OMS Gear

[Lil' Irish Temper]

I just noticed that no one really talks about OMS gear on this board, Nothing good or nothing bad. It's almost as they fell through the cracks somehow. I've never tried any of their products personally.

Is it because OMS is "hardcore" tech equipment or is it something else?

It just struck me as weird, that a company as big as OMS doesn't get cursed or praised on this board, where the divers let you know what they think.

 

[sinkorswim]

OMS to me is more for guys that are underwater for a reason. All business.

OMS equipment is good stuff, being a newbie on the board, I can't tell you why people don't talk about them.

 

[jonnythan]

It's because OMS has a bad image and tends to be looked down upon by a lot of people here. The OMS "technically correct" pictures on their web page are sort of the poster child for "how not to do things." You hear "Other Manufacturer's Gear" used to refer to the fact that OMS doesn't really make much, and they have a history of doing.. well, contradictory things. They will issue "safety advisories" about other manufacturer's products, then two years later introduce a copy of the same product.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with OMS gear, but they make very little stuff that isn't done as well or better by someone else, and their rep is not a good one.

(I just know I'm going to get flamed for this one)

 

[Vie]

There are quite a few OMS related threads on this board—the impression I get is that they have really lousy customer service... They also make bungied wings which are not looked kindly upon by many on this board.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with OMS gear, but they make very little stuff that isn't done as well or better by someone else, and their rep is not a good one.

Spot on. I wouldn't use OMS gear if you bought it and gave it to me. Jonnythan's quote above is correct, IMHO.

Read their advertising. It's straight from the George Irvine School of Marketing. Old Immersed magazines are classic. As a company they're more negative than a presidential campaign. They dogtalk competitors, trash their products and their decisions, and throw other company's reputations under the bus. Rarely do you see any advertising message explaining why OMS products are better. Instead, you read why other company's products are worse. Then they come out with copies of the other company's products. For years, hot-dipped tanks sucked, theirs were better. Then couple years ago they announced hot-dipped tanks, uh, but 'they weren't ready for prime time'. This year you couldn't tell an OMS tank from a PST tank at 5 yards.

Quick. Ever hear anyone raving about how good their OMS reg is and why? Whether it is or isn't is immaterial - in their advertising they only talk about how "the other guy's regs" suck. There's no detailed effort to describe any significant or unique virtues of their own regulator. So no one knows any.

As a company OMS exhibits one huge inferiority complex. Every ad message they put into dive magazines only serves to reinforce that image. Don't take it from me. Go out and read their advertising for yourself. Compare and contrast. It's enlightening. Their entire presentation is hopeless arrogance followed by rapid shift of hand to get products out there after they've been introduced to the market by other companies. Perhaps George's bashing their bungee wings resulted in post traumatic stress disorder on a corporate scale.

"OMS: At Least We're Better Than Those Other Guys"

 

[aquaoren]

I don't have any OMS gear beside a SPG that shows BAR and PSI.
This is the most inaccurate SPG that I've ever seen or heard of. It shows 35 BAR (Or roughly 500 PSI) less in the tank than all my other SPG's and AI computer.

 

[Vie]

I don't have any OMS gear beside a SPG that shows BAR and PSI.
This is the most inaccurate SPG that I've ever seen or heard of. It shows 35 BAR (Or roughly 500 PSI) less in the tank than all my other SPG's and AI computer.

Be glad it doesn’t show 35 bar MORE than the rest! Can’t you have it recalibrated somehow?

I have the same gauge; mine seems to be as accurate (or inaccurate as the case maybe) as my other gauges and AI computers.

 

[deco_martini]

The first divers I ever saw using OMS gear (with all the bells and whistles) were some of the worst divers I had ever seen. One guy didn't know how to defog a mask properly (he rinsed is mask so much that the defog was gone). Another of the divers wore their mask so tight that the mask ring was still there at dinner time.

These guys would get back on the boat and brag about hitting 120 feet (ooooooh ahhhhhhh) and I would just quietly smirk to myself. Here they were with these OMS rigs with all the options, pony bottles, sausages, kitchen sinks, and they were diving in 100ft vis, zero current, zero wave, 80 degree water. I have a creeping suspicion that they also probably had Rambo knives somewhere in their kits for these sorts of hazardous reef diving.

After seeing those guys for a week, my motto for OMS was "OMS: We Outfit Tech Posers". Of course, this is a crass judgement made from watching a small sample of people and I realize its totally unfair and probably innaccurate.

 

[jetfixer]

Of course, this is a crass judgement made from watching a small sample of people and I realize its totally unfair and probably innaccurate.

but funny none the less. we've all seen these types before. always amusing.

 

[Corigan]

My main problem with OMS is lack of customer support. Also like stating above their marketing strategy is way off center. I was in my LDS working the other day and the OMS reps came in. Sure enough when showcasing their new products they just had to bash the other companies gear. Bad buisness. I ordered a pair of LP (faber) OMS tanks awhile back since they were available and easy to come by. They didn't send me a boot with one of the tanks. It was like pulling teeth to get a stinking boot from them. Give me a break, it's a $5 boot and I just bought 2 tanks and valves from you all. If they even treat the stores that sell their gear like crap, how do you think they would treat a lowly end user trying to get service on their own? I have no problems with their smaller gear that wouldn't require service (Titanium line cutter, etc.), but anything that might require parts or service I wouldn't buy.

I started out on OMS gear and tried to give them a shot. I had met the reps, and said I would try to buy some of there gear. So I buy there tanks and get no support. When it came time to get my BP/W and start moving more into a tech rig, I made sure I stayed away from OMS gear. YMMV.

On another note, I've seen plenty of capable tech divers in OMS gear.

Matt