Buy own gear or not, and what to buy?

I did a decent search, and I am not really finding what I want.
Maybe I can get some good input here or you can point me to a sticky that I am missing.

Being in St. Louis, I dont get to dive that much, especially with a baby on the way (November 9!!)
My wife though has agreed to "let me go" diving 2 or 3 times a year. I will most likely be visiting Blue Angel on these trips in Cozumel because it is very cost effecient. During the summer I may go down to Mermont Springs or Bull Shoals on occasion, just to keep up to speed.

Anyway, I love to dive (duh), and would like to have my own gear. Of course I have the usual, fins, goggles, knife, etc. I am talking about regulator, bcd, maybe computer, etc.

I was looking for some packages and found a few that would meet my budget. But would really buying my own gear be cost effective considering I will only be diving maybe 2 or 3 times a year for awhile (until Ayla is a bit older).

I did see one thread where someone posted about a beginner package, and someone mentioned maybe not to buy their own gear since they will not be diving that frequently.

I would like to get everyone's thoughts. I am for sure going to get my own wetsuit though, but for the rest of it, do you think I should just rent it for now? Obviously I cant see buying a 500 dollar computer when I will only use it twice a year. But what about the other stuff?

I would say that for just a few trips a year you are good to have just the mask, fins and snorkel. However, having you own gear goes a long way in making sure you feel comfortable in the water. When you only dive a few times a year and haven't used a lot of different types of gear it is nice to have a BCD, Computer and Reg that you know and trust. Also, as long as you take care of your gear, with minimal diving it, will last you a very long time. Seeing as how you travel for all your trips, look into a good travel BCD (lightweight and doesn't take a lot of room). I would probably hold off on the wetsuit. Being from the St. Louis area, you may be diving in Bonne Terre mine and need a 7mm wetsuit with hood and gloves. Then when you travel to the warmer water you may just use a 3mm. Its all about comfort and what gets you into the water though. Good luck and have fun diving.

Hmm if you're only diving 2-3 times a year is it worth it?

Advantages:
You get your own gear that no one else has used!
No need to rent rubbish gear
No need to wait to rent gear...

Disadvantages:
Price of servicing!

The price of servicing will be high right?
I'm new to this so...

Good luck
xxx

Yes, IMO, buy your own......AND, I'd look around & get good used stuff---there are deals out there to be had......Example, I recently bought, for the heck of it, another regulator set, my 5th..paid $150 (& no shipping on anything) for a almost new(total of 3 dives) SP Mk 2 with a R295 2nd stage & SP brass & glass SPG---for $50 bought a brand new Dive right octopus= total was $200 for set.......also, just bought my wife a used Libra(Seaquest) BC, great shape & @ a good price---brought it to Dominica 3 days after we received it & worked perfectly....have seen a couple pretty good BCs(new) in the $200 range lately, maybe @ Leisure Pro & ??Divers Direct?......In other words, SHOP AROUND & don't be afraid to buy used stuff---IF-- you're sure about it's condition....

There's nothing like having "My Stuff"--makes you feel a little better---lol

EDIT: found the email I got from LP.....link to a new BC~$200

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/SQTPSP.html

You have a mask and that is the best start. I assume you have fins and that is a decent item to purchase as well.

Depending on your comfort needs, a wetsuit would be next. I tend to run very warm and can dive for an entire week with a full length half mil suit in the Caribbean. A half week trip, for me, doesn't even require that. If you need a wetsuit, then, by all means, make it next on your list. I have never been impressed with rental wetsuit quality.

For now, rent the BCD. This lets you keep your luggage costs down and most rental shops I have found have adaquate rentals of BCDs.

I like to have my own regulator and computer. I have replaced the mouthpiece with a SeaCure custom mouthpiece and that is a vast improvement in the comfort of diving. I like having my own computer so I KNOW how it works and don't have to learn new ones each time I take a trip.

REEF Fish ID books are another item I invested in early. It helps me survive the long surface interval called work weeks.

There are different approaches you can follow
In terms of getting safety from your diving and also taking it a step forward you should start with a computer. It is not a bulky item and if you buy the right item it will stay with you for long
In terms of reliability instead you could think about a regulator, simply because it is the most complex part of the gear and at times dive shop one's give you trouble. However consider that the return on investment only comes if you dive a lot
The BCD is the item I would get at last because especially if you don't dive a lot you will be ok with the rental ones for a long time.

ditto....BUY!
and two BIG reasons to buy your own:
#1... you know when it was serviced last, how well it was taken care of, etc. so SAFER! Your wife will like this reason.
#2... you will dive more if you own gear!!!

(and the price of servicing gear annually is much less than renting every time you go diving!!!)

robin

Besides the basics, the next thing I would purchase is a decent regulator. Don't skimp. There are a number of good regulators on the market for under $500. "Test" dive a couple before you buy.

Be sure that whatever you purchase can be serviced in your area.

The difference between your own regulator and a rental will be night and day!

2-3 trips a year about 35-45 bucks to rent gear a trip if you get cheap gear that will be your own your looking around 300-450ish to start which would take about 3 years for your gear purchase to pay off if you have no problems with the gear in that period. throw in a possible service and your never going to get your money out of buying gear for a while then your gear will be outdated and much better stuff available.

Financially diving 2-3 times a year with your own gear isnt really worth it. Knowing the gear that you will be using makes it nice to have your own gear and not having the hassle or going to rent, but in your situation if you dont have a decent amount of extra cash I would wait until you dive more often. Or you could try getting a really cheap but working bc (aslong as the bladder is good you will only drop about 30 or so here and there into fixing it, Rental is like 10-15 bucks so if you can get one under 100) then rent regs and comp, it might cut some of the costs a little until you can dive frequently, then when you start diving more regularly you can get the level of gear you really want and have a backup bc or resell the old one.

For the few instances your "allowed" to dive and the cost of maintaining regs I personally dont think it would be a smart move because of the number of small parts to potentially go bad. but having your own gear would allow you better accessability to go diving

Living in St. Charles, you know you are living within 20 miles of one of the best diving holes in the Midwest, don't you?

The Dive Stop in New Melle is just a hop, skip and a jump from where you live... if you want to dive, you don't have far to go (it has had better visibility than Mermet all year, although Mermet is a better place overall... but you are, literally, next door to The Dive Stop).

So... if you actually like local diving and since you are right next to a place you CAN dive a lot, my answer would be to get at least your own wetsuit, BCD (or bp/w or whatever your choice of buoyancy control you want) and regs.

Personally I use Y-Kiki in your area (they have a shop in Creve Coeur and one in Lake St. Louis) and I know Midwest is right there in St. Charles, and the New Melle quarry has a shop as well where you can get rental gear to dive there (I don't buy from them because they sell Mares, and I am "not so much a fan" of Mares stuff to say the very least).

You can rent from any of these shops for your local diving, and that would be a good way to find out what gear you like.

There's also the internet, but personally I don't buy regs over the internet because it isn't much cheaper to buy new when factoring in you are going to have your local shop maintaining them for you on a yearly basis. Other opinions on this vary.

I would say, bare minimum, if you plan to dive locally you should buy your regs, bcd/bp-w (or whatever you choose) and wetsuit. If you don't plan to dive locally much, you can just rent.

Rent your tanks.

Me, I own everything, but I am doing 100+ dives a year for the two of us.

Let me know if you want to get together some time and kick around the quarry at New Melle. There are several of us here on ScubaBoard that are regulars there and Mermet.