I agree. I still prefer weight belts in general. Losing a weight pocket in a remote area is not really a good situation. Would you share your personal/favorite "holy grail" setup as rental gear? Thank you.
Im sorry I can't do that.
Why?
Because a HUGE part of the "holey grail " IMO is a really good, solid, reliable, HONEST supply chain.
Even though we live in a global economy you will find that to be very much a regional thing.
So what you need is a supplier/suppliers that carry decent long lasting product that will be around for a few years.
That gives you spares backup as well as surety of supply/warranty.
You then work with them to have ROBUST gear supplied.
Here in the pacific "stuff" comes from Australia or NZ.
So--PURELY my personal opinion here based here in NZ
Id run Atlantis Icon BC's
Masks I'd have a range for sale but student masks again atlantis Icon M3 Black skirt as the main mask with some bigger framed masks for the rare person the icon doesn't fit "ok" with.
Wetsuits even if you are tropical diving I would NEVER have 3.0mm suits in my rental/student gear. 3mm is too fragile.
Id run again atlantis 5mm shorties if tropical or 7mm full suits if temperate. I'd likely have for sale the odd sharkskin top.
Regs and Valves I'd run Sherwood.
Fins for the customers atlantis spree or similar rubber FULL foot fins -Not plastic fins-for longevity.
But again I'd have a bit of a range of open foot fins in stock for sale.
I think for tropical diving I'd rather use ally tanks rather than steels.
I must add - I DON'T own a dive shop so my opinion is based on what I have observed having seen the good/bad /ugly of dive operations.