What are good/not as good SCUBA equipment brands?
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I got my first regulator in 1956. As a result of positions that I've held I'd guess that I've either directly purchased, or caused to be purchased, something in excess of a thousand full sets of equipment and twice that number of regulators. I've bought and supervised the servicing of many, many, brands including: Aqualung, Dacor, Beuchat, Poseidon, Oceanic, Mares, Atomic, ScubaPro, GSD, Swimmaster, Voit, SeaQuest, Aries, Hog, Apex, Edge, IDI, etc. The bottom line, from what I've seen, is that there is no "best" brand nor is there even a "best" model. I do hold a few biases: I prefer diaphragm regulators; I prefer BP/ws to BCDS; I know that skin two sides wetsuits are warmer and more comfortable; for the way I kick "tech" style fins seem to work better for me in most cases, but if I have to sprint out through a big break, no one has yet to improve on the old gum rubber Duckfeet. What I would avoid, like the plague, is a shop that pushes just one line, or even just two lines, especially when those line are ScubaPro and/or Aqualung. Not that they do not make good gear, just that their marketing scheme is designed to separate you from more of your hard earned cash with no return (to you) except the the glowing praise of the LDS concerning your good taste and discernment, which will not either increase your safety nor make you a better diver.
fire_diver
Contributor
Dang, nothing I can added now.... what THEY said.
Um yeah I did. Someone happy with a set of stuff from scubaPRO, I've been looking at that too.
jjardin
Contributor
Try to demo gear. I have demo'd gear that I purchased, then hated, then hung up in the closet. I went through 3-4 masks before the Atomic Frameless. I had a henderson 7mm farmer john for 6 dives before I got a drysuit. I had a scubapro knighthawk for 50 dives before I went BP & wings (I love the oxycheq 18lb wing in the tropics, btw). I have 25 year old Scubapro MK10 G250 regs that work just as well as the Apex ATX200 or whatever the hell it is.
look for plastic crap that will break (plastic buckles break) and Look for gimmicky crap--and run away.
Dont buy gear because the color matches.
The lower priced Scubapro, Aqualung/Apeks, Zeagle, Atomic--will all work fine. When you get all fancy and want the $5000 worth of regs, you can always keep the old ones for backups. The dive shop will make a big deal of the warranty--KEEP ALL YOUR PAPERWORK IN PERPETUITY IF YOU WANT TO BUY INTO THE WARRANTY THING. Aqualung/APEKS may be cheaper as they service every 2 yrs. SP goes every year (just spent $180 in "labor" on 2 regs that hadn't been in the water since the last rebuild--just so I could keep the warranty for my 2 SP regs). I don't think Atomic has that funky warranty parts nonsense. Pay attention to DIN/Yoke. It is easier to have a din valve and get a yoke adaptor if needed (but it may hit you in the back of the head)...than to go somewhere that only has DIN tanks and have to rent a reg.
Make sure your stuff fits--despite the brand.
IF I were going to set someone up for tropical diving , I would probably tell them to get a BP (Halcyon, Hollis, whatever), 18lb oxycheq wing, STA (no matter what they say, the STA works better IMHO), any 3mm full wetsuit (or 5/3 if you find you get cold--and my wife is cold in a 5mm in Palau when I am in my shorts) with 2 pockets glued to the side, a low volume mask that fits (I love the Atomic), a functional snorkle (people are against snorkles, but sometimes it is just fun to go snorkling)--and if you see yourself diving in shorties or your swim shorts maybe full foot fins (I don't have these anymore, and when I dive in my shorts the booties fill up with water in a current from the top--not an issue for people who have the wetsuit covering the tops). Booties and open fins work good too--and you will buy these--and probably have more than one.
If your water is colder, then I would get a larger wing and a thicker wetsuit.
If you are in cold water--whatever that means to you--take the drysuit class and demo a whole bunch of drysuits before you purchase.
Spend some time thinking about what kind of diving you want to do and then look at the people who are doing what you want to do. Look at their gear. Ask them about it.
look for plastic crap that will break (plastic buckles break) and Look for gimmicky crap--and run away.
