Another good thing about local shops is that they usually have a big sale once a year. You can save up and then get things at a good discount, even sometimes the same gear you have been renting. That’s what my bf and I did, saved over 50% and we knew the gear since we had rented it for a while. I LOVE my Aqua Lung i3 Pearl BCD, I was able to rent it and a regular one and will never go back.