Do You Really Trust Rental Gear?

[drbill]

As JustAnotherDiveBum knows, my gear is ancient and barely functioning... but I trust it more than rental gear.

I've had a first stage "blow out" on a 100 ft dive off Chumphon Pinnacle in Thailand. Never did get an assessment of what actually happened. Could have been a burst disc, but the DM didn't think so. I didn't get a chance to look at the reg since we swapped out and returned to the dive quickly.

Diving with that same operator, I was handed a BCD that was so ragged I had trouble finding the actual arm holes. Of course I refused that and asked for another.

I don't mind renting things like wetsuits, weight belts, masks, fins, BCDs and the like but I definitely prefer having my own regulator whenever possible.

 

[Kenny13]

When we got out OW certification, our instructor drilled into our minds setting up your gear and checking function before departing for the dive. If using rental equipment, that meant setting up at the shop making sure everything worked. Two weeks ago we picked up rental gear for my son, set it all up and everything worked fine at the shop. Got to the spring where we were diving 100 miles away and everything still worked fine until we got into the water prior to submerging. His primary went into a minor freeflow and wouldn't stop for anything. His day of diving was done before even getting started.

The equipment at this shop is usually well maintained, and they were very apologetic. Gave us his full rental package at no charge for the following day with no questions asked before even checking out the reg. Still, makes me feel more comfortable knowing I have my own gear except for tanks. Gonna have to work on getting him set up too. If nothing else, I find it great knowing that I'm familiar with everything and it's all adjusted to fit me when I'm ready to use it.

 

[seaducer]

I don't mind renting things like wetsuits, weight belts, masks, fins, BCDs and the like but I definitely prefer having my own regulator whenever possible.

I have heard of horror stories with regs, but I have never seen anything myself. I have had sour experience with a wetsuit. Namely, it didn't smell in the shop, but once I peeled it down after the dive it smelled strongly of stale urine, and I didn't pee in it

I take my own gear most places, but if baggage limits make it impossible I will take my exposure protection, reg, mask and computer.

 

[RTee]

Rental gear...last time I did it was in March 09 when I resumed diving seriously during a diving trip in Cozumel. However, I still showed up with what I call my diving underwear...Mask, fins, snorkel. Own mask....good seal and absence of pressure point.

My recollection is as follow:
wetsuit...had seen better days and too many reefs. Not quite sure what people could have done in it but I think I recall reading that it is sterile. Now carry my own.

Regulator...some worked well, one sounded like me playing a flute when I sucked on it...can even hear the darn thing on some of my videos, some required greater intervention of my lung muscles to work properly and I recall one going straight into freeflow on the boat when tank was turned on and once the divemaster took the second stage apart...it was half full with sand. Surprisingly...I now bring my own a smy personal item in the cabin just to make sure it gets there when I do (theft, misplaced luggage, etc).

BC...I now prefer diving with a plate and wing instead of normal BC (doubles and singles). Purchased a Zeagle Explorer Tech last summer. Light and uses minimal room in suitcase. Now accompanies me on dive trip.

Lights...prefer LED to yellowish battery barely working rentals. Have two small one 210/180 lumens that take no room and provide what I require for night diving.

Apparently, I now just use tanks and weights from DS when travelling.

Me and GF have also changed the way we travel...one checked suitcase (dive gear excluding computer, mask and regs). Carry-on (clothes, netbook/laptop) and personal item (regs, mask and dive computer).

 

[Culcuhain]

I am new to the hobby (actually getting back into it)
I used to Road Race motorcycles (knee dragging in the turn on closed courses).
I always bought new safety gear. Used bike parts, ok. Safety gear new....

Needless to say, the wife just got certified and we got new regs, octos and dive computers. I don't mind renting the other stuff. To me, my reg and computer is my lifeline. I need to know it inside and out. I can live without the other stuff in an ER situation. Cheers!

 

[drdaddy]

As JustAnotherDiveBum knows, my gear is ancient and barely functioning... but I trust it more than rental gear.

I've had a first stage "blow out" on a 100 ft dive off Chumphon Pinnacle in Thailand. Never did get an assessment of what actually happened. Could have been a burst disc, but the DM didn't think so. I didn't get a chance to look at the reg since we swapped out and returned to the dive quickly.

Diving with that same operator, I was handed a BCD that was so ragged I had trouble finding the actual arm holes. Of course I refused that and asked for another.

I don't mind renting things like wetsuits, weight belts, masks, fins, BCDs and the like but I definitely prefer having my own regulator whenever possible.

When I travel overseas, I obsessively research the outfit I'm going with. Thailand, for instance. We have been setup for medical relief work last summer and this summer - both have not materialized (MD/daughter instead will be on USA Indian Reservation - they probably need her more than Thailand). But, I can tell you with who we will dive with when we go - a quality trustworthy place and we will even allow her to do our overnight arrangements - in Southwest Thailand it is "Gekko Divers". I have never met this "Gekko Diver" in person (communication by email), but just follow her posts on SB and listen to what other say about her. My point is, I don't just show up at a place and then find out what kinda of place it is - I start the relationship way earlier.

I did this at the Red Sea - everything was in good solid condition. Now, the next 10 times I was diving there over the next 3 years - I brought my own stuff. Not because anything was wrong with their stuff, but because I like my stuff.

And I did this last summer at Tatsukushi Japan. I took/paid for that extra bag of scuba stuff, but as always, I carried on my regulator, mask, and computers. This was a top quality place, but it was in Japan - and my 5'10" 210lbs was too big for their little wetsuits and BCDs.

