Renting vs Owning Hobby Gear

[myrdale]

One of my goals for 2025 is to get the basic open water diving certification for scuba.

I'm putting together a list of required equipment. Some you have to buy (mask, fins) and some you can rent (regulators, BCD). My plan is to just go ahead and buy everything I'll need over the next three or four months, then take the class to get certified in May or June. But that's not the path everyone takes. It got me to thinking about what other hobbies there are out there that it may make sense to rent equipment rather than buying it.

Golf clubs is one that came to mind. I think I've got $300 total in my set but I know people who have well over $4k tied up in theirs.

Bicycling I should imagine you can rent a bike.

Even high school band, some families rent rather than buy the instruments.

I don't know anything about skiing but I'd bet it is on the rental list for lots.

Are there any hobbies you enjoy which you would rent the equipment for? Are there any hobbies that you'd only want your own? And when buying your own, is your preference new or do you try to save and buy used?

[Fishindude77]

I fish a lot, own several boats and tons of gear but have no qualms about paying a guide and using his gear and boat. I do it frequently, for the average fisherman it probably makes a lot more sense than owning.
Don't have to maintain, outfit and insure a boat, guide has all the tackle particulars, etc., don't have the hassle of trailering a boat or worrying about security of things when parked overnight, etc.

Lot's of advantages to going guided both financially and just for simplicity.


I also think it's pretty nuts to have a home gym with a bunch of equipment when you can join Planet Fitness or a YMCA for $30 per month and they have all of the best modern equipment.
Plus it's not taking up a bunch of space in your home.

[disneysteve]

We have bought new, bought used, and rented various things over the years, sometimes for the same activity depending on the situation. For example, we own bikes but have also rented bikes when on vacation because we didn't/couldn't bring our bikes with us. We own bowling balls but rent shoes. We bought an instrument when our daughter needed one for school because it was cheaper than renting.

I think a lot of people have a weird aversion to buying used items so they waste money on new stuff that hardly gets used and often ultimately gets given away or sold for a fraction of what they paid. Some people are also just not aware of the secondhand market for buying or selling. School instruments are a great example. You can very easily buy a good quality used instrument on ebay when your kid needs one. Whenever they no longer need it, you can turn around and resell it, typically for about the same price you bought it for as long as it was well cared for.

A lot of people also run out and buy new stuff for their latest hobby or activity with the belief that they are going to do it regularly only to find they really don't like it or just don't actually do it that often. I'd ask that about your scuba gear. If you're experienced and know you like it and will do it often, sure, go ahead and buy stuff, used if you can. If you are somewhat new to scuba, I'd really think hard about dropping a bunch of cash even on used equipment until you've done it a few times and know that it's something you're going to stick with.

[myrdale]

I also think it's pretty nuts to have a home gym with a bunch of equipment when you can join Planet Fitness or a YMCA for $30 per month and they have all of the best modern equipment.
Plus it's not taking up a bunch of space in your home.

I didn't even consider fitness. Typically I am in the gym three or four days a week. I let my gym membership lapse in December. I'll probably renew next month to give all the New Year Resolution people a chance to flush out first. In the mean time I have a nice pile of weights in the corner of my living room I haven't touched in years.

[myrdale]

If you are somewhat new to scuba, I'd really think hard about dropping a bunch of cash even on used equipment until you've done it a few times and know that it's something you're going to stick with.

It's actually something I have thought about for years but I didn't think it was practical due to my location. A friend asked if I was interested in getting certified with him and I said "Yes!". That's been well over a year ago and no movement on his front so I've been getting antsy. A couple of people through Facebook had recommended renting first to try different gear. Still to decide if I heed their advice or not.

[disneysteve]

It's actually something I have thought about for years but I didn't think it was practical due to my location. A friend asked if I was interested in getting certified with him and I said "Yes!". That's been well over a year ago and no movement on his front so I've been getting antsy. A couple of people through Facebook had recommended renting first to try different gear. Still to decide if I heed their advice or not.

That’s a good point too. Trying out diffeeent options before deciding what to buy. There’s value in that.

[ua_guy]

I've always enjoyed mountain biking so I keep one of those around.

Borrowed RV's before we bought one. I would encourage anyone to rent/borrow before deciding to jump into RV'ing with both feet.

Rent skis/snowshoes, I don't do it enough to justify keeping 'em around. REI always has the best rental gear.

We were into camping for a long time, so we have all that stuff. A lot of it was collected over the years or given to us.

Friends of ours got into diving and bought everything under the sun. Sometimes I think it was more about the gear than actually diving. But they do dive a lot.

I do a lot with cars, so I do buy tools I know i'm going to keep around for a long time. I have a lift. There's nowhere around to rent one so I made my own space to work on stuff.

[EasyMoney00]

I would think twice about buying scuba gear, minus a mask and snorkel. Masks/snorkel are easy to travel with. A BCD is an airbag that goes around your chest. Fins are long so packing them would be difficult. Everything else is a pain to lug around. Any place you'll ever go you can rent equipment on the spot. It's like $100 for everything you need.

