Transitioning from Rent to Own

[beeger]

Clifonef -

I feel compelled to add something here. Many of the points made above are quite sound. Lonnie’s advice in particular is quite good. But there is a slightly uncomfortable realization I think you will need to come to in order to make this process as easy, efficient, and productive as possible for you. Some people never make the realization and nevertheless go on to lead happy and productive diving lives, while others flop. Others do make the realization and I think it helps them tremendously.

Here it is … you are not yet qualified to really understand the gear you will be buying. You are too new to the sport and just don’t have the range of experience to really judge what will “work” for you in the broadest sense possible. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s normal and unavoidable, and will continue for some time.

How to deal with it? Here’s how: surround yourself to the greatest extent possible with the best divers you can find … divers that are doing the kinds of excursions you want to do … and do your best to learn from them. I’ll leave the discussion to what makes the “best divers” for another thread, but for now you will need to figure this out on your own. Find out what they use, why they use it, what else they’ve tried, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and why. Now, of course, a bit of common sense comes into play here: you don’t want to buy anything that you are not comfortable with or is maybe more advanced than what you truly need now or in the foreseeable future, go on blind faith, get caught up in group-think, etc..

Renting before owning and trying before buying are very sound strategies, but they don’t stand alone in a vacuum. Many a new diver has gone out and bought what they think works for them based on a quick dip in a local lake, or a brief class in the tropics. As their experience level grows, as well as their understanding and appreciation for the underwater environment, their understanding of what tools they need to make their diving experience as pleasurable, safe, and rewarding as possible also grows. The newer you are to the sport the greater this rate of change will be. While learning from other successful, "good" divers is no substitution for this it can go a LONG WAY to saving you A LOT of money, not to mention what it can do for your skills as a diver.