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seeker242
Contributor
They are a certified dealer for Scubapro, just not a platinum dealer. As for mixing brands, I don't think it matters at all. What matters more IMO is a local shop that can properly service whatever gear you have.
Everything that my wife and I use is mixed. The divers we reguarly dive with have mixed gear. We buy for function. We buy from LDS' and lower cost items and camera equipment online. The biggest performance factor in the equation IMO is the diver but a good reg and mask is a big help. In my city we did have one LDS that had a pool and would let us try out gear. Maybe that is an option.
I am a pay as I go person so I never went for the free parts for life. I know there are people in little offices calculating costs and profit so there is no way they calculate they will lose money. So pay now or pay later. In other words, I am skeptical of free lunches. If I have a reg that need replacement, it is an easier decision for me to go with something else if I want to. I do not have a free parts hook in me. I view these less as free parts and more as customer loyalty programs but that's me. Maybe it works for you.
I am a pay as I go person so I never went for the free parts for life. I know there are people in little offices calculating costs and profit so there is no way they calculate they will lose money. So pay now or pay later. In other words, I am skeptical of free lunches. If I have a reg that need replacement, it is an easier decision for me to go with something else if I want to. I do not have a free parts hook in me. I view these less as free parts and more as customer loyalty programs but that's me. Maybe it works for you.
al248005
Contributor
If you are remotely interested in exploring NJ waters, they are and can be quite cold which could potentially result in the use of a drysuit. With that in mind you shouldn't rule out a BP/W. I tried and struggled with a drysuit for 3 years in a jacket bc. I finally bit the bullet and went to a BP/W and it made all the difference in the world with a drysuit.
You can mix and match to your little pea pick'n hearts content.
Some people do like to outfit with the same "brand" name gear, others could care less. I sort of like being in matching gear, I do have a ScubaPro outfit so I can be a SCUBA PRO! But otherwise, it matters not. Buy what you like, what fits, what works.
In the old days (the early 70s) I looked like a page from the U.S.Divers catalog, we all thought we were cool with our matching outfits and went to great effort to do so.
N
Some people do like to outfit with the same "brand" name gear, others could care less. I sort of like being in matching gear, I do have a ScubaPro outfit so I can be a SCUBA PRO! But otherwise, it matters not. Buy what you like, what fits, what works.
In the old days (the early 70s) I looked like a page from the U.S.Divers catalog, we all thought we were cool with our matching outfits and went to great effort to do so.
N
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who ever told you that lied to you. It is meant to be the optimal solution to backmounting tanks. It is what the sport started with at day 1 and continues to be the optimal way for most people to dive backmount. I have logged hundreds of hours in a Halcyon Eclipse system in nothing but a bathing suit. It is not the most comfortable system to walk around in, but that is easily remedied with slide on neoprene shoulder pads or simply wearing a t-shirt.
Air2's are not the best way to share air and if you have ever had to do it in the real world, you would see why.
In terms of gear. $3k is a lot of money.
$500-DSS BP/W- Arguably the best backplate and wing system on the market
$850-Shearwater Perdix-definitely the best computer on the market
$860-Apeks XTX50/DS4 package. Would prefer it to be with DST, but beggar can't be choosers
DS4/XTX50 Single Tank Package - Dive Right in Scuba
Total is about $2200 and everything is better gear except the regulators which are a splitting hairs and some will say one is better over the other. The BC is much better, the computer is infinitely better, and while I don't personally like either of the regs, it really doesn't change the fact that they are the two most popular brands out there and are high quality regs. Apeks has free parts for life, which is stupid because it forces you to pay an insane amount of money for maintenance the gear doesn't really need, but such is life, if you want it, you want it.
My personal gear?
Backmount BCD's are Deep Sea Supply
Sidemount BCD's are Hollis, Dive Rite, Razor
Fins are Dive Rite, Scubapro, HOG, and soon to be Deep6
Regulators are Poseidon except for O2 which is a 30+ yr old Dacor Pacer
Masks are Atomic and HOG
Drysuit is Rofos
Wetsuit is Oceanic
Hooded vest is Scubapro
Computer is Shearwater
Lights are UWLD, Securitying, Cave Adventurers, and Big Blue
Not a whole lot of overlap, and that's good. IMHO DSS makes the best backplates and wings on the market, Hollis currently has the best sidemount rig, Deep6 has the best fins, Poseidon has the best regs, Shearwater has the best computer, and UWLD has the best canister light. The rest of the stuff is personal preference, stuff that I got for cheap through knowing a guy, or bought used for cheap. Hollis makes backplates and wings, computers, regulators, and fins. None of them come anywhere close to the other brands that I use in terms of cost/performance/quality. They're all good enough and I would have no problem if Nick decided to give me a bunch of free gear and ask me to dive it, but if I have to pay for it, I am going to buy what I believe is the best. No one brand is able to do that, and really nor should they. Let them specialize in their own particular niche because they will be much better for it
outofofficebrb
HARRO HUNNAYYY
Hi, @Scuba Nat.