Now, if you live somewhere where you can dive on the regular, like Hawaii, then buy gear.

We have bicycles but if we travel, we'll rent bikes.

We have skis, but if we travel we rent.

[kork13]

We definitely have a bunch of hobby gear. Camping, scuba, bikes, snowboard, some fitness stuff, and so on. It's very easy to spend LOTS of money on hobby gear, because there's always some new/extra/upgraded little gadget or doodad that you can get. The biggest question is how often do you use it, vs. how much does the rental cost? EasyMoney's advice is also sound -- unless you're very particular, it's probably simpler to rent if you're traveling significantly for your hobbies.

I grew up on Guam, and got scuba certified at 12y/o. I initially rented, and definitely recommend going that route until you've tried out some many different configurations & brands. They do vary alot & there are some definite preferences involved. Ex: integrated weight vs belt, regulator design/size, BCD fit/design, octopus computer (or just basic gauges), and so on. I bought my own gear around age 14. My friends & I were diving ~monthly, so renting everything with that frequency wouldn't make sense (though I always rented air tanks, never bought those). I actually still have it all, but it's not been used in years, since ~2012, but never dealt with selling it... So the BCD no longer fits, and the regulator/octopus almost certainly needs an inspection/repair.

I have traveled a fair amount with both the bike & snowboard -- a good travel bag is worthwhile if you go that route. However, while it's nice to use your own gear, and airlines are actually pretty good about taking them no problem, you do risk damage -- I've got a small, irreparable crimp on an edge of my snowboard from flying it to Japan. I'd only go that route when I'm going somewhere for an extended period (month+) and using the stuff frequently (~weekly or more).

[disneysteve]

I also think it's pretty nuts to have a home gym with a bunch of equipment when you can join Planet Fitness or a YMCA for $30 per month and they have all of the best modern equipment.

I disagree to an extent. Having home equipment removes all of the barriers and excuses to exercise. When we had a treadmill in the basement, I logged way more miles than I do now. I could finish dinner and just walk down the steps and hop on the treadmill. It didn't matter what the weather was. I didn't have to drive anywhere. I didn't even have to change my clothes if I didn't want to. A 30-minute walk took me 30 minutes, unlike going to the gym where a 30-minute walk takes over an hour total.

We've never had more than a treadmill but if we had more equipment, we would definitely exercise more often.

[Fishindude77]

We've never had more than a treadmill but if we had more equipment, we would definitely exercise more often.

Or you could just go to the gym where they have all that stuff.

[ua_guy]

I agree having something at home to get in a decent workout / release some energy is important. Doesn't need to be elaborate, could just be a space and a good mat for some basic body exercises and stretching. Or a good route for jogging, or a trail you can access easily, or a safe place to get some time in on a bicycle. Expensive equipment need not apply.

IMO gyms are for lifting heavy. Or doing cult activity like CrossFit, if you're into that sort of thing. Specialized gyms. I can't stand the gyms for genpop like 24hr, Planet, etc.

[disneysteve]

I agree having something at home to get in a decent workout / release some energy is important. Doesn't need to be elaborate, could just be a space and a good mat for some basic body exercises and stretching. Or a good route for jogging, or a trail you can access easily, or a safe place to get some time in on a bicycle. Expensive equipment need not apply.

IMO gyms are for lifting heavy. Or doing cult activity like CrossFit, if you're into that sort of thing. Specialized gyms. I can't stand the gyms for genpop like 24hr, Planet, etc.

We belong to a "genpop" gym that we're very happy with (Planet Fitness). It's clean, spacious, and has a good assortment of equipment, everything we need. It's also very affordable at under $15/month.

A gym is great but it also doesn't replace having some home equipment. As I said above, getting to the gym comes with barriers, time and weather among them. As for a walking or biking route, that's great in season but around here, much of the year is either too hot or too cold to do that comfortably and safely. My wife can't exercise outdoors due to allergies so even in good weather that's out for her. But a treadmill or other home equipment is always right there ready for use in any weather with no travel time or other barriers. We no longer have a treadmill as ours died and we haven't replaced it but it was nice having it right there.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I think working out at home is not a money but personality thing. That being said I have ski/snowboarding gear for me and DH but we rented the kids. Mostly because kids they grew out of it! OMG one year my Dk1 went through 3 sizes of snowboarding boots. Sigh.

I did buy bikes but again we keep and use them annually but the kids we bought used and handed me down. Instruments I need to sell my instruments. 2 i bought new and 2 i bought used. I'm going to make a profit on all four. But I don't really want to sell it. Turns out my DK1 though she can't play now in high school went to a pep rally and played one more time (I know she misses it). So I'm debating keeping the flutes.

Is hobby gear really any different from buying stuff you'll never use? Never use the pasta maker again and we've had it for 20 years. Used it before kids. Ice cream maker, before kids again. Holiday decorations, we haven't been home since 2020 and now I wonder if we'll ever raise a tree again?