As much as I am a fan of having your own gear I need to say that if one is on a budget it is better to rent. Unless you plan on doing a lot of diving right now. Then by all means pull the trigger on a used BC. The scout is a good BC. It is a back inflate and it's around the same price as an Express Tech. It does not have as many how shall I say "options" available as the Express. It is marketed by Zeagle as a travel BC. It has a limited weight capacity which is no biggie unless you need more than 20lbs. The placement of the drings is an issue for me. The shoulder ones are ok but I prefer to have one or two on the waist as opposed to hanging on the bottom. Makes it easier FOR ME to clip off an SPG or console, light, camera, etc. I don't see a need for a sternum strap either. The thing is if you decide to move into other areas of diving it may limit you. It will not be adaptable for doubles as the Express would be. I am not sure that you could get a larger wing as well but not sure. NetDoc has adapted his ET for sidemount even. The Scout is IMO a great travel, warm water, or even entry level BC. I could see using it for students if it were not for me liking the fact that I can adjust my Express in about two minutes to use without a suit, with a 3 mil ,5 mil, or even drysuit. Then take it off and in about the same amount of time fit it to a person half or even twice my size. That is the key is that you can fit it to you. You don't have to try to figure out if a small, med, large, or extra large is what you need. The ET is all of them.