips a year. I dont have that many dives, but I have spent much time underwater (I shoot commercials for a living and had a streak of underwater work between 2007-2009 that really got me wet many hours).

I can tell you your own gear allows you to move from being a lousy diver to a much better one in less time, particularily if you are a vacation diver. Some people might disagree, but my experience has been that the less you dive, the better chances you get at being better with your own equipment. My first few years certified I rented (I certified in 2003). I dove once a year. Every time I got in the water I would have to relearn a lot of stuff. I would get different jacket configs, with pockets in different places, hence putting the weight all over the place, different wetsuits (neoprene changes with time, a lot, so a new 3mm has different bouyancy to a very used 3mm for example). With so little time in the water, I would spend my first four to six dives trying to adapt myself to how the reg breathed and functioned, the BCD nuances, my weighting and trim issues. I find it much easier for a seasoned diver to handle rentals than a newbie. It is just more task overloading.

I now dive a backplate and wing, with a Hogartian reg setup, and I am very comfortable with my gear. I now spend the time underwater building upon the basic skills instead of starting almost from scratch every time. I can now really move forward, because the wieghts will be exactly where I last put them. Because I don´t have to worry about how this new BCD straps, or how to done it, or how the hose config is laid out. Granted, it is not rocket science either, but for a newbie, it is much better to have a familiar outfit. This is the main reason why I believe you should get your gear. And this is the reason I got my girlfriend a very nice bp/w setup too, so she can work on enjoying the dives, and perfecting her technique, instead of relearning the gear we now rented.

Plus, as someone already stated, if you buy smartly (if there is cold water/warm water switching involved, I would surely go for bp/w) you can eventually dive locally. At first I rejected the idea of low viz or cold water diving. But after diving the kelp in LA (and it wasn´t summer), diving with something like 6 feet viz down here in sunny Acapulco (doing my first deep dive for AOW!), I learned that I like diving, and it adds challenges I thought I wouldn´t like at first, but started to enjoy ONCE I was comfortable with my diving skills, my gear, and myself. So this is why, your own equipment WILL make a huge difference if you love diving. Even once a year.

 

[oly5050user]

You will feel more comfortable with your own gear..Buoyancy will stay constant and not change every time you as it does with rental gear, as every time you use a different peice of gear your buoyancy is different. You may find,as others have said, that you may dive more often,as the discomfort of renting is not there anymore. You can get a regulator/bcd that does not require a yearly service. I have a deal going now at the LDs I teach out of that if you purchase a regulator system/bcd/computer your ow course is free! Same applies if you are taking a advance ow course.
As to living and diving in NYC, there is locl diving that does not have to take place in cold water.I live just outside the city in Westchester and dive pretty much every weekend and during the week. Dutch Springs is a bit too far to dive during the week (I rarely go there,if ever) but if you want to dive Rockaway area from shore it is doable.I dive in LI Sound on local wrecks anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hr from the dock.Takes me 15/ 20 minutes to get to my boat.Starting around mid June I wear a 5mm wet suit for LI Sound dives,so it really is not what I would call cold.