Gear Advice - Scubapro X-Tek Form Tek Harness

[Jim Lapenta]

The harness is over engineered and complex. A better choice is a simple one piece with a stainless steel plate. Will also likely save you a few hundred bucks. You can get regs much cheaper and will perform as well or better. The computer is IMO overkill for a new diver. Even with the air integration you should have a simple spg on a hose as back up for when, not if, the battery in the transmitter dies. If you are going for a simple streamlined travel set up to also use for local diving, the items you are considering are taking you in the wrong direction.

As far as a pony why would you want to go to the expense of another transmitter (failure point) over a small spg to go on the pony reg? I think you need to talk to some actual divers in your area and get away from the shop that is advising you for a while. A pony or stage is something you want to be as simple and reliable as possible. It is also likely to get knocked around a bit on boats and that transmitter is like a magnet for taking a hit. And what if you would need to hand it off? The diver taking it would not be able to monitor the remaining air if the display is on your arm.

Before buying anything else go to a shop that caters to wreck divers and that sells other brands. Talk to some actual northeast divers, try out a basic bpw, don't pay attention to magazine or mfg reviews of gear, ask questions here, and really loom at what you are getting for your money.

And btw, it is not life support. The life support is between your ears. The stuff is just a tool. And high cost does not equate to the best tool for the job. Sometimes that is all it is - high cost and paying for a name.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalks

 

[ddmattos]

The harness is over engineered and complex. A better choice is a simple one piece with a stainless steel plate. Will also likely save you a few hundred bucks. You can get regs much cheaper and will perform as well or better. The computer is IMO overkill for a new diver. Even with the air integration you should have a simple spg on a hose as back up for when, not if, the battery in the transmitter dies. If you are going for a simple streamlined travel set up to also use for local diving, the items you are considering are taking you in the wrong direction.

As far as a pony why would you want to go to the expense of another transmitter (failure point) over a small spg to go on the pony reg? I think you need to talk to some actual divers in your area and get away from the shop that is advising you for a while. A pony or stage is something you want to be as simple and reliable as possible. It is also likely to get knocked around a bit on boats and that transmitter is like a magnet for taking a hit. And what if you would need to hand it off? The diver taking it would not be able to monitor the remaining air if the display is on your arm.

Before buying anything else go to a shop that caters to wreck divers and that sells other brands. Talk to some actual northeast divers, try out a basic bpw, don't pay attention to magazine or mfg reviews of gear, ask questions here, and really loom at what you are getting for your money.

And btw, it is not life support. The life support is between your ears. The stuff is just a tool. And high cost does not equate to the best tool for the job. Sometimes that is all it is - high cost and paying for a name.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalks

Jim Lapenta....Well said. I've also been reading your other posts as well. The divers in your area are lucky to have your instruction/advice available to them.

arthurmnev.....get in touch with Wayne today and pick his brain. Better yet make an appointment, go down to the shop and test out some gear in the pool. Get setup correctly the first time. Buying gear twice is always more expensive.

Darren

 

[gsk3]

I second the comments about the Scubapro stuff being too complex. They got into this market way late and only after it became sexy, and their tech products reflect that.

The recommendation to talk to Wayne is a good one. I'm happy to dive with you locally as well if you want to check out simpler gear in person.

 

[BabyDuck]

yes, the scubapro 'tech' stuff is fake tech. they have no idea (based on shows and asking questions of the reps) what the heck they are doing or trying to do. just go with a simple plate & wing & harness.

and the luna - really? a one-gas computer for that much money? think about that one hard. ps - i had one. my bf (a scubapro reg tech) got it for me. it was total crap & the only thing i'm glad hurricane irene took.

 

[Bombay High]

Look at Deep Sea Supply for your backplate and wing. They are fantastic, robust and well designed.
The guy who makes them is a wealth of information and has tremendous integrity as a manufacturer.

