New divers and buying equipment

[chorse]

Fell in Love with the first good looking dry suit I saw so I bought my first dry suit immediately after a trade show. The suit is an Otter Britannic. Looked great hanging on the display hook. Had all the bells and whistles; Kubi dry glove system, sitech neck system, p-valve and front entry with the metal zip.

I had taken a dry suit course prior and used a DUI rental suit, rear entry with zip seals and attached boots for the training. Very lite, loose fitting but comfortable. After that course I was all in. The water was 40F and I was warm.​

Mistake I made was not finding a way to rent an Otter and test driving it before I purchased. My Otter is stiff, heavy and not very giving in the crotch department. Sounds like my first wife. The P-valve never gets used and a pain to hook up and even when you don't hook up, the hose finds a way to get in the way. Moral of the story is try all your gear several times through a rent to buy local dive shop. It may appear to be money thrown away at first but if you get what you really want you'll be content. Satisfaction is priceless if that what you're shooting for. 50 dives later and the realization that the Otter and I are bound together for financial reasons. I kind of like it and don't speak ill of her all that much. Sorry Otter, just a little buyers remorse bubbling up. You do keep me warm and dry when I need you most!

 

[Marie13]

The people saying to rent lots of equipment to try out gear before you buy don’t seem to realize that a lot of rental gear is not the models you would be buying. Sure, they’re often weight integrated BCs and console computers, but if you’re looking to try out the latest and greatest, you’re probably out of luck. Rental equipment is going to be the workhorse models.

If you’re set on something specific (BP/W, doubles, sidemount, specific model of whatever), you’re better off asking around to see if someone has one you can try out. Your chances are much better off to get to try something that way. It’s the rare shop that has BP/W or doubles setup available for rental, for example.

 

[gcarter]

That's a good cautionary tale. I'm an experienced diver so I own my own gear but only did so after I probably logged more than 100 dives. It makes sense for me but for newcomers it's really not worth jumping in to it.

One of the pitfalls of buying your own gear if you're not going to be an avid diver is the cost and time of the upkeep. Here in Los Angeles, for example, you'll need to service your gear yearly (recommended) and that's at least $150/year (more if parts are needed). You'll also have to make two trips to the dive shop (one to drop off, one to pick up) just for that maintenance. And further if you own your own cylinder, you're still going to dive shops for re-fills which is more time and money. That's of course in addition to the purchase cost of that equipment. Therefore, owning gear isn't typically about saving money or time. Its typically about comfort and familiarity for the avid diver.

Just my two cents.

I'll quibble a bit on the time aspect. Going to the LDS to pick up a rental tank and again to return it takes exactly the same amount of time as taking an owned tank in for a fill and picking it up - and that assumes you can't get it filled while you wait, which is what I usually do.

The time required to bring gear in for service is a once a year thing. Picking up and dropping off rental gear is two trips every time you dive.

The cost equation depends on how much you dive. If you are an infrequent diver, you are unlikely to save anything although you may want to buy for other reasons. But if you dive a moderate to high amount, savings are certainly a factor.

 

[Marie13]

I'll quibble a bit on the time aspect. Going to the LDS to pick up a rental tank and again to return it takes exactly the same amount of time as taking an owned tank in for a fill and picking it up - and that assumes you can't get it filled while you wait, which is what I usually do.

The time required to bring gear in for service is a once a year thing. Picking up and dropping off rental gear is two trips every time you dive.

The cost equation depends on how much you dive. If you are an infrequent diver, you are unlikely to save anything although you may want to buy for other reasons. But if you dive a moderate to high amount, savings are certainly a factor.

Only exception is if you’re diving at a quarry, for example, where you can rent gear and tanks on site.

 

[gcarter]

Only exception is if you’re diving at a quarry, for example, where you can rent gear and tanks on site.

That would be true, of course. I have never seen such a creature in the wild myself which is why it would not occur to me, but I do know they exist.

 

[Marie13]

That would be true, of course. I have never seen such a creature in the wild myself which is why it would not occur to me, but I do know they exist.

My home quarry is such a creature. I know a lot of folks who have all their own gear except tanks, so they’re just renting tanks.

 

[Belzelbub]

I'll quibble a bit on the time aspect. Going to the LDS to pick up a rental tank and again to return it takes exactly the same amount of time as taking an owned tank in for a fill and picking it up - and that assumes you can't get it filled while you wait, which is what I usually do.

Good point. Related to that is enhanced flexibility. If friends and I decide to go diving tomorrow, I'm ready. I've got tanks full, and all my gear. So, it's simply a matter of getting it all pulled out and ready to go.

A friend I dive with had all his gear except tanks, until recently. He required a bit more notice, as he'd have to stop at the dive shop the day before the dive.

That's all moot for dive spots that have rentals on-site. However, that's not my typical dive as we usually dive in the Gulf or ocean on mine or a friend's boat.

I never actually rented dive gear. On my initial training, I used what was provided by the shop, but that was a really long time ago. Once certified, I had all my own gear. I wanted my own really for the flexibility more than anything else. Fast forward 20 years, and I've replaced each of those original pieces with better options, and as my needs changed. If I were being certified today, I'm inclined to think that I would probably buy all my gear at the start, maybe not during the initial class, but soon after. There are so many more resources out now than there were back in the 1990s. It's easy to find information on different gear types on forums, and the like, so somewhat tougher to make a bad choice. Back then it wasn't quite as easy to compare different manufacturers and models.

But, there is always the risk of getting gear and finding out that diving isn't for you. In my case, I always knew that I'd be diving for a long time. I've lived by the ocean my entire life, and while growing up, I was constantly underwater with a mask and snorkel. A snorkeling trip to the keys was the clincher. I knew then that I wanted to spend longer and longer periods of time underwater.

When my oldest daughter was getting certified, I had her get trained in her own gear. I set it up similar to my own. I wanted her to be as familiar with her gear as possible during her training. Youngest daughter has expressed interest as well. She'll be old enough later this year, so it looks like I'll be shopping for gear again this year. I'll hold off on the wetsuits for now as they are both still growing like weeds. Plus, we dive in Florida, so the water is usually plenty warm.