Renting or owning dive gear: the trade-offs.

You do not need to own it all

PADI's blog (Sarah Wormald, 2016) says owning gear is not usually necessary to start diving or to join dive trips. The exceptions it names are remote areas and liveaboard boats, where storage space is limited and divers may need at least their own mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit. PADI suggests a kit can be built up gradually, and that renting lets divers try different equipment before committing. Of all the pieces, PADI says mask fit matters most.

The case for owning

PADI (2016) lists these benefits:

• Comfort and fit: gear chosen for your body.
• Familiarity: knowing where your surface marker buoy and alternate air source are, and how your computer works.
• Specialised features: for example, for underwater photographers.
• Other uses: basic gear also works for other water sports.

The case against

PADI (2016) also lists drawbacks:

• Airline baggage limits when travelling.
• Space to store it at home.
• No chance to test the fit in the water before buying.
• Upkeep falls on the owner, such as regulator servicing and computer batteries. See care and storage.

A note on who is making the case

In October 2020, the training agency SSI and the equipment maker Mares ran a campaign called "Safer Than Home" that promoted owning equipment as safer than renting. We saw it only as a search summary, because SSI's page did not load. It was a marketing position, and readers may want to know that, according to Wikipedia (secondary), SSI has been owned since January 2014 by HEAD, which also owns the Mares brand; SSI's own site footer shows HEAD Watersports.

Renting well: what DAN says

DAN's Alert Diver article "Renting Dive Gear" (2023) focuses on unfamiliar kit:

• Divers using rental gear should allow extra time to get to know it.
• They should be able to read a rental computer's key displays and alerts.
• They should check the computer's gas setting and transmitter pairing, because some computers keep the previous user's settings.
• Rental exposure suits and masks should fit without restricting movement or breathing.
• Rental gear should be clean and maintained.
• Divers should keep asking questions until they are ready.

Dry-suit maker DUI says the conventional weight belt is still the most widely used weight system, especially in rental equipment; see weights.

Cards and rentals

Wikipedia (secondary) says dive shops, charter boats and resorts may ask for a certification card before filling cylinders, renting equipment or letting someone dive, mainly to limit the vendor's legal liability. The international standard for dive service providers, ISO 24803:2017, lists equipment rental as one of the five service types it covers.

Some kit needs a specific card. BSAC says that without its Drysuit Diver card, resorts and dive centres may refuse to rent a dry suit; see dry suits. For gear you do decide to take with you, see travelling with dive gear, and for the mask, the piece whose fit PADI says matters most, see masks, snorkels and fins.