Obviously, there may be a place that you all of a sudden find yourself at and want to dive. Well, I'm not shy about protecting myself and others and calling a dive - and I will always use my credit card that stands behind me as the customer.


When I say "top quality", this does not mean "most expensive" - but it does mean places that share my values and have integrity. Then you get the gear that they would trust to equip their own children in.

P.S. Instead of taking flashlights with me when traveling, I now take my dive-lights - this is especially nice that all my lights are now LED. So I have a number of divelights in my carryon and in my check-in luggage. And if the luggage doesn't make it in time - well, I have my reg, mask, computers, and lights - and hope the rental BCD will be great. However, I am not afraid to call a dive.

 

[drdaddy]

When we got out OW certification, our instructor drilled into our minds setting up your gear and checking function before departing for the dive. If using rental equipment, that meant setting up at the shop making sure everything worked. Two weeks ago we picked up rental gear for my son, set it all up and everything worked fine at the shop. Got to the spring where we were diving 100 miles away and everything still worked fine until we got into the water prior to submerging. His primary went into a minor freeflow and wouldn't stop for anything. His day of diving was done before even getting started.

The equipment at this shop is usually well maintained, and they were very apologetic. Gave us his full rental package at no charge for the following day with no questions asked before even checking out the reg. Still, makes me feel more comfortable knowing I have my own gear except for tanks. Gonna have to work on getting him set up too. If nothing else, I find it great knowing that I'm familiar with everything and it's all adjusted to fit me when I'm ready to use it.

When we go this far away we always take a spare regulator for the group. If I were renting, I'd rent a spare regulator to be shared between you and your son. Oh, what I really hate is getting to the dive spot and having a "short fill" - I own a pressure gauge (but also you could pretest pressure with your reg). I test the pressure in each tank before I leave the dive shop parking lot. I didn't do this about 6 months ago after a hydro, and they had forgot to top it off. BUT, we own at least 10 tanks so we don't get stuck without a backup and sometimes supply my buddies with a working reg, full tank, weight belt, a clip on 2-4 lb lead, goodybag, fin/strap. Having your own stuff is great and we don't call dives because of junky equipment or somebody had forgotten something.

 

[Foxfish]

I dove with hire gear and loaned a mates gear for a couple of years mainly because I wasn't doing much scuba diving. It was nerve racking trying to remember the differences and making sure it all worked. I think it is good to learn to be flexible but to some extent that depends on how frequently you dive.

I had problems with stuck BCD inflators, leaking BCD's, computer faces that were so scuffed you could hardly read the gauge, leaking tanks, regulators that either free flowed or didn't flow. Trying to get bouyancy right before a trip on a dive boat was difficult.

I've had some bad experiences in the past couple of months with buddies who were inexperienced and who had faulty or unsuitable dive gear. The first was a night dive with a person who had just got their OW and was on vacation. He was wearing a 2 piece 7 mm suit in the hot Australian summer conditions with water temperatures of 26 degrees. His never had enough weight and struggled to descend. His torch failed. We aborted the dive. Again I recently dove with a fellow from America. Same problem with the wetsuit and weighting and the BCD they gave him was too small. By the time he was ready to get into the water he was visibly stressed. Perspiration was pouring off his face. We had to turn back to the boat twice to add weight. By the time he got under the water he was panting like a dog and used his air very quickly. Our dive got cut short. He put up a brave front but it wasn't a pleasant dive.

The company hiring out the equipment should thoroughly check it before it gets hired out. But the reality is that it doesn't always happen.

I got my own gear at the start of this year. It has been a big relief. I now feel confident using the dive computer. I'd always at least try to take my regulator and computer when traveling.

 

[Diver0001]

If rental gear has failed you I want to know why and how!

I've had a rented regulator fail on me twice. In neither case did I feel that the shop was responsible.

The first time it was a regulator that had (after the fact) obviously been left laying in the sand/surf after a dive and not rinsed. The inside of the 2nd was completely *full* of caked on sand but as long as the sand was dry the reg worked perfectly and there was nothing unusual about it.

However, at 60-odd feet the sand suddenly "let go" and I surprised to discover that I could hardly breathe through it because all I got was clouds of loose sand being blown into my mouth.

I switched to the octopus, which fortunatly *was* working, I assume because it was open the the water and had already "rinsed" itself... I took the main out of my mouth, pointed it at my buddy and purged it which caused clouds of sand to be ejected into the water. My buddy started to become somewhat spastic about it but with a bit of shaking it around and purging the problem was soon sorted and it worked fine for the rest of the dive.

The other time had to do with a tie-wrap around the mouthpiece that had fallen off. I don't know *when* it fell off.. if it was after I rented it or before but I didn't notice anything unusual until I looked over my left shoulder during the dive and the 2nd simply popped off the the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece was still in my mouth but the 2nd was floating around somewhere. One again, using my own octopus helped and I had all the time I needed to inspect the problem.

In that case we continued the dive, which was fairly shallow and close to shore while I used my octopus as my main.

Other than that, the only real "problems" i've seen with rental gear is that I've never *ever* rented a drysuit that (a) fit and (b) was dry.... but as far as drysuits go that's actually more the norm than the exception.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

..... snip..... I am with a different shop as an Instructor, and their rental gear is very strictly inspected after every use...

Where I work we have a different approach that seems to work ok too. All gear is on a scheduled maintenance regime and if anything unusual, no matter how small, happens to a piece of gear during use then we swap it out with a spare, which we always have with us, tag the faulty bit of gear with a description of the problem and fire it back into maintenance again.

Works like a charm and no need for extensive and time-consuming inspections after every dive. The key, of course, is that 99.5% of problems are *avoided* instead of *detected*.

R..