USED gear for recreational diver: YES or NO

[Ascanio1]

Hi to everyone! I read through this whole section of the forum but I couldn't find any advice regarding USED gear. So I'm here to ask for your help and I TIA those who will spare a few min to help me!

I'm a recreational diver (40 dives during the last 4 yrs' summer holidays) w/ AOW certification and deep, wreck & nitrox specializations. I usually dive at the tropics.
1) Is a 5 Kg limit enough to carry sufficient gear to avoid renting it on location? If the answer is yes, then the second quesiton is:
2) Which gear? Which brand & model?

I definitely only want gear which has well proven its validity . Although I don't have a budget limit I do not want to spend a fortune, given the sporadic use which I will make of it. So I would much rather buy used equipment of better grade/quality rather than middle of the range new gear. Even if this means waiting a long time to find the right items in good conditions: I am not in a hurry.

And if 5 Kg are really not enough for a diving gear set (and therefore there is no point to buy anything at all, as I would still need to rent the rest of the equipment), then is the idea to buy only a wrist computer a good one or not? Which model?

Again, thanks in advance for your time!

Tommaso

[Tortuga68]

Your questions don't really seem to be about used gear... which brand & model will be the same advice whther it's new or used. There are lots of threads discussing which brand & model for regs, BCDs computer, fins and everything else. There are also threads about lightweight travel gear

In brief: 5kg is not enough for a full set of gear IMO. Get a well-fitting mask and a nitrox capable wrist computer; portable, personal and relatively cheap

[DevonDiver]

5kgs is a pretty extreme limit, without buying lots of specialist items and really understanding what you can and cannot do without.

I don't understand the 'all or nothing' mentality with buying kit. I'd rather have some of my own kit, than none.

Lightweight options are available. Putting a totally lightweight configuration together is going to cost money though.

For Tropical diving, something like this might get you close to 5kg;

Oxycheq Ultra-Lite Harness and 18lb Mach V (tropical diving)
Remove all the D-rings, except left hip.

Apeks DS4 1st Stage, with XTX or TX 40 or 50 Second Stage Reg, with a Mares MV Octopus.
Swap the hoses for Milfex ones. Bungee necklace the octo on a 24" hose. Primary on a regular length hose.

HOG 1.5" bare SPG on a 24" HP hose. Bolt snap connection.

Mares Avanti Quatro Foot Fins

4th Element Thermocline Long-Sleeve Top and Shorts.

Mask - any that fits.

Second hand? Sure... just do your research in advance... and budget for a service if you have any doubts about the functionality of what you are buying. If time isn't critical, use Ebay...set searches for the stuff you want, then wait patiently until you find a bargain.

[vladimir]

I don't understand being constrained by a 5-kg carry-on limit. (Usually 7-kg around here, actually, but maybe you need a couple of kg for underwear and toothpaste--good for you, clean underwear is worth some space in your bag.) I have not been on a flight yet--not even a helicopter or propeller plane--that did not allow more luggage than that. If you are trying to avoid checking baggage to save time at arrival, then you have to weigh the inconvenience of a 15-minute wait at the baggage carousel against the inconvenience of diving with rental gear. If you are trying to save money on a budget airline that charges for checked baggage, then you have to weigh the expense of checked baggage against the expense of rental gear.

I use up my full carry-on allowance for my camera and housing; my laptop and some emergency toiletries and drugs are in my "personal item" bag; and my dive gear, some more camera gear, and clothes make up the other 20 or 30 kgs of luggage allowance. And I bring at least one pair of underwear for each day of travel. Don't let the airlines strip you of that last vestige of civilization.

Used gear? Buy it. Gear lovers enter the sport and acquire brand new life support gear and leave the sport soon thereafter. It's the perfect scenario for used gear buyers.

[Ascanio1]

@ Devondiver:
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed. What about a wrist computer? I don't need anything fancy, just reliable and well proven. Your list is what I was looking for. I say 5 Kg because Airlines have pretty tight regulations recently and, this week I just returned from Phuket where my GF had so much excess weight that if I had not reserved some for her, we would have ended up paying a fortune.
The ALL or NOTHING policy derives from 2 very simple considerations:
1.
I don't dive a lot and I am not fussy. As long as it's a good dive centre, with good equipment, I don't care for the best (but if I do buy it, then I want the best).
2.
Dive Centres don't rent gear singularly. They rent the whole package. If I carry only part of it, I will still need the rest and I will still pay the same amount, therefore I migh as well travel light.

Perhaps Tortuga68's advice to buy only a wrist Computer might be the best if I cannot stay under 5 Kg. I could carry 6, maybe, but if I don't set a limit you know how it goes... b4 you know you've bought equipment for 10 kg and you won't leave any of it at home...

