vacationing/take own gear or rent?

[chet]

When travelling to Mexico to do some diving is it safe to take your own equipment or are you better off just renting? I've heard that there can be a lot of problems with theft at the airports..is this true? Also, if taking my own gear is advisable, what basic gear do you advise me taking and what gear should I rent? I've also been told that if you do take scuba gear on a trip ..not to put it in a marked scuba bag but to put it in with regular luggage...what do you think and who's had experience with travelling with their gear? Is spare air a good thing to take with you even if renting the rest of the gear? If so has anybody had problems transporting it on the airlines? I look forward to your comments.

[scubAfr33k]

I'd rent just to avoid the hassle of dragging around all your stuff. Plus, do you really want to risk hundreds or more dollars worth of equipment? Unless I could keep a constant eye on the whereabouts of my dive gear, I wouldn't risk it.

[Vercingetorix]

Take your own mask, regulator, and computer in your carry on. If you have a travel BC you like, take it. You're familiar with this equipment and your life depends on it. Good advice about not putting stuff in marked scuba bag.

[scubAfr33k]

If you can keep your hands on it, by all means take it with you; just don't check your luggage: it could be damaged or stolen and you would never know what happened until you were already in Mexico.

Do bring your comp at least...this should be something that you are familiar with, but just about everything else can be rented (although regs from certain dive operators have been known to be somewhat leaky on the air; take your own if you don't trust your luck in this area).

I follow the size rule: small stuff comes with me, big stuff stays home.

[Damselfish]

Take all your gear along (except tanks and weights of course) and don't worry. Most dive travelers take all their gear with them, you have gear to use it. Some rentals are pretty good and some aren't. But even if the rentals are "good" they're never going to be as good as your stuff that you're used to and fits you. The only time I wouldn't take my gear is if I was on a long trip that was not primarily diving and space/weight was an big issue, then I might rent at least the bulky things for a couple dives - but I'd try to find out for sure about the rental gear that would be available.

We put masks, computers, and sometimes regs in carry on and check the rest, which is a fairly common way of doing it. We have never had anything stolen and we've traveled alot. Most dive gear is not so easy to conceal and used dive gear is not so easy to sell for much money, unlike things like cameras or other electronics (which I would certainly not suggest checking.)

I agree that avoiding bags with scuba logos is a good idea. It might not not help but certainly won't hurt. And you can find sturdy bags that work as well or better for less.

[Rockhound76]

Take it. YOUR reg, your bac and your setup is always better than the hodge-podge you rent.

Leave the tank and weights, but bring the rest of what you think will be needed on your dives there. (caveat: If I'm tight for weight/space, I'll leave my primary dive light at home and just bring the back-up. A rental light with a backup of your own is fine.)

[WaScubaDude]

Originally Posted by chet

When travelling to Mexico to do some diving is it safe to take your own equipment or are you better off just renting? snip....

Hey Chet,

Bring your mask and complete reg setup with comp in your carry on for sure.
Still got room? bring your wet suit, thin booties and thin hood are great too.
If you like to take UW pics bring that carry on as well.
Still room and weight, bring your BC and an SMB and spool.
More room yet? Bring your fins and lights etc.

Try to be early, to the shop or to the boat and pick your gear out straight away. The last person to pick out gear gets the worst of it.

Bring your cert card, ear meds & test any newly serviced gear before you go.

[bobby_hirst]

I enjoyed diving in the Bahamas this Christmas with my own gear, just didn't enjoy getting home and seeing that one of my dive lights was missing.

[scubAfr33k]

Obviously you guys trust the airlines much more than I do...three full bags of lost clothes (on 3 separate trips) have made me very wary of the luggage system. If it's expensive, it stays in my lap during the trip, no exceptions.

Granted, two of those three bags were eventually returned to me, but dive equipment isn't doing you any good if you can't bring it on your dive trip (IE, you are diving before your luggage is found).

[Quero]

I always take my own gear. It fits properly, it's far better quality than rental stuff, and I trust my own maintenance schedules.

I've traveled all over the world for diving, and while I've had delayed luggage here and there many, many, many times (by far most often in the USA, though), my dive gear has never been lost. The biggest issue for me is weight restrictions, not the possibility of mis-routed bags.

If at some point the gear bag is delayed, then of course I'll use rental stuff, but for me that is a last resort and I wouldn't plan a dive trip with the thought of renting gear from the outset.