I try to tell people who have only been once or twice that the rental / borrowed gear probably had a lot to do with a poor experience, though there's little that can be done about that short of purchasing fitted gear and hoping that the investment was worth it. The real trick to getting into this sort of stuff is to have buddies that are either also interested in learning, or who already have the experience to teach you. Lessons also go a long way to making the sport worth it. :)