Halcyon, Xdeep, OMS, Audaxpro, Aquatec, DGX - value & longevity?

[mtnpool]

3 more options I found:

1) I found a seller of an used Halcyon Traveler (not pro) supposedly only used on 6 dive trips and about 10 years old - about $441, is it still worth that much after 10 years?
2) Also found a local dealer of Deep6 here in Taiwan - can get the 20lb for $410 or the 30lb for $441 - good that I would have a warranty and local support buying new.
3) Or a seller of a new Xdeep Ghost (Deluxe) for $535...but probably don't have a warranty since I'm not the original purchaser.

Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!

 

[GDHLEWIS]

3 more options I found:

1) I found a seller of an used Halcyon Traveler (not pro) supposedly only used on 6 dive trips and about 10 years old - about $441, is it still worth that much after 10 years?
2) Also found a local dealer of Deep6 here in Taiwan - can get the 20lb for $410 or the 30lb for $441 - good that I would have a warranty and local support buying new.
3) Or a seller of a new Xdeep Ghost (Deluxe) for $535...but probably don't have a warranty since I'm not the original purchaser.

Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!

Seems that Deep 6 is worth the pennies as your getting dealership warranty, I have been using an Xdeep Zen for the last year with no warranty and am having to replace the harness already after only 40 dives. harness has started to badly tear on one shoulder and crotch strap. Harness is cheap to replace with an off brand webbing so not too bothered. But I know Im not the only one who is facing a similar issue with the Xdeep. Seems some plates are not polished enough on the edges...Wont fully know until I strip the system down later on in the week

 

[mtnpool]

Seems that Deep 6 is worth the pennies as your getting dealership warranty, I have been using an Xdeep Zen for the last year with no warranty and am having to replace the harness already after only 40 dives. harness has started to badly tear on one shoulder and crotch strap. Harness is cheap to replace with an off brand webbing so not too bothered. But I know Im not the only one who is facing a similar issue with the Xdeep. Seems some plates are not polished enough on the edges...Wont fully know until I strip the system down later on in the week

Wow, after only 40 dives?!? That is why I love reading scubaboard - for the first hand user reports that no professional review sites can give. Thank you for sharing that experience, I've heard excellent things about Xdeep, but also heard some quite negative things as well. Will go take a look at Deep6 in the store. Thanks!

 

[mtnpool]

duplicate

 

[mtnpool]

Well I went to see the deep6 bcds, but I felt like they were probably knockoffs as the quality wasn’t there. I tried to go meet the seller of the Dive Rite Transpac but she couldn’t make it, and after considering many, many options, I’m back to Halcyon. So I went to the place I tried to rent from last time and got fitted this time, so will use it this Saturday. They certainly took their time to dial in the fit for me, over half an hour. Can’t wait to try it. While there I also saw they sell Aqor - I happened to see a YouTube video the other day comparing it to Halcyon and how it was a high quality knockoff created by a previous Halcyon dealer who got tired of people asking why Halcyons were so expensive.

Apparently since it’s not available in USA, not much info on it…

 

[mtnpool]

Well I went to see the deep6 bcds, but I felt like they were probably knockoffs as the quality wasn’t there. I tried to go meet the seller of the Dive Rite Transpac but she couldn’t make it, and after considering many, many options, I’m back to Halcyon. So I went to the place I tried to rent from last time and got fitted this time, so will use it this Saturday. They certainly took their time to dial in the fit for me, over half an hour. Can’t wait to try it. While there I also saw they sell Aqor - I happened to see a YouTube video the other day comparing it to Halcyon and how it was a high quality knockoff created by a previous Halcyon dealer who got tired of people asking why Halcyons were so expensive.

Apparently since it’s not available in USA, not much info on it…

But the fact that it’s such a copy, and a blatant rip-off of Halcyon’s design, would make me stick with Halcyon or another brand altogether.

while fitting the Halcyon crotch strap, it did feel a little odd, and made me wonder if the Xdeep‘s v-shaped harness would be more comfortable.

 

[mtnpool]

So I picked up the Halcyon Infinity rental, and will try it on 3 dives tomorrow. Looks very high quality, if it works well tomorrow I might just buy an Eclipse as @eelnoraa suggested since it makes sense to keep it simple and I don’t see myself re-adjusting the straps with the cinch all the time.

Going to watch some more videos on how to get the best fit, as the younger girl in the shop suggested pulling the cinch til the shoulder straps were real tight, but I saw elsewhere that it should be loose enough to make a fist (with fingers facing down) between the straps and the chest, and that the waist strap and crotch were the ones that needed to be tightened more.

