hey some questions on gear

I was just wondering what brands to stay away from and which are well wouldn't say better but what you have better experience with? thanks I am new and looking for some gear.

Gear is more of a personal preference. Rather than staying away from a specific brand, it's better to make sure the gear is suited for you and your style of diving. Don't let pretty colors, bells & whistles, and quick talking sales people influence you.

For example, say that someone disses a specific brad of masks. However, that particular brand of mask has a product that fit your face. Do you not buy it because someone said it was bad. I hope not.

Research the specific piece of equipment you want to acquire. Test drive it if you can. Then take care of it once you get it.

stay away from gear that is discontinued, because it will be harder to let it service.


With discontinued, I mean then stop of production of the renewable parts. E.g. for a BC, you can buy an old model, but all the critical parts (dumpvalves, inflator, weight-pockets, ...) can be the same on the new model. This is most of the time a good deal.

And also to consider, all the known brands are submitted to safety-tests.

I firmly believe most scuba manufacturers make one or two things well and the rest go down hill.
For example without naming names, Co. A might make one heck of a computer but crappy fins.
So your question, who to stay away from?, is a tough one to answer. And asking on SB, You will get many conflicting replies. Best advice? Try many as many brands as you can before buying.
I also agree with Krulle, research which brands may be on the chopping block so finding parts won't be an issue.

Yes i know comfort is the number one thing but like what products are good for beginner i will be only doing warm water diving like Florida for example. like what regs and tank i heard one brand had a very bad rep of leaking/ bursting.

Dr Neil:

Gear is more of a personal preference. Rather than staying away from a specific brand, it's better to make sure the gear is suited for you and your style of diving. Don't let pretty colors, bells & whistles, and quick talking sales people influence you.

For example, say that someone disses a specific brad of masks. However, that particular brand of mask has a product that fit your face. Do you not buy it because someone said it was bad. I hope not.

Research the specific piece of equipment you want to acquire. Test drive it if you can. Then take care of it once you get it.

Click to expand...

1. Rather than stating Brand A is bad and Brand B is good, I will simply caution you that, if it looks really cool, you probably don't need it.

2. What gear are you specifically looking to buy and how do you plan to use it? For example, if you mention that you want to buy a BC you will be flooded with devotees telling you to get BP/w (backplate with wings) instead---this would be a reasonable suggestion. However, if you mention that you want advice on a BC and that most of your diving will be at locations that you will be flying to, well, most of those who would have said BP/w will still say it, but you will get some advice about getting compact travel BCs (which will pack better and weigh less than BP/w).

3. Trying gear out is always a great idea. Unfortunately, some gear that performs well at the basic OW-level (in shallower dives) may prove to not work as well in, say, deeper water such as you might experience if you continue your training. Asking specific questions about a specific piece of gear in specific situations might help you generate helpful responses. For example, some regs might not breath easily at depth, and not all are designed for use in cold water. However, if you never plan to dive deep and always plan to dive in warm water, then stating so in your post will help SB members offer advice.

LOTS of good name brands out there. Here are a few:

A.B. Biller
Aeris
Akona
Apollo
Aqualung / U.S. Divers
Bare
Body Glove
Catalina Cylinders
Cochran
Cressi Sub
Dacor
Dive Rite
DUI
Faber
Force Fin
Halcyon
Harvey's
Henderson
Ikelite
Luxfer
Mares
Nite Rider
Oceanic
O'Neill
Riffe
Scubapro
SeaCure
Sherwood
Tilos
Underwater Kinetics
Whites
Zeagle

You know what was helpful to me? Reading the thread on "What do you regret buying?". Even if I didn't always agree with the poster, you had some very good discussions on the pros and cons.

I think we ALL messed up in the beginning, buying crap we since have piled in a "YARD SALE" closet. I'd like to see a statistic on "WHICH IS MORE EXPENSIVE? THE STUFF YOU DIVE WITH OR THE STUFF YOU BOUGHT AND NEVER USE MORE THAN ONCE OR TWICE?"

I wish I had bought the best I could right off the bat instead of settling for my 2nd or 3rd choice, personally.

Good luck!
Greg

Further to that, try and find someone who is the type of diver you aspire to be, and learn from their mistakes. Could save you a lot of money

Hey cquade. .
I personally use Cressi, Mares and Scubapro. . I find these
brands good. . The best advice i can give is just go and do
some research on the net about the specific brand and ask
your dive buddies and or instructor before you buy the brand
you intrested in. .

Good luck. .

Live to dive and Dive to live. . . . :burnout: