Rental Gear... Will you use it?

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Having cultured out, some rather unpleasant stuff, some years back -- from enteric bacteria to yeasts -- on rental gear in the past, I won't touch the stuff. I just take along redundant equipment -- have, for decades . . .

How did it compare to room air in people's homes?
 
Only time I used shop gear was when I took OW and then I used shop BCs for pool when assisting on courses. Otherwise, bought and used my own stuff from day one. Coronavirus aside, I would have no concerns about breathing off a rented reg (dip it first in salt water or chlorinated pool), or renting anything, for that matter.
My concern would be about the reason for doing so. Obviously if you dive regularly (like once every week or two), you're gunna have your own stuff. If you dive on dive trips once or twice yearly you probably would rent it all (or most). I personally would not dive that way as I feel I would not be safe enough a diver with so little time underwater yearly. That's why I waited until we moved to the coast (age 51) to get certified.
 
How did it compare to room air in people's homes?

The assignment had been to sample a number of everyday objects, from doorknobs to countertops, to various counsumer items. There was no air sampling at the time . . .
 
Like many people, I had absolutely no issues with using rental gear at first. I trusted that the shops would clean things properly. I used it for the OW course and for a bit after that. Then, I bought my own gear but still didn’t have much of an issue with using rental gear in a pinch (which I sometimes did) but my mind has completely changed now. Why? 3 reasons:

1) Back in 2015, I went diving in the cenotes of Mexico. Under water, my mask kept fogging up. The DM kindly offered to exchange his for mine. I took the offer. After the dive, while chatting over lunch, he mentioned that he was still recovering from “the worst flu he had ever had”. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together. A couple days later, I also suffered from “the worst flu I had ever had”, which lasted for more than a whole month. Did I learn my lesson? Nope. I continued to use rental gear once in a while, when in a pinch.

2) Fast forward to December 2019, my sister and I went to Roatan so she could get certified. She bought herself a new 5mm wetsuit for this purpose. I also wear 5mm in such tropical waters so she bought the same. When we got there, her instructor convinced her that 5mm was way too thick and that she’d be too hot and too floaty. She offered my sister a 2mm shorty instead. I did not object because the instructor had a point and my sister was convinced. After 2 days of diving with the loaned shorty, my sister developed a rash. It got worse despite hydrocortisone, Benadryl and Claritin. That was all the meds we had on hand that we thought would work. By the end of the week, we started to get very scared. Could it be flesh eating disease? I dare not open my mouth for fear of scaring her to death. We left for home and we went straight to the ER upon the plane landing. It ended up not to be flesh eating disease but just a really bad rash. My sister now refuses to finish her certification out of fear.

3) COVID-19 - what can I say? I’ve already got 2 bad experiences with shared or rental gear already. I figured with the COVID-19 situation, it was about time I learned my lesson, forever.

Just last year, prior to the 2019 incident and COVID-19, I actually considered leaving my own gear at home and switch to rental gear for good due to the hassle of the 50lbs luggage limit and the washing after every dive. That is no longer going to happen. If I continue diving, it will only be my own gear from now on. And I don’t think I’ll let the shops wash it anymore either. Definitely not the regs.
 
If you dive on dive trips once or twice yearly you probably would rent it all (or most).

For me, my yearly dive trips are 10-20 days of continuous diving... and I've seen these prices...

Thailand - gear included in price, discount given for own gear, about $30/day
Indonesia - $30/day for a full set (reg, BC, fins, mask), computer and wetsuit extra
Japan - $50/day ...
Maui - $50/day ...

So far, I've "saved" $1060... don't ask me how much I've spent on gear, though!
 
I don't have a dog in the fight since Mrs Flush and I carry our own gear everywhere....(well I carry our gear everywhere) but I do not/would not have any trepidation about using rental stuff.
 
I rented gear on a trip to the DR that I only did 2 dives. I had brought my wetsuit, fins, mask/snorkel. It was a pre-deployment get away to an AI-resort and spend the week relaxing by the pool/consuming copious amounts of alcohol, instead of a dive trip. But, I definitely missed my gear on those 2 dives.
 
Interesting; it doesn't seem like COVID-19 itself has changed many people's minds on this subject. Most who have posted so far were already anti-rental gear, and maybe one person is still cool with it.

I'll bite: I was never squicked out by wetsuits someone else had surely peed in or regs that had obviously been in someone else's mouth. I trusted that they would be cleaned well enough, that germs generally wouldn't survive long enough between rentals, and that my immune system would be tough enough to fight off the odd bug. I rented gear for the first 6 months after I got certified and started buying in part because it became clear I was going to stick with diving long enough for buying to save me money, and in part so I could the specific setup I wanted and be ready to go at a moment's notice. Even after I bought a set, I had no problem using rental/borrowed gear when I forgot my mask at home or my reg was in the shop. Interestingly, I've hardly gotten sick at all since I got certified a year and a half ago (a time period that included two cold and flu seasons!), and I haven't been sick enough to miss even one day of work. Normally I get at least one bad cold every winter.

But now? I don't see myself renting again--at least masks and regs--until I feel like the danger has passed for me. If I get the virus and recover, and if the evidence seems to indicate I'll be immune for at least a couple years, or if/when they come up with a vaccine and I'm able to get one, then I'll consider renting again. I'm still willing to rent tanks and weights, and maybe exposure protection. I'm sure my local dive shop is as good as their word in following all of DAN's recommendations for sanitizing, but...nope.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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