Dont buy gear because the color matches.
The lower priced Scubapro, Aqualung/Apeks, Zeagle, Atomic--will all work fine. When you get all fancy and want the $5000 worth of regs, you can always keep the old ones for backups. The dive shop will make a big deal of the warranty--KEEP ALL YOUR PAPERWORK IN PERPETUITY IF YOU WANT TO BUY INTO THE WARRANTY THING. Aqualung/APEKS may be cheaper as they service every 2 yrs. SP goes every year (just spent $180 in "labor" on 2 regs that hadn't been in the water since the last rebuild--just so I could keep the warranty for my 2 SP regs). I don't think Atomic has that funky warranty parts nonsense. Pay attention to DIN/Yoke. It is easier to have a din valve and get a yoke adaptor if needed (but it may hit you in the back of the head)...than to go somewhere that only has DIN tanks and have to rent a reg.
Make sure your stuff fits--despite the brand.
IF I were going to set someone up for tropical diving , I would probably tell them to get a BP (Halcyon, Hollis, whatever), 18lb oxycheq wing, STA (no matter what they say, the STA works better IMHO), any 3mm full wetsuit (or 5/3 if you find you get cold--and my wife is cold in a 5mm in Palau when I am in my shorts) with 2 pockets glued to the side, a low volume mask that fits (I love the Atomic), a functional snorkle (people are against snorkles, but sometimes it is just fun to go snorkling)--and if you see yourself diving in shorties or your swim shorts maybe full foot fins (I don't have these anymore, and when I dive in my shorts the booties fill up with water in a current from the top--not an issue for people who have the wetsuit covering the tops). Booties and open fins work good too--and you will buy these--and probably have more than one.
If your water is colder, then I would get a larger wing and a thicker wetsuit.
If you are in cold water--whatever that means to you--take the drysuit class and demo a whole bunch of drysuits before you purchase.
Spend some time thinking about what kind of diving you want to do and then look at the people who are doing what you want to do. Look at their gear. Ask them about it.
DevonDiver
N/A
Actually, the OP's question was:
"Has anyone had really good/really bad experiences with Oceanic, SEAC, Aeris or anything else?"
Your reply didn't state any experiences you've had - but did strongly resemble an advertising brochure. Given your status as a Scubapro dealer, it seems disingenuous to the extreme... as other board members have noted.
I suspect that the OP was seeking something more than a biased advertising pitch - more along the lines of divers' personal critique ("good and bad") of gear they had used, in relation to other stuff on the market.
So...Beaverdivers.... what are the negative aspects of Scubapro gear?
I suspect that the OP was seeking something more than a biased advertising pitch - more along the lines of divers' personal critique ("good and bad") of gear they had used, in relation to other stuff on the market.
So...Beaverdivers.... what are the negative aspects of Scubapro gear?
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The problem is that you post was incorrect and missleading:
Scubapro is a leader in SCUBA gear and has been for 50 years. They have developed products & designs that have changed the industry.
The Scubapro Jet Fin - granted, great gear
The Scubapro Regulators - MK 5 - Mk25; Adj - A700 - average regulator, not up to some others, better than a few, but hardly industry changing (or, for that matter, ScubaPro developed)
The Scubapro Stab Jacket - X-Tek BackPlate/Wing - copied designs from other, hardly industry changing (or, for that matter, ScubaPro developed)
The Scubapro AIR II - likely the worst execution of the integrated inflator/octopus that is currently made.
The Scubapro ( Uwatec ) dive computers AirX - Galileo Sol - ScubaPro developed or designed? Naw.
The Scubapro Frameless mask - copied.
The Scubapro Shotgun snorkel - actually a major step back back in snorkel design, wasting half the bore on a drain is farm animal stupid.
Scubapro's full line - the New SubGear Line - looks like copies of the gear I've used for years at a fraction of the cost.
Come down off your hobby-horse.
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If it were a banner ad, the innate bias would be obvious.
My friends at the IDC were talked into buying Scubapro kits, but most have since replaced their wetsuits and some of the fins have failed at the flex point. I've also found the SP regs breathe poorly on the surface.
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