Thanks for the advice... useful list, I will start checking the weights of the items. I appreciate your time!

Tommaso

[DevonDiver]

My recommendation for a wrist computer would be a Suunto Gekko. They recently replaced these on the market, so there should be some cheap ones popping up - especially second hand.

Ebay is always good - people often upgrade computers. The primary thing to check is battery life remaining.

Regards rental kit - there may not be a cost saving by having partial kit, but using familiar and trustworthy stuff will definitely add to the enjoyment and quality of your dives. Rental wetsuits may not fit comfortably. Rental regs may be a hard breath, or the mouthpiece might rub your gums. Rental BCDs might cause you to wallow, or impact on your control/buoyancy/relaxation underwater. Rental fins might be under-powered, or cause blisters.
Once you've got your own stuff, even one bit at a time, it becomes a part of you, like a second-skin.... you get used to it and that helps you relax and enjoy.

[Jim Lapenta]

Tell your GF to cut back and not take so much stuff! It's a vacation, not a fashion show. I have seen people take as much for a two week vacation as I would need for 6 months. A weeks worth of clothes for a dive vacation - 5 pairs underwear, 4 t shirts, 2 bathing suits, 3 pair of socks or no socks and just wear my croc's, 1 pair long pants or nice shorts, 1 button down shirt. These last two I'd likely wear for the flight down and back as well. Run short of t shirts? Buy the 3 for $10 cheapos and toss em or give em to a homeless guy on the last day.

Anything else is overkill. Some stuff can be washed or rinsed out in the sink and hung to dry. My GF does liveaboards and she takes as little as I do for a week. Maybe less. You need to start watching what you both pack and cut unnecessary items.

[Ascanio1]

@ Vladimir,

Thanks for the reply. I guess that I did not explain properly why I have such a weight limit and, correctly, the first advice I am receiving concerns this "all or nothing mentality".

I travel ONLY for holiday and relax with my GF, who doesn't dive, doesn't enjoy waiting on the boat or beach, doesn't have an easy character... Besides, I'm not as passionate or proficient a diver as many of you are, so I do not need, or even appreciate, speciality gear. For me diving is a very secondary activity which I indulge in, during my holidays, IF & WHEN, I have the occasion. I DO NOT plan it. Only once I wanted to go to Truk Lagoon in the Pacific but I didn't find any buddies to go with.

As such, renting the equipment locally more than satisfies my needs. I just wanted to save on the renting fees. That's all. And since now I didn't even have a vague idea of how much an average diving kit weighs! (I now know that it's about 7 Kg + underwear!).

I put a weight limit because we always travel for long periods of time (3 or more weeks) and my GF carries her whole wardrobe with her and manages to return home with even more stuff! I'm sure that some of you can understand me...

Gvien this scenario, if I can find a light package that will save me on renting fees, good. If not I might as well forget it and rent it. Maybe the best idea could be Tortuga68's to buy only a computer. Anyway, I'll check the weights of Devondiver's list and I'll see...

Any other reccommendations/suggestions?

Tommaso

[Gmsg]

Last year, traveled with computer, reg and mask, oh- and shorty wet suit. Did all carry on, no problem. Only needed to use a BC (it was an all inclusive that included diving). Glad I had the comfort of my own equipment though, and this year I am figuring out how to bring my fins. I have very small feet, and if the rental does have fins that fit, they are mini and have no power!

[Ascanio1]

@ Devondiver...

I just read your second reply... you made a very good point concerning comfort and enjoyment with your own stuff... and I'm sure safety and other issues too would support the same idea. I am considering this advice carefully as I like your point of view. Again, I'm checking into your list to see what it adds up to in terms of weight. And I also like the advice of the Suunto Gekko: others too reccommended it to me. Some other friends mentioned Aladin... and other names...

@ Jim Lapenta:
I served for almost 9 years in an Airborne Unit (including 5 UN peacekeeping missions and a few other amenities). Actually, that's where I got my first dive certification and where I started to enjoy diving. So, trust me, I adapt to pretty much anything. But in life we all have our priorities and I guess that now diving is not as high on my list as it used to be. I had my share of rugged life, now I enjoy more to just lay back and enjoy the pretty girls...

I am sorry if I am out of tune with the mainstream ideas of this forum, and I do appreciate all your comments, especially the negative ones. I am just looking for reccommendations for a simple kit, of good quality, to carry around, IF (and only IF) I can fit it in my 23Kg (- whatever my GF uses) allowance. If I can't, I'll be more than happy with nothing.

Again, I appreciate your help! Thanks!

Tommaso