Kirsty Andrews weighs up the value of her kit cupboard, with its multiple backups and double-ended boltsnap fetish
KIRSTYANDREWS
Taking stock
Kirsty Andrews weighs up the value of her kit cupboard, with its multiple backups and double-ended boltsnap fetish
I
recently met a diver with an intriguing and diligent habit; he has listed each item of diving equipment he owns in a spreadsheet, which he updates every trip. At any given time therefore he knows on a per dive basis how much each item has cost him. I wonder how many SCUBA readers do the same?
I can see how it could be quite satisfying after a while, to understand the value in our equipment, which is generally pretty high quality and long lasting. For those of us with a well-developed diving habit, it will certainly make our kit feel like a good investment.
I am impressed by the habit but not especially tempted to take it up myself. I do still keep up my dive log, but that in itself sometimes feels like quite an achievement and often I fall a week or a month behind and have to play catch-up. Much as I like a statistic, the idea of additional record keeping is not overly appealing.
Also, my collection of diving equipment resembles a club kit store more and more each year; over time I have accumulated bits, bobs and the kitchen sink. I have a shore diving set-up and a deeper boat diving set-up, with single cylinder and twinset respectively, and matching regs. Cylinders aplenty. A drysuit( or two), several wetsuits in varying thicknesses, for appropriate temperatures. I have gloves, back-up gloves and back-up back-up ones that are embarrassingly holey, as well as specially thick ones only to be used in extreme conditions which justify the faff of actually getting them on.
This list doesn’ t even include old wetsuits that have now been relegated to the‘ spare neoprene for patches and padding’ pile, or SMBs with holes in that can still be handy for practising skills in the pool but are no longer seaworthy … As I reflect on it, I’ m beginning to think it could be time for a clear out … but coming back to the spreadsheet, I fear mine could get quite complicated. Not beyond the realms
“ I’ m beginning to think it could be time for a clear out” of human endeavour, but certainly a fearsome number of columns.
This voluminous collection of gear may raise an eyebrow but in my defence, it has taken many years to accumulate. I’ m not a hoarder really, I just like to have the right gear for the right occasion. My ultra-warm gloves and hood may not get a regular outing so wouldn’ t score too highly on a‘ bang for my buck’ basis, but they were worth every penny in the chilly waters of Norway in Spring. At the other end of the spectrum, the lighterweight travel variants of key items satisfy baggage allowances, justifying their infrequent use in allowing me an extra kilo of camera equipment, or avoiding an unpleasant additional charge.
Has my very organised friend inspired you to start your own records? What would be the best value item in your diving wardrobe, do you think? My trusty fins have got to be up there, delivering excellent value as well as top-notch frog kicks dive after dive, year upon year. The unsung heroes which just deliver, like my compass, double-ended boltsnaps and the like. At the end of the day, even without a spreadsheet to tell me so, I know all my much-loved SCUBA gear is worth its weight in gold. �
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