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

[The Kraken]

Good counsel here.

One thing is for certain, if one owns one's gear, there is a much greater propensity to contine, if not advance, one's diving life.

I think the most single important aspect is the intimate knowledge of one's personal gear and its maintenance.

Needless to say, one's personal finances play a weighty role in the decision.

the K

 

[jmasin]

I primarily do tropic diving, I'm just not that into local places.

That said I go about two times a year and log ~40 dives. Still, it stinks having to get a reg serviced that's been sitting in the closet for a few months over the winter, but c'est la vie. If your finances are such that you can do it, it is very nice having your own stuff.

And like the K says, if you have your own, you are more likely to do some local stuff and dive more.

 

[Petert71]

I went out on two boat dives on Sunday with a group of new divers being certified. The water was what I'd call moderately rough.

3 of the 5 trainees were blowing chunks before and after the dive. It made me thankful I own my own regulator.

The rest of my equipment is substantially better suited to me and way more comfortable than any of the hire gear I've ever used as well. :blinking:

 

[retro-steve]

Here's another n00b's perspective: I did my OW originally in 2007, I was too poor to afford gear since I was still in University, I only did two dives after my OW course and on the second dive my regulator malfunctioned (when I hit the purge button to clear water after practicing a reg recovery the purge didn't stop). It was determined that this was due to a lack of maintenance and I swore off diving until I could get my own gear. Fast forward to this month where I purchased all my gear and booked another OW course.

Everyone here has hit the nail on the head for my reasoning for buying gear: you know the service record of it and you'll probably be more inclined to dive. One other thing you may want to consider is doing more courses, I notice a lot of shops charge you to rent gear on more advanced courses, so having your own may push you to take those courses and maybe you'll find you like diving locally once you're taken to a few places by your instructor, that and learning new skills never hurts.

I say get the new gear unless you're absolutely determined to not dive any more than a couple times a year on vacation, in that case take the gamble, get a bad setup and then swear off diving until you get your own gear

 

[Damselfish]

I'd consider buying your own BC that you like and fits you well. Can really improve your diving enjoyment over renting different and possibly poorly fitting BCs each time. BCs don't require much for maintenance, and what there is you can mostly do yourself.

Reg is a tougher decision, due to the cost of maintaining them. It's true you can get some crappy rental regs. But it's also true your own reg that has not been used or serviced in a year might have an issue, and even more true that a reg you just got serviced and don't have a way to test before your trip might have an issue. A reg doesn't affect your buoyancy or have a learning curve.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I'd consider buying your own BC that you like and fits you well. Can really improve your diving enjoyment over renting different and possibly poorly fitting BCs each time. BCs don't require much for maintenance, and what there is you can mostly do yourself.

Reg is a tougher decision, due to the cost of maintaining them. It's true you can get some crappy rental regs. But it's also true your own reg that has not been used or serviced in a year might have an issue, and even more true that a reg you just got serviced and don't have a way to test before your trip might have an issue. A reg doesn't affect your buoyancy or have a learning curve.

But not all regs and BCDs connect the same way. I have my own gear and I only dive one trip a year. Two years ago my reg needed to be serviced so I made arrangements with the dive shop with whom I was going to be diving with to service my reg when I got there. Just in case, I took my buddy's reg along with me.

Well, The dive shop didn't get the service kit in time to service my reg while I was there and my buddy's low inflator hose didn't connect to my BCD so I ended up having to use a rental reg anyways (after hauling two regs across two countries). My bad for not checking the connectivity of my buddy's reg before leaving the house.

The irony of that whole situaltion is that the rental reg failed while on a dive and we had to abort. Now I make sure that my reg is ready to go well before any trips

 

[Randy43068]

Buy it...

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Reg is a tougher decision, due to the cost of maintaining them. It's true you can get some crappy rental regs. But it's also true your own reg that has not been used or serviced in a year might have an issue, and even more true that a reg you just got serviced and don't have a way to test before your trip might have an issue. A reg doesn't affect your buoyancy or have a learning curve.

Damselfish and others have brought up the point that a recently serviced reg is at a higher risk of failure than a reg that wasn't just overhauled. I think a high percentage of these "underhauls" could be detected with a bucket of water, an i.p. gauge, and a scuba tank. The problem is that most people relying on the tech to service the reg have no idea how to test out the reg properly. After servicing, they'll hook it up to a tank, take a couple of breaths off of it, and then pronounce that they are ready for their once-a-year dive vacation. Those who do their own reg servicing know that lots more can be done to determine whether the recently serviced reg is dive-worthy.

 

[TommyG74]

"3 of the 5 trainees were blowing chunks before and after the dive".

I had the discusssion about buying my own stUff, even though I will probably be once a year diving. My wife brought up about peole being sick and puking, and just how well do dive shops or resorts clean the equipment.

 

[REDEYE1978]

So, how much does it cost to rent a BC or regulator?