I'm jealous.......
Just to complete my open water I had to get my own wetsuit (40 degree water, just after ice out in northern New York). There was absolutely no suit even remotely possible to fit me.
Custom made 1/4" Farmer John and long sleeve "shortie" jacket. Just to get a C-card.....
Within a month I had all my gear (no tanks)....
As a newly certified AOW, I am now considering starting to get my own equipment kit. I am a recreational diver and perhaps will remain one in the near future. Expect to do a few trips a year, perhaps a couple of weekend getaways to Caribean and one long trip a year. Expect mostly tropical...
As of now, I've done AOW & Deep diving certifications, with just under a hundred dives, making me a relative beginner.
I got my mask and snorkel, booties, and fins for a while already. The latter can perhaps be upgraded at some point but work for now. Bought a second-hand Cressi Leonardo computer. I am shopping for a 3mm jumpsuit. All these seem worth it by cost/rent ratio and perhaps will pay for themselves in a year. I am considering a used BCD as I would love the integrated weight system and added comfort of a higher-end vest...
Now when it comes to regulators, I am puzzled - seems like between the large initial investment cost, annual maintenance costs, risks of buying used - it seems very little reason for a beginner diver to own. Looking at the rental costs between $5-10 in most locations it is unlikely to ever pay for itself for me. But are there advanced features that are not available on a rental that a beginner like me would benefit from? Any other reasons to own one vs renting in place?
What about other things - weights, tanks - seems a hassle to travel with so I assume for those not diving locally, it's not something to ever consider buying. Dive torch/light? If only used for night diving perhaps renting is cheat enough... Anything else?
For me, I bought my mask, snorkel booties and fins after doing my open water course because I struggled to find a rental mask that did not leak and, while this may be a little anal, using someone else's snorkel is something I find skeevy. The fins I bought so I could snorkel for free (I have friends with a house on the Red Sea). I do not really use a wet suit for most dives, however, for caves and crevices, some protection is a good idea. Sadly, rental suits almost never fit, so I bought a 3mm shortie. I bought my basic safety equipment - DSMB, whistle, and light for signalling with my mask and fins. The dive lights can be expensive to rent relative to their cost. The computer is a good thing to buy, though it was not on the list. I like to log my dives so I can remember the details of them, especially when I tend to dive in flurries - two or three months with nothing, then five or six days in a row of 3-4 dives per day, so remembering the particulars of any one given dive once I am back home is hard - the dives tend to smush together - logging as much data as possible - helps keep them straight.
I am right now looking for a regulator (or two). I am intrigued by the double-hose Kraken - I really dislike the bubbles in my face and the uneven pressure on the mouthpiece from the air hose (see my post in the classifieds section). The rear exhaust of a double-hose regulator is appealing, but buying vintage gear is a non-starter for me - I have no idea how to maintain my own gear and no inclination to learn (at this point), ergo, the Karaken, a new, but classic design double hose regulator. That said, so far I have only used typical 1st stage, second stage, octo systems, so I am looking for a decent used set up that I can buy more or less complete.
I have rented about ten different BCD set ups and I know I want a back plate/wing configuration. I really like simple; harness, back-plate, wing, and some d-rings. I hate the pockets and wrap-around feeling of a jacket. My main issue with used back plate/wing systems is, so far in my search, they do not seem to offer much in the way of savings relative to buying new. Which is why I have not yet purchased one. My local dive shop keeps trying to push me into a new, costly BCD from the favored brand sold in the shop.. the more he pushes, the less I want to buy from him. Now I do not even want to ask him about used gear because I find I no longer trust him to help me dive the way I want to.
I haven ot considered weights or tanks because everywhere I've been diving, they are included in the cost of diving.
My two cents.