Transitioning from Rent to Own

[LKunze]

The big question is how often do you plan to dive?  If you plan on doing a fair amount of local diving it makes sense to own your own equipment as it will be cheaper in the long run.  The first things to purchase in my opinion would be a good fitting mask, fins, wet suit, boots, gloves and hood.  Rent the life support equipment (regulators, BC, computer/bottom timer and tank) from a local shop for awhile to gauge your diving interest.  If you decide you want to dive a good amount then look to buy.  It's best not to skimp and purchase low end gear.  Get good equipment from the start or you'll end up selling it and losing money by upgrading later.  A big mistake new divers make (I did :-[) is going out and buying all new gear without knowing for sure what you want or works best for you.  If I had to do it all over again I would have purchased some of the gear I currently use now to begin with and saved a lot of cash but I didn't try before buying.  Rent before you buy if you can.  If you can't rent certain things try and hook up with some local divers that might be willing to let you try something before you buy.  Our local dive conditions are much different than tropical diving and certain pieces of equipment are better suited than others for these conditions.  Regulators designed for cold water for instance are recommended.  There are three main types of BC's.  A jacket style, back inflation style, and backplate/harness wing (BP/Wing).  I think most all shops use jacket BC's for open water training.  More and more local divers have turned to the BP/Wing.  They are more streamlined, hold the tank rock solid (no wobble or sag) in and out of the water, are more versatile and trim you out better in the water when properly set up.  Once adjusted correctly you do not have to adjust it again unless switching between a drysuit to a wetsuit or vice versa.  Most local divers that dive a lot locally later upgrade to a drysuit but it's not necessary to start out.  I dived for a year in a wetsuit before I decided I wanted to dive a lot.  Then I upgraded to a drysuit.  Hope this is helpful.  I'm sure others will chime in with some tips as well.  Welcome to MNSCUBA!