This thing is heavy! I weighed it and it’s about 8.8 pounds. I normally use 8 pounds with a jacket bc and a 3mm full wetsuit, thinking I should probably only use 2 or 3 kilos with this instead…

 

[JoeTPhilly]

So I picked up the Halcyon Infinity rental, and will try it on 3 dives tomorrow. Looks very high quality, if it works well tomorrow I might just buy an Eclipse as @eelnoraa suggested since it makes sense to keep it simple and I don’t see myself re-adjusting the straps with the cinch all the time.

Going to watch some more videos on how to get the best fit, as the younger girl in the shop suggested pulling the cinch til the shoulder straps were real tight, but I saw elsewhere that it should be loose enough to make a fist (with fingers facing down) between the straps and the chest, and that the waist strap and crotch were the ones that needed to be tightened more.

This thing is heavy! I weighed it and it’s about 8.8 pounds. I normally use 8 pounds with a jacket bc and a 3mm full wetsuit, thinking I should probably only use 2 or 3 kilos with this instead…

I think you will enjoy diving the Halcyon. I thought the reason for the Infinity was they were giving a discount but not for an Eclipse System? I prefer the Eclipse for simplicity but if you get a discount on the Infinity it might be worth it. The Cinch plate, padding and ACB pockets can be removed and here in the USA they sell fairly easy. It may not be worth the aggravation for you to sell though.

She doesn't know what she is talking about. There are videos on the Halcyon YouTube channel. Watch them. https://www.youtube.com/@HalcyonDiveSystems/videos

The SS backplate alone weighs 5 pounds and the STA with the cam buckles weighs 2.4 pounds. I think of it as 7 pounds negative on an Eclipse system with just the MC Storage Pak. The Infinity has the back padding and shoulder padding which are about 1.4 positive. I don't see the shoulder padding but I would consider it 6 pounds negative. If you usually need 9 pounds on a jacket style I would try 3 or 4 pounds in the trim pockets I see on the top cam band; maybe 2x2. Adjust after the first dive as you can probably drop it down to just 2 pounds.

Good luck.

 

[mtnpool]

I think you will enjoy diving the Halcyon. I thought the reason for the Infinity was they were giving a discount but not for an Eclipse System? I prefer the Eclipse for simplicity but if you get a discount on the Infinity it might be worth it. The Cinch plate, padding and ACB pockets can be removed and here in the USA they sell fairly easy. It may not be worth the aggravation for you to sell though.

She doesn't know what she is talking about. There are videos on the Halcyon YouTube channel. Watch them. https://www.youtube.com/@HalcyonDiveSystems/videos

The SS backplate alone weighs 5 pounds and the STA with the cam buckles weighs 2.4 pounds. I think of it as 7 pounds negative on an Eclipse system with just the MC Storage Pak. The Infinity has the back padding and shoulder padding which are about 1.4 positive. I don't see the shoulder padding but I would consider it 6 pounds negative. If you usually need 9 pounds on a jacket style I would try 3 or 4 pounds in the trim pockets I see on the top cam band; maybe 2x2. Adjust after the first dive as you can probably drop it down to just 2 pounds.

Good luck.

Thanks Joe, actually the Infinity on discount was being sold thru a shop that wasn't an authorized dealer, and also they were told they can't order them anymore from Halcyon, so I'm going through one of only 2 "official" authorized dealers here in Taiwan, and so it's full retail price:
Eclipse - $1006
Infinity - $1225
Prices here include tax at least...

Thanks for the link, will check it out.

It's actually the Aluminum backplate, and the shoulder pad isn't installed on this one. I think I'll try it with 2 kilos (1 in each trim pocket), for a total of 4.4 pounds, although I worry about being underweighted at the end of the dive so might try 3 kilos on the first dive.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

Thanks Joe, actually the Infinity on discount was being sold thru a shop that wasn't an authorized dealer, and also they were told they can't order them anymore from Halcyon, so I'm going through one of only 2 "official" authorized dealers here in Taiwan, and so it's full retail price:
Eclipse - $1006
Infinity - $1225
Prices here include tax at least...

Thanks for the link, will check it out.

It's actually the Aluminum backplate, and the shoulder pad isn't installed on this one. I think I'll try it with 2 kilos (1 in each trim pocket), for a total of 4.4 pounds, although I worry about being underweighted at the end of the dive so might try 3 kilos on the first dive.

Ah ok, I guess they are trying to sell their stock. The Eclipse would be the way to go then if no discount. The Aluminum plate is a little over 3 pounds lighter than the SS so 3 kilos should work well for the first dive. Also check out GUE's YouTube videos. https://www.youtube.com/@GUEdivers/videos