Cynical 'Faux Tech' Marketing = Dive Industry Shame

[DevonDiver]

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I came across this website today. It made me think of some of the issues raised in various BP&W and BCD threads.

http://www.eaglez1.com

Some truly awful claims on there. Some terrible mis-information aimed at novice diver. Please feel free to debate these claims...

An analysis:

1) Buoyancy Info/Claims.....

"Less than 30 pounds is not suitable for ocean diving.
Less than 48 pounds is not suitable for twin cylinders."


HOW MUCH POSITIVE LIFT IS ENOUGH?
Female Eagle Z1-F = 35 pounds. - Single cylinder & Pony
Male Eagle Z1 = 48 pounds. - Single cylinder & Pony
Eagle Z1 Tech = 60 pounds. - Single or Twin cylinder
Twin Wing Z1 = 100 pounds. - Single or Twin cylinder :shocked2::shocked2::shocked2:​

Eagle Z1 buoyancy illustration for newbies.... forget about the 'buoyancy calculator!

 

[diversteve]

I have got to get one of those compassses... - No more stupid looking around for me.

BUDDY LOCATOR COMPASS:
A high grade oil filled compass and a 2" convex mirror attached to a mini auto retractor device that snaps on your Z1 BCD.
This clever BWL invention allows you to navigate and keep track of your dive buddy. Side and top reading glow face oil filled compass.

 

[Brandon]

You know... I've seen a lot of this recently. Maybe we should start a thread about Dive Industry Marketing BS.

Here's another:

"It is expensive and time consuming to have your regulator cleaned for use with nitrox. Once normal air is mistakenly used with it you must for safety reasons have it cleaned and serviced. Don't let this happen to your nitrox dedicated equipment. Have Nitrox FlexHose Wrap installed on all the hoses used exclusively for nitrox diving and there will not be a costly mistake made. "

Amazon.com: Nitrox Flex Hose Wrap: Sports & Outdoors

 

[Brandon]

I love their history of BC design:


1970's / BACK MOUNT: Excellent stability underwater, but very little support or stability at surface. Most required the use of a very uncomfortable weight belt & unforgiving crotch strap. Not accepted by some sport diving certification agencies. Still in use for professional cave diving.

1980's / JACKET STYLE: The 1980's designed jacket style wraps the air cell around both the front and back of the upper torso. Very bulky, high drag, and not comfortable, but offered good surface support for novice divers. Poor design and serious quality control issues were common.

1990's / WT. INTEGRATED: The concept of canceling the forces of positive buoyancy and negative ballast weights. Soon became the most popular version because it provided more comfort and convince. Many versions, some were acceptable, and others were dangerous with bad wt. design.

2000's / MODIFIED WT. INTEGRATED: This is the time period when most of the major BCD producers decided the existing products with internal bladders had too long of a life span. In an effort to cut cost and increase profits they invented the bladder-less BCD material. This is also known as "Pop and Drop" because it tears easy and the divers drops like a stone. This new design is much less labor intensive to produce, and has a much shorter life span. Another serious problem is this lightweight fabric cannot be repaired if punctured, the whole BCD must be replaced further increasing sales.

 

[vladimir]

This is certainly comforting:

Our advanced adjustable center of gravity designs when used correctly will NOT force a diver in a face down horizontal position at the surface!

 

[DevonDiver]

The more I read from the website, the funnier it gets...

At first glance our 2008 advanced Eagle Z1 BCD design could be easily confused with a back floatation or wing type of BCD.
Our advanced designs when used correctly will NOT force a diver in a face down horizontal position at the surface!
Our Eagle Z1 series of buoyancy compensator devices are NOT a typical back floatation wing types, and they DO NOT perform like one at the surface!

They have another site HERE, with more hilarious claims!

These are actual quotes from the Eagle Z1 adverts..

"Trek wing" and "Ranger" style BCD's are not wide enough to accept twins, nor tough enough for tech.

The next step beyond the sport diving BCD​

Perfect for the advanced, cold water wreck, cave and tech divers who require extreme reliability, custom fit comfort that allows you to jump between wet and drysuits instantly. Experience perfect balance with single or extended range twin cylinders. Having enough lift is a big deal, and this provides 60 pounds! Auto wing retractors have adjustable force and keep your drag low. Double layer Cordura so the back plates are mounted internally and the back pad is still retained for comfort. Quad grommet system on back with adjustable axis trim weight pockets. Trouble free Cordura fabric. Specifically designed so it can be used with most Aluminum or Stainless Steal back plates, or stabilizer wing plates for bolt through twins if desired.

Superior Performance​

You really can kick and glide with our BCD's, and because of the extremely low drag, you can improve your air consumption up to 18% verses a standard jacket style BCD with wt. belt. Our advanced design provides extremely stable roll & pitch control, and it's a delightful method of travel during the dive.
Unlike some modular designs like the Zeagle where the air cell is separate from the harness, and only attached with a couple of straps, our design is totally integrated. This eliminates twisting and trapped air.


​

 

[RJP]

EagleZ

Eagle Z1

As someone who works in branding/trademark/copyright etc I would suggest that Zeagle could make a strong case that this company is trying to cause consumer confusion and play off Zeagle's brand equity...

Imagine if someone launched a restaurant called "Donald's McBurgers"

Anyone have Scott's email address? They may have a cause of action.

 

[DevonDiver]

As someone who works in branding/trademark/copyright etc I would suggest that Zeagle could make a strong case that this company is trying to cause consumer confusion and play off Zeagle's brand equity...They may have a cause of action.

Yep...their 'comparison page' against Zeagle products is scandalous!

I love this piece of marketing....

They don't sell shears.... they sell 'NASA Escape Tools'

And here we have some 'essential' mesh weight carry pouch thingies...

These internal weight pockets will provide increased safety and comfort for the diver.
Handy built in carry handle makes it easy to transport your weights to and from the dive site.

And another stroke of genius.... for those people with "crap" cam buckles....


Quote from the site:

These Stainless Steel cylinder strap clamps come standard on several of the high end weight integrated BCD's like the Eagle Z1s, but everyone else still uses the crap plastic to save a buck.

WARNING: You should be aware that plastic cylinder strap clamps age rapidly (???) with exposure to UV sunlight and the ocean environment..... These often crack and break (???) during your once in a lifetime vacation or cave diving trip as you add pressure to secure the tank, this is not a rare event. (???) Replacements are impossible to find (???) when your away from home, so why not just upgrade your existing "Low Bid" factory issued plastic junk with something that will never break, or let you down.

 

[divad]

They seem to be marketing to children. Isn't there some (unenforcable) law about this?

 

[knowone]

Great presentation.

Easy to see where the research was done :sblogo:
The place to argue to win or listen to learn.