LeisurePro is an authorized Scubapro dealer so anything you get through them will be honored with Scubapro when it comes to warranty. Given your description of the diving you are doing and intend on doing, the MK25 A700 is probably overkill, albeit an excellent, high performing reg. If you are going to be doing any diving locally where it may be colder, you may want to look at the MK17 first stage which is a diaphragm reg instead of a piston reg. Diaphragms are more ideal in design and function in colder water or siltier water than pistons. Scubapro lets you order 1st and 2nd stage sets together (as a set) or you can order them separately. I wouldn't go with Scubapro everything just to get the free parts for life program. Get it because it's in your budget and most importantly, for the BC, it fits you well. Mixing brands is not a big deal. I only kept to the same brand for my octo/1st and 2nd stage regs because of ease of servicing. Same shop servicing same brand has same parts, etc. Also, think hard about the Air2 -- it's not the best in an actual emergency situation. I went for traditional octo instead. I was taking Rescue and my buddy had an Air 2. It was not good.
I currently dive Aqua Lung Legend LX first, second and octo and have a Scubapro BC with a Suunto Vyper Air computer. All have excellent international support. I mulled my gear purchases for about a year and a half.
Rental fleet regulators are generally pretty crappy, even assuming service has been done regularly. I wouldn't write off the mid range regulators in a brand because there is usually excellent value there but given this I might stay away from the extremely low or budget end which is probably what those rental regs are. I might also add that I get competitive pricing from my local dive shop so I would definitely look there instead of just looking online. They will price match or do promotions, and will even do a package price for you. The best part of this is the packages are not "pre set". You can build your own and they will work with you.
Have you tried any of these products on in the pool or demo'ed them? Breathe off some regulators and wear some BCs in the pool. You will be pleasantly surprised and may end up getting something completely different than what you walked in for. Wings are not exclusively for tech divers.
LeisurePro is an authorized Scubapro dealer so anything you get through them will be honored with Scubapro when it comes to warranty. Given your description of the diving you are doing and intend on doing, the MK25 A700 is probably overkill, albeit an excellent, high performing reg. If you are going to be doing any diving locally where it may be colder, you may want to look at the MK17 first stage which is a diaphragm reg instead of a piston reg. Diaphragms are more ideal in design and function in colder water or siltier water than pistons. Scubapro lets you order 1st and 2nd stage sets together (as a set) or you can order them separately. I wouldn't go with Scubapro everything just to get the free parts for life program. Get it because it's in your budget and most importantly, for the BC, it fits you well. Mixing brands is not a big deal. I only kept to the same brand for my octo/1st and 2nd stage regs because of ease of servicing. Same shop servicing same brand has same parts, etc. Also, think hard about the Air2 -- it's not the best in an actual emergency situation. I went for traditional octo instead. I was taking Rescue and my buddy had an Air 2. It was not good.
I currently dive Aqua Lung Legend LX first, second and octo and have a Scubapro BC with a Suunto Vyper Air computer. All have excellent international support. I mulled my gear purchases for about a year and a half.
Rental fleet regulators are generally pretty crappy, even assuming service has been done regularly. I wouldn't write off the mid range regulators in a brand because there is usually excellent value there but given this I might stay away from the extremely low or budget end which is probably what those rental regs are. I might also add that I get competitive pricing from my local dive shop so I would definitely look there instead of just looking online. They will price match or do promotions, and will even do a package price for you. The best part of this is the packages are not "pre set". You can build your own and they will work with you.
Have you tried any of these products on in the pool or demo'ed them? Breathe off some regulators and wear some BCs in the pool. You will be pleasantly surprised and may end up getting something completely different than what you walked in for. Wings are not exclusively for tech divers.
CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
Also know, there's only a handful of manufacturers making the same products with different brand labels slapped on them. Sure their may be differentiating finishes, but for all intents and purposes you could have the option to buy the same product from a number of different brands.
K
KeithG
Guest
Agreed - do a quick tour of a few LDS and look at the masks. There are a few unique ones, but you will soon observe that a bunch of them look like Sherwoods. Lucky for me, my melon fits the generic plain jane sherwood mask. Also available from several other distributors under different names.
Most SPGs also fall into this category.
CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
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