I cannot resist and pleae know I am not trying to argue. All the car and bike analogies are funny. I have a t-shirt that says "If Harley built Airplanes Would You Fly in Them"---my answer--NO! They are over priced, under powered, ill handling and excessively noisy, unrefined, archaic machines. For cars, I drive Toyota, no flash, no status, just total reliability.
Dive gear is a really personal choice and buying gear to impress such as trying to buy the scuba gear equivelent of a Hardly is probably not a good thing to do. Frankly, I do pay attention to other divers gear because it can tell you a lot about them, especially if they are being teamed with you. Flashy NEW gear can be a dead give away for an inexperienced diver. Just buying the most expensive of everything out there is not going to guarantee anything but that you have spent more money than everyone else on the boat---does not proove a better diver or that the gear is any better either.
So, what do you do then, well you ask around--kudoos --you have done that, you rent and borrow if possible and you mature your diving requirments and then decide which types of gear are appropriate for that type of diving and then you ask people and observe people who do that type of diving and see what they use.Open water and warm water divers do not use the gear that cold water or deepwater or cave divers or wreck divers do and even when they do they rig it somewhat differetly. Anyway, you may have lot's of money but you want have it long if the only criteria is that it is the most expensive.
By the way, I like Mares regualtors and they are cool and they work really good. I also like my Oceanic Omega, my Tekna 2000s and my Calypso and my --well--on and on. The point is that as soon as you think you have the best--darn--something better comes along and then if having the best is important to you then you gotta go buy that too--or--you could just go diving with what you got. Take care--have fun. N
Dive gear is a really personal choice and buying gear to impress such as trying to buy the scuba gear equivelent of a Hardly is probably not a good thing to do. Frankly, I do pay attention to other divers gear because it can tell you a lot about them, especially if they are being teamed with you. Flashy NEW gear can be a dead give away for an inexperienced diver. Just buying the most expensive of everything out there is not going to guarantee anything but that you have spent more money than everyone else on the boat---does not proove a better diver or that the gear is any better either.
So, what do you do then, well you ask around--kudoos --you have done that, you rent and borrow if possible and you mature your diving requirments and then decide which types of gear are appropriate for that type of diving and then you ask people and observe people who do that type of diving and see what they use.Open water and warm water divers do not use the gear that cold water or deepwater or cave divers or wreck divers do and even when they do they rig it somewhat differetly. Anyway, you may have lot's of money but you want have it long if the only criteria is that it is the most expensive.
By the way, I like Mares regualtors and they are cool and they work really good. I also like my Oceanic Omega, my Tekna 2000s and my Calypso and my --well--on and on. The point is that as soon as you think you have the best--darn--something better comes along and then if having the best is important to you then you gotta go buy that too--or--you could just go diving with what you got. Take care--have fun. N