 

[arthurmnev]

Good points all around. I did talk to quite a few people that dive for a living the questions I'm putting up here are the ones that were a point of contention / disagreement between other folks.
1) Why harness instead of a simple back-plate ... padded setup and a point of convenience
2) Pony -- I'm thinking standard SPG on it, the entire point of it is "fail-safe", keep it simple stupid is what I planned on doing, computer monitored pony was someone else's idea
3) computer control and what kind; I'm sure "to each his own" applies here, a few thoughts though: air integrated, user loaded firmware updates, user changeable battery changes, and personal settings is what I'm looking for. In addition I believe it supports enriched with default license. The rest is upgradable at a cost...

The shop / training facility that I'm working with sells both, scuba-pro and atomic ; the rest is available but peripheral -- they are really pushing the two

@darren -- I'm always for picking someone's brain; (what do you think I'm doing on this board )

---------- Post added at 11:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:47 AM ----------

@babyduck -- what kind of computer are you using now? Air integrated? User replaceable battery?
Just like everyone else here, I don't have unlimited supply of money, but I can afford descent gear and some level of comfort.

@Jim -- yes, I can go minimalist and do BP/W with no harness -- but why?

 

[buddhasummer]

Had a wee look at the ScubaPro X TEK stuff wow pretty spendy, looks like we now have an "S" tax.

 

[fjpatrum]

I will go ahead and cast my vote for the steel plate, rather than AL. It's only 2 or 3 pounds difference and that's an easy substitution in your luggage for the convenience of not needing any weights, which means no excess pockets or belts (another added cost).

As to the brands, I'd really recommend looking at other brands. Just because an LDS steers you in one direction doesn't necessarily mean it's the right choice for you. I'm not against shops selling one brand or 10, I just think it's in the consumer's best interest to have more options and I think shops that limit sales to one or two brands are doing their customer a disservice. (I understand the logistics of stocking more brands is exorbitantly expensive though...) That said, these days one reg is about as good as another. I may be just cheap but I'd rather pay $250 for a reg instead of $600 for one that performs the same.

Similar with a backplate/harness. I don't strictly adhere to the HOG style harness, although that's what I use. I don't care what type of harness it is, if it's comfortable for you, that's what's important. I'm sure the XTek is quite comfortable and fully functional, though some of the excess rings and stuff don't make much sense to me. Either way, I can't see paying $400+ for an XTek, though, when you could get something like a Zeagle deluxe (very similar, a little less "fancy") for <$250. Or even a Transpac (almost identical to the XTek form) is still <$400. Remember you still have to add a wing on top of that... minimum $200 (new) to what, $450 or so?

Just because you have enough disposable income to buy the expensive brands doesn't mean you have to spend it there. Instead buy slightly lower cost equipment and use the money saved to take an extra dive trip somewhere.

Right now I have Scubapro, Oceanic, AMF/VOIT (Mares), Dacor, Zeagle, and a couple of other brands in my kit. I buy what works for me, and is the right price for me. Brand isn't a concern of mine, clearly, but maybe I'm just cheap. So far each piece of gear performs perfectly well for me and I'd buy any one of them again.

 

[ddmattos]

@darren -- I'm always for picking someone's brain; (what do you think I'm doing on this board )

Of course you are. I'm just pointing you in the direction I wish I started with and am lucky that I have found.

@Jim -- yes, I can go minimalist and do BP/W with no harness -- but why?

No harness????....How would you keep the plate on your back. Do simple 2 inch continuous webbing with two chest d-rings and a couple on the hip or maybe only one the left. Keep it simple.

 

[BabyDuck]

i have a predator (certainly not air integrated, that's something i'm not remotely interested in, has a user replaceable battery) and a xeo (user replaceable battery) though i haven't dove the xeo yet & can't really give you much info about it.

i can't give you ideas about the integration - that's not my thing. my personal bias is toward wrist mounted, nitrox, at least two gas computers. i had a nitek plus that i used as backup through advanced nitrox/deco procedures/full cave & it performed flawlessly.

if the integration is a must for you and the luna otherwise fits your needs - fine. but it is an expensive computer for the relatively little it can do. this is my personal opinion, ymmv.