Do You Really Trust Rental Gear?

[Downing]

The only gear I rent is weights and tanks. I knew from the moment I signed up for OW that I would love diving, so I immediately began buying my own. Over the years, I've replaced pretty much everything with gear that suits me better, but you have to start somewhere.

A couple of years ago, I was diving off Oahu. There were some Japanese divers on the boat whose wetsuits were practically shredded rags. I mean utterly ridiculous. My guide, Gabe, a/k/a Scotti The Duck here on ScubaBoard, told me the suits were rented from their dive guide. I couldn't believe anyone would rent or dive in suits in such poor condition and it made me wonder if the rest of the gear was rented, too. Scary!

But it's not so much that I don't trust rented gear; rather, it's that I trust my gear. I know my stuff's been treated appropriately, inspected regularly and serviced when needed.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Rental gear is rental gear. The shop can do everything possible and be real gear nazis, and somehow, there are always glitches once the gear reaches a certain usage age.
We just bit the bullet and bought 12 new sets of Zeagle Stilettos, Envoys, and consoles. Our gear was well maintained, but old and just ready to roll over. Many shops can't afford the cost to refit all school gear We were lucky this year and happy we did.

I still take my own basic gear with me. I can carry on my Express Tech, my reg, fins, and booties. They fit in a backpack. My computer is on my wrist. My clothes and regular stuff is checked. No excess baggage fees. And I have to rent tanks and weights. No problem. It makes for better dives all the way around.

 

[gypsyjim]

After my original (1970) gear all became outdated, worn out, given away, lost in a fire, etc, and I was not regularly diving, I relied on rentals for quite a few years with no serious issues.

Now that I am back into diving more seriously, I have gradually purchased, and upgraded continually. I would still be willing to use rentals, it 1# some of my gear was giving me issues on a dive trip (which has yet to happen, beyond torn mask skirt), or #2 if I was somewhere w/o my gear, and it was rent or miss a chance to do a dive.

When my kids wanted to certify, I purchased their rentals that they trained in for 3 reasons.
#1, good entry $ when purchasing a lot of gear all at once.
#2, it was gear they were already very comfortable in and familiar with.
#3, I knew the gear was well serviced, and because it was rental it was more in the nature of "bullet proof", as the op invested in gear they had fewer servicing issues with.

As my kids have grown and decided which direction their diving will take them they are gradually upgrading their own gear, but much of that original rental is still in service 6, 7 years later. Some of it has been passed on to other extended family, who are also entering the sport, and none of it has ever failed to provide reliable safe diving.

 

[Osric]

This is a really interesting topic to me because this dilemma applies so well to my own personal situation. My current gear consists of a computer, prescription mask, fins, and camera. I carry these things because:

- with my own computer I am unlikely to make mistakes and I can switch between dive operators when needed. I specifically prioritized buying a computer that I could use with 1/100th of my brain working...

- prescription mask, because though I could dive with contacts in my mind that's just one more thing that could needlessly go wrong during an otherwise routine dive.

- fins, because I want fins that fit well. But these are too bulky ... I'm not sure it's worth it.

- camera, because I love taking and processing my own pictures.

I am debating whether I am done with gear or whether I need more. Some days, I'm planning more ... other days, I'm thinking about whether the value is really there. The next two items I am considering are a dive knife or a regulator+octo.

I don't hear many people advocating for knives but I assume it's because they take this type of equipment for granted ... at the same time, I basically only dive warm water vacations and very few divers are equipped with a knife. Entanglement is unlikely, too, but still...

Everybody argues for a regulator because it is the key piece of life support equipment. But I am not sure it's worth it: all regulators seem to work well, even the workhorses that are rented. On a recent dive my rented regulator was freeflowing at certain angles and I just swapped it for my octo and continued the dive (it turned out if I'd known how to adjust it, I could have probably just adjusted it at the time ... which is perhaps an argument for familiarity).

Familiarity is a common argument, and makes sense to me. We want to minimize mistakes underwater and in prepping our gear ... I've done stupid things due to being unfamiliar with my gear. Still, it seems to me that with more dives this will be a non-issue.

As for a BCD or wetsuit, I'm really unclear if I want those items. They're pretty bulky ... for the same reason I wouldn't consider buying tanks or weights these items seem unneeded.

I guess it is largely a matter of the kind of diving, but for diving relatively straightforward dives in warm water it seems like renting is much more convenient. I wonder if I too will change my mind after a bad experience with rental gear ...

