Halcyon Infinity good choice BP ?

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Hi,

I been out of scuba diving now for the past 5 years, with a few small dives around 3 years ago

I'm wanting to get back into it all of a sudden

I left off diving Halcyon's Infinity, and loved it

I just read a post where their inflator valves are known to stick

Before I drop $900 , and since things have changed over the past few years since I been in the water, would you still consider the Halcyon Infinity a good choice?

I been shopping online, and I see allot of so called Tec BC's now, that I don't recognize from a few years back

 

[tbone1004]

I would not, here's why

I refuse to pay the Blue H tax. There is absolutely nothing about that system that justifies the price. For half that you can be in a system that is the almost the same, with equal quality, so I refuse to support that business model. The equipment is nice, don't get me wrong, just not $900 nice.
DRIS Dive Gear 28lb BP/W System | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba
Under $400 and you're in basically the same system sans the cinch adjust. Hell, the wings come out of the same factory. That system usually goes down to around $300 come Black Friday. The cinch adjust is a nice feature I guess, but if the harness is fit properly you shouldn't need it.

I would stick with the BP/W system, I just won't pay the H tax when I can get the same quality equipment for less than half the price....

I know what it costs them to make that product and I know what margin they are raking in. Think about it, DRiS can sell a system that is all but identical for $400 and is still making money, the rest of that $500 price difference is going straight in the pockets of Halcyon and whatever shop is selling it. Halcyons dealer pricing is more than retail on the system above, that should tell you something. The Blue H tax is worth it for the kool-aid drinkers I guess, but there is nothing special about that rig that makes it worth the cost. Tobin's plates and wings are worth the slight premium he charges, you can be in a similar setup from DSS for about $470, those are MUCH higher quality than H's rigs *mainly the wing itself*, and Tobin stands behind his stuff, plus I just like him, though I don't currently have any of his gear because I'm diving sidemount almost exclusively.

 

[TSandM]

The sticking problem was a problem of the stainless steel inflators, which I do not believe are still in use. New equipment will not have them. If you like Halcyon and are willing to pay the price, it's good gear.

 

[tbone1004]

You can special order them, and they are spectacular inflators, I did order a couple of them to put on my other wings when the others needed replacing, they just take a bit more TLC, you can still special order the wings with the SS inflators.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I would not, here's why

I refuse to pay the Blue H tax. There is absolutely nothing about that system that justifies the price. For half that you can be in a system that is the almost the same, with equal quality, so I refuse to support that business model. The equipment is nice, don't get me wrong, just not $900 nice.
DRIS Dive Gear 28lb BP/W System | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba
Under $400 and you're in basically the same system sans the cinch adjust. Hell, the wings come out of the same factory. That system usually goes down to around $300 come Black Friday. The cinch adjust is a nice feature I guess, but if the harness is fit properly you shouldn't need it.

I would stick with the BP/W system, I just won't pay the H tax when I can get the same quality equipment for less than half the price....

I know what it costs them to make that product and I know what margin they are raking in. Think about it, DRiS can sell a system that is all but identical for $400 and is still making money, the rest of that $500 price difference is going straight in the pockets of Halcyon and whatever shop is selling it. Halcyons dealer pricing is more than retail on the system above, that should tell you something. The Blue H tax is worth it for the kool-aid drinkers I guess, but there is nothing special about that rig that makes it worth the cost. Tobin's plates and wings are worth the slight premium he charges, you can be in a similar setup from DSS for about $470, those are MUCH higher quality than H's rigs *mainly the wing itself*, and Tobin stands behind his stuff, plus I just like him, though I don't currently have any of his gear because I'm diving sidemount almost exclusively.

thats at a heck of a good price !

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I think the H plates/harnesses/cambands are nice enough to merit their used prices. No idea why anyone would buy them new. I am not a fan of the Cinch system, and if I absolutely had to have that feature I'd get a DSS plate with the glide adapter. Halcyon's cinch is a complicated, bulky mess in comparison.

For wings, I like Halcyon and their warranty/service and support...whether it's worth the price of a new H wing depends on your diving IMO. I would not get a new H wing for tropical single tank diving because the 30 and 40 lb Eclipse wings are enormous and require STAs. If they started making Pioneer 27s again with the integrated STA...they probably couldn't make them fast enough to keep up with demand. So, for anything where you don't need 40LBs of single tank lift, I'd go DSS or (gag) Oxycheq. If you somehow require a 40lb singles wing...the Eclipse is well-made and you probably need enough lead that a weighted STA is a good idea.O

Oh, and I love my Halcyon SS inflators O' doom

 

[eelnoraa]

.... Hell, the wings come out of the same factory. That system usually goes down to around $300 come Black Friday.

This is incorrect statement. I promise Mike I can't say where the wing came from in public. You can PM him. But I can sure tell you the wing is NOT the same as the Halcyon wing. Different outter material, different blader material. As far as I know, Halcyon makes their own wing in house.

I would say yes H wing is expansive, but there are plenty of BLEM but new wing out there. They can be had for very good price. I have use Oxycheq, DSS and H wing myself. I won't say DSS wing is much higher quality. They are close, but I give H the edge in term of construction and material. Compare to Oxycheq, both DSS and H wings are better thoughtout. Oxy may have the toughest construction tho

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I live in Florida, and dive in tropical waters
ill end up buying a steel HP100 for tanks again

So the 30lb and 40lb wings are to big ?

Forgive me, me, as I logged hundreds of dives , but I been out of the water now for a while

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I live in Florida, and dive in tropical waters
ill end up buying a steel HP100 for tanks again

So the 30lb and 40lb wings are to big ?

Forgive me, me, as I logged hundreds of dives , but I been out of the water now for a while

Depends on your body composition and preferred exposure protection, but I'd probably be diving a SS plate with a HP100 and either trunks and a lavacore or a 3mm full suit, and no other weight. Nicely balanced rig; negative enough to not get floaty at 10' with only fumes left, not so negative you can't swim it up if your wing decides to completely and utterly fail.

Could get away with an AL plate with a HP100? Maybe, depends on how much balast you need and whether you want some ditchable weight.

30lbs is on the upper side of what I consider a good amount of lift for a single tank tropical wing, but the main problem I have with the Eclipse 30 is that it's enormous when compared to something like a comparable DSS/Oxycheq wing, much less my beautiful Pioneer 27. That, and it requires an STA, which you really don't need.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Yeh I don't want to dive with a STA. I can't remember , I think I use to dive an Alum BP, with a steel 100HP tank, 3mm suit, and I don't remember adding any weight their, or if I did , it was just a few pounds to ditch if needed

Another thing I do want is a crotch strap when using a BP