rent or buy BC/reg for vacation diver?

[cwhite6]

They charge up to $30 in parts, and 19.95 for the octo not including parts....That is a great deal but for $50 you are not getting it done...heck I have not had my reg/octo serviced this year so TDL may have gone up....

The $19.95 is only if your octo is also an inflator.

 

[shortdivemedic]

Just make sure you dont buy gear, thinking that with the cost you will dive more. it just doesnt work out that way as i found out.


Cheers
Michael

 

[Manow]

I've only been diving about 3 years now, but here's how I progressed, and what motivated me. I was renting everything on vacation dive trips. When it came time to log my dives, I was trying to use tables, and the Divemasters would instruct me to to just write "computer" in my log book, and log the max depth, time, etc. Basically, I was going off the DM's computer. I didn't really like this arrangement. As luck would have it, a Dive Shop in Phuket had the Gekko Dive Computer on sale for about $200.00. It was a steal, and my first Piece of gear! I loved it. Does not weight much or take up much room. Easy to keep clean, etc. For the next vacation, I had my own mask, fins, etc. Next vacation it was a wetsuite. Then the incident. I went on a trip to the PI, and the rental regs failed (locked) when I reached about 5 meters. I surfaced pretty quick, and the guys on the boat hooked me up with a replacement set of regs. I was concerned, but I made the dive. I finished my dive about an hour later, and I couldn't believe what I saw when I got back on the boat. They had the faulty reg. in pieces all over a table, and were arguing about how to fix it. Now this was a 3rd world country, but the shop looked modern. I made a decision to buy my own gear. I just picked up an MK25/S600 set, and an MK2/295 as a back-up set. When I add it all up (money) it is something of an invesment. But, over time it didn't hurt. And, I feel safer and enjoy diving more. I don't worry about who used the gear last, and if the regs have been serviced.

 

[Rhumbline]

As you have already noticed, rental gear will not kill you. I don't dive much more often than you but I decided to buy my gear. I shopped closeouts, demos, etc. and got great deals on decent gear, but it still doesn't make sense financially. The only way I can justify it is because I simply like having my own stuff. It's worth a few extra dollars to me. I put my gear together quickly and easily on the boat and even an unfamiliar divemaster leaves me alone and focuses on the others. I know how much weight to put in each pocket. Underwater, I know where my computer is clipped, where my dump valves are, how a quick shot of air will affect my BC, and what strap to pull if it's rubbing my left shoulder, all without having to experiment. Back on the boat I know the easiest way to swap tanks for the second dive or to break down my gear and have it stowed before the boat starts moving. At the dock I know how best to rinse my gear and stow it in my bag quickly. In short, using the same gear every time saves you time and effort. Time is my most valuable commodity when I'm travelling so that makes it worth the money to me.