Osric

 

[Garrobo]

All but regulators.

 

[h90]

I saw on rental gears:
Octopus not working (exhaust valve broken)
Everywhere bubbles cames out
Octopus hose broke close to first stage
BCD valve got stuck
Oil in the air
Things in Croatia and Thailand in other countries it might be better....

 

[drbill]

When I travel internationally as a backpacker/diver, I only carry a few things with me... mask, computer and often my reg. I rent everything else. Have had some "interesting" experiences with the rental gear along the way. If I'm travel to another country for an extended period, and will only be in that one region, I usually take my travel kit which has everything I need but the tank and weights.

 

[Doc]

This is in no way set up to discourage or scare any new diver out there!

Don't worry, you've already been beaten to that! The un-holy mantra of "you must buy and maintain your own gear- it is after all, life support equipment" still echoes from the ages. (Check the back page of the otherwise laudable Dive Training magazine)

SCUBA gear is almost bulletproof! I know this from better than 10 years in the industry and over twenty years as a diver.

Many people know this, yet most will still refuse to put their reg sets in checked airline baggage. "Reasons" for this vary between fear of damage (ridiculous) or the statistically proven urban myth of SCUBA gear being a target of baggage thieves.

Weight belts vs. integrated BC's ect.

A destination resort shop that has weight integrated BC's is set up for the real life rental market. If they are renting out non-integrated BC's (for other than training), they should be held suspect. This is something you can determine in advance via e-mail. (There are very few locations in this world that do not regularly see guests with weight integrated BC's, although this still occurs at remote land-based backpacker type destinations)

Computer costing extra?

I would expect so, yes. Contrary to a previous post, there is little chance of encountering a learning curve when renting a rental dive computer. They are 99.99% the basic hockey puck console modules with the green/yellow/red pixel thingies. Primitive, yet simple and not prone to failures.

Shops are required to service their gear and the gear is required to be safe

Ummm, okay, if you say so. For whatever reason, most rental gear works just fine.

...but whats the deciding factor for good rental and bad rental gear?

The deciding factor...What it should be?

It should be a careful and quick inspection of the gear, done by the renter themselves. If a diver is unsure of how to do this, they should get their LDS to train them as to how this might be accomplished. You don't need the complete Equipment Specialist cert, but you do need a 30 minute explanation. Be prepared to pay for the eductaion, especially if you're not renting gear from them for the week, instead picking it up at the destination resort. Not much to it, really.

...lets find out why people complain so much about rental gear!

Most of it is due to lack of (very minimal) technical knowledge. This includes over-reaction (to things like color fading and velcro blow-out).

The main backbone of complaints come from what I touched-on initially. It is the not-so-subtle subtle pressure to purchase your own gear- from your instructor and LDS, from publications, and the most insidious... from those who have made full purchases and need to justify such by insisting that you follow suit.

Saying, "Do what is right for you" is easy, but the practical application garnered from experience (training or years) is the necessary tool for a good decision. If you are unsure of (very minimal) mechanical evaluation skills, buy it and haul it with you.

 

[DandyDon]

Someone mentioned testing the rental reg at the shop, not waiting until miles from shore to learn if it works on a tank or not. I do that with my own regs when picking up from servicing, but then I test new stuff where I pick it up too - perhaps because I live 75 miles from the closest LDS. First pic on my new camera was of the lady selling it to me.

And I carry my regs in my roll-on solely to make sure they arrive when I do, but then I do that with as much as I can.

I do get a kick out of folks who say that they always use their gear because they know it is well maintained......then they strap on a tank of gas filled from a compressor owned by an op that they would not use rental gear from....

Not this cynic. I now carry 2 CO testers, my own O2 tester, and I like to take pics of compressors before diving from their tanks. That is a weak spot in sport diving, and I have irritated some Ops, but I like to see where my air comes from and test it.

One lawsuit over a malfunctioning regulator could wipe out an entire dive centre, so it's in the interests of all parties concerned to ensure that rental equipment is working comfortably and safely.

Yeah, if the the Op is in a country you can sue in. I'm in Texas but wouldn't try suing in next door Mexico, in their courts, in Spanish, etc.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Equipment intensive sport, aka expensive
Equipment intensive sport, aka Your life depends on it functioning properly

Mine..theirs..mine theirs.. who cares about ME most?

It's got to be mine.