Opinions on $399 packages from Divers-Supply

Hey everyone,

Every time I want to ask a question on ScubaBoard I shudder in dread -- the forum has one of the worst "Search" functions I have ever seen anywhere.... So I apologize in advance if this has been beaten to death already.

Can someone please give me an idea whether the rotating banner ad on this forum from divers-supply.com is worth considering.... They are advertising a complete custom package for $399.

Any opinions on what they are offering? Good deal? Bad deal? Quality of the components? Bang for your buck? Other deals worth considering aside from them?

I know -- N00b question. But Please and thank you! :huh:

I went to look at the website and was unable to find the package listed. Would you please post a link?

rakkis:

I went to look at the website and was unable to find the package listed. Would you please post a link?

Click to expand...

Click here -found the link.

Opinions:
Mares BCD is fine.
The Reg and octo are Sea Elite brand.
The console and gauges are also Sea Elite.
Never heard of it. Maybe okay, certainly not great.
If you click the "upgrades" and get name brand options, the package goes over $650.
I would ask the vendor for the specs and warranty info.

Where I live there are two dive shops nearby. One deals in a lot of package deals and the other is pretty much ala carte. I chose to work more closely with the shop that does not offer the package deals.

I made that decision because, as a photographer, over the years I've learned that package deals are rarely good deals.

If you can only afford $400 for your setup, then that is probably the best deal you are going to get, but as has already been stated, the regs are from a company not well known. This is life support equipment and I would make sure I trusted the company that produces that equipment.

If you can, spend a few dollars more and get some name brand equipment you know you can trust. It would also be helpful to know what kind of diving you plan to do. A backplate and wing usually const less than a BCD (at least when I was shopping for one). The money you save can go into a quality reg and console.

Jeff

Sea Elite is the Divers Supply generic brand. Their Tek X is an excellent reg. I'm not sure about the Sport. I think the only difference is it is not adjustable.

I would not buy the Mares BC, but I don't jacket style BCs in general.

It has been my experience that, in general, packages favor the seller, and not the buyer.

I have the Sea Elite Tek-X reg, S/E XR3 octo and S/E Balistic 65 BC (the predecessor of today's Tek-X BC) and love them all.. I've even recommended S/E gear to my family members. (the ones I like ) Since Divers Supply is my LDS, the servicing of all of my S/E gear is handled by them and I've never had a problem with the gear or the service. (No, I don't work for D/S) Just a VERY satisfied customer of theirs.

CanadianSushi:

Hey everyone,

Every time I want to ask a question on ScubaBoard I shudder in dread -- the forum has one of the worst "Search" functions I have ever seen anywhere.... So I apologize in advance if this has been beaten to death already.

Can someone please give me an idea whether the rotating banner ad on this forum from divers-supply.com is worth considering.... They are advertising a complete custom package for $399.

Any opinions on what they are offering? Good deal? Bad deal? Quality of the components? Bang for your buck? Other deals worth considering aside from them?

I know -- N00b question. But Please and thank you! :huh:

Click to expand...

you won't have to worry about any warranty issues with divers-supply. if i were you i would wait a little while to save more money. i bought my package from them. i spent $700 for an aris XT bcd, which in my opinion is better than the LX, oceanic GT3 with CDX5 first stage with slimline octo, and they threw in a mares mini counsel with compass. far the best deal anywhere on planet earth. i looked at the ala carte, it came out to be way more than the $700 deal. also they have a tusa bag for $100.

it came out to $700 on ala carte, sorry. but get the $700 aris package. ask them about upgrading your gauges. if you have a computer already, you are in business.

Hey everyone... Thanks for all the replies. They were very helpful. Truth be told, I don't actually live in the United States, so even though divers-supply.com can ship to me internationally, I really don't feel like getting gouged for $200 (they use FedEx).

So, this prompted me to look for a LDS in Japan where I live. I was originally trying to avoid this option, since I'm not fluent in written or spoken Japanese, however I WAS able to understand enough to get some good info -- dive terms and names of companies/accessories tend to be "loan words" from English, thus easily rendered back into English from Japanese.

For those of you who can understand Japanese, here is a link to a $400 package offered by a dive shop local to me... (They say it's on 78% clearance sale discount)...

I would also appreciate some feedback on what you think of this package. For those of you who don't know any Japanese (probably most of us here)... here is a description of the package in English.

BC: Aqua Lung Wave
REG: Aqua Lung Calypso XLC
GAUGES: Aqua Lung Assist M2
OCTO: Cressi-sub FX Pro

Original page (all in Japanese): http://www.diving-ya.com/bd/0001.html

Thanks again for your help everyone...