transporting my gear

[ohiodiver]

Hello,
hope I'm in the right spot here..............I am a relatively new diver with a little of my own equipment. I am contemplating buying the remainder of my gear but with living in ohio I am limited to my diving spots. I regularly dive in Hawaii and the Puget sound so I must transport my gear. So the questions I have been asking myself are: should I buy my gear as opposed to renting? if I buy my gear how should I ship it back and forth? etc.
I would appreciate any input..........................

[digitalman]

Originally Posted by ohiodiver

Hello,
hope I'm in the right spot here..............I am a relatively new diver with a little of my own equipment. I am contemplating buying the remainder of my gear but with living in ohio I am limited to my diving spots. I regularly dive in Hawaii and the Puget sound so I must transport my gear. So the questions I have been asking myself are: should I buy my gear as opposed to renting? if I buy my gear how should I ship it back and forth? etc.
I would appreciate any input..........................

If you frequent an area, why not leave some gear in a rental locker? I've heard of golfers and other divers doing this to cut down on airline costs. Carry your regs back and forth and stow a bc or something similar to this plan. Renting is always an option, but you'll never find gear as good as your own when you rent.

[ScubaJ]

I'd have to vote for owning your own gear. You'll be able to get used to it and feel comfortable knowing exactly how it works and behaves, vs. renting one where your "learning" the gear as your trying to enjoy the dive. Not to mention knowing the gear if a situation arises.
The other reason I'd go with owning my own gear is that rental gear gets some hard miles put on it. It's not very uncommon to get gear that doesn't function at 100% performance.
My wife and I make a couple dive trips a year and bring all our gear with us. Our BC, fins, masks, etc all go in a check in bag, and I carry on our regs. The check in bag usually weighs in at 47#, so we are under the airline fee weight.
I'm sure you'll get tons of other opinions and suggestions pretty quickly.

[harb99]

Originally Posted by ohiodiver

So the questions I have been asking myself are: should I buy my gear as opposed to renting? if I buy my gear how should I ship it back and forth? etc.
I would appreciate any input..........................

buy your own gear - you will not regret it if you are diving much - why would you need to ship your equipment versus taking it with you on a plane? 2 complete sets of gear except wetsuits and regs easily fit in a rolling duffel and it is under the 50# limit

[CompuDude]

I would want to own at least the basics (mask, fins, bc, regs, computer). The rest can be rented, especially since exposure protection will be varying a lot. The basics are also a lot easier to transport.

It all depends on how much you'll be diving, though. Divers that own all their own gear tend to dive a lot more than they thought they would initially, because it's so much more convenient. And cheaper, too. Not upfront, but in the long run. And once you own everything, picking up and doing a local shore dive is so cheap it's barely worth mentioning.

[ohiodiver]

wow, responses are coming quick............part of my reluctance is because of some new airline restrictions.
I can definately see the being use to your own gear part, I have had issues ( not serious ) with finding air dumps using different bcs at some times.

[Martin2]

We haul our gear all over the place and have not had any serious problems. Paid an overweight fee once and learned to weigh everything before leaving the house. Having our own gear that we know and love is worth the hassle of hauling it around. Depending on the type of gear you choose, you may even be able to fit it all in a carry on. Mine will (though I admit that I may be an exception and I pack really light on everything else).

[thor]

Originally Posted by ScubaJ

I'd have to vote for owning your own gear. You'll be able to get used to it and feel comfortable knowing exactly how it works and behaves, vs. renting one where your "learning" the gear as your trying to enjoy the dive. Not to mention knowing the gear if a situation arises.
The other reason I'd go with owning my own gear is that rental gear gets some hard miles put on it. It's not very uncommon to get gear that doesn't function at 100% performance.
My wife and I make a couple dive trips a year and bring all our gear with us. Our BC, fins, masks, etc all go in a check in bag, and I carry on our regs. The check in bag usually weighs in at 47#, so we are under the airline fee weight.
I'm sure you'll get tons of other opinions and suggestions pretty quickly.

Couldn't agree more. Some people suggest renting gear until you have more experience and truly know your preferences (back inflate v. jacket v. BP/W, etc.) However, that is what e-bay,craig's list and boards like this and SB are for. You can always sell, buy or trade used equipment, and avoid rental nightmares. Granted you won't get that nice mildew laced, wet-dog, urine smell that you get with an LDS rental wetsuit, but such are the sacrifices for comfortable diving in new gear. You might also want to consider buying slightly used or NIB equipment off of one of the boards. Personally, I would always buy a reg new, but other equipment I often buy off of these boards, and e-bay like places. Caveat emptor

[Lawdude]

Wow, Hawaii, Huh? Most of my diving is local so Ih ave not had the need to transport yet via airlines. I surf, so I know how much as hassle it is transporting your stuff. I have had airlines loose my luggae twice, so I do not trust them with something as important as dive gear or a surfboard. I drive everywhere. Figuring in the cost, the time standing in line before and after the flight, and the time spent chasing your lost luggage or replacing it, driving is actually faster. My wife has never bumped me from the van due to overbooking or kept me hostage without water for 8 hours. Lost luggage is not problem. Sure, I can't drive to Hawaii, but you can drive to the lush tropical volcanic surf paradise of Nicaragua. Still, it is worth it to own your own stuff. Your will feel more comfortable with it and eventually it pays for itself.

[chinacat46]

If you pack right you can get all your gear and clothes in a carry on and one checked bag. Yeah with the new restrictions you might have to pay a little for the one checked bag but it will still probably come out cheaper then if you shipped the stuff. Especially to Hawaii.