Ferrari-- Toyota-- KIA Of Diving Gear

[wbatten1]

It all depends on what you're looking for. The Aegaeon Regulator by Deep 6 performs like a "Ferrari," can take the abuse of a "Toyota," and only costs a "Kia." The Eddy Fin by Deep 6 performs like a "Ferrari" (When frog kicking), will last as long as a "Toyota," and as bank friendly as a "Kia."

Wait... maybe it doesn't depend on what you're looking for...

 

[stuartv]

I want to Know with the Diving Gear--The brands and Models comparative to the Toyota. Not to expensive, But I will definitely get good value and long usage for my money,If i take proper care of it.

Regs: From what I know about them, Deep6 would qualify - except for one thing. You can get a Toyota fixed pretty much anywhere (without having to know how to fix it yourself). You may not have such flexibility with getting a Deep6 reg fixed. So, other regs that would equate to Toyota (to me), would include Dive Rite, Hollis, and some Tusa refs that are clones of certain ScubaPro models).

Fins: Deep6

BCD: Deep6 or Gears brand from Dive Gear Express. Deep Sea Supply is, to me, more equivalent to Lexus than Toyota. Nicer than Toyota, but more expensive for reasons that don't translate into better function or longevity (unless you are an odd size that needs a BP size that only DSS offers). This from someone that has 2 DSS back plates and had 1 DSS wing.

Wetsuit: Any name brand's (ScubaPro, Aqualung, Akona, Henderson, Bare, Waterproof, etc.) New Old Stock that fits well and is discounted to less than $200.

Drysuit: USIA

 

[BDSC]

Go ahead and get yourself the best and buy an Atomic T3 reg. Not only is it the best reg on the market but the chicks dig it as well. They are all over me on the dive boats.

 

[cerich]

Dacor used to make good products, and now they're out of business and you can't get parts for the stuff.

.

nope Dacor is owned by Mares, and Dacor is still being sold. Yes, part support for older Dacor regs/gear is no longer offered.

 

[Saboteur]

Where would Zeagle fit?

 

[nolatom]

If it fits, and it breathes, it's basically fine. This from someone who's still diving his "rookie" gear of almost 18 years ago (mostly Scubapro).

The car analogy only gets us so far. I drive a stick-shift Corolla (the stick makes it "interesting"). It's fine. There are sophisticated cars costing ten times as much, and worth it for those who want those features. But ten times the scuba gear price doesn't get you a ten times more wonderful scuba experience (I'm talking about basic open-circuit gear here, not rebreathers or deep tech, which may).

If it doesn't fit well or isn't intuitive to use, the Ferrari gear might even be worse. It's sort of like the ocean is actually your car, and your gear just a means to keep you seeing, moving, and breathing while you see all the great underwater stuff.

Or not. I'm having trouble thinking of the right metaphor. Though I clearly know what I'm trying to say ;-)

 

[RyanT]

@nolatom, try again when you haven't had a few hopitoulas! Just kidding of course, I think your point about the Corolla is pretty much on the money.

 

[Neilwood]

I think with dive gear a lot comes down to what you want to do with it.

All gear from the mainstream manufacturers is safe and will do the job. For a lot of diving you would probably notice little difference between one set of gear and another.
Regs - all with provide you with breathing gas at the correct pressure. The mid/high end ones pretty much give you slightly easier breathing and good looks
BCD - all will allow you to compensate for your buoyancy. The higher end might have more pockets, Drings etc.
Fins - all will push you forward. The higher end ones might give a better return on your effort though (under particular conditions as some feature hinges/flexible sections that will probably push you forward well but might make it harder to do alternative kicks).

If you are going to push your gear to the extremes with technical diving (long deco, deep, caving, wrecks etc) then buying the best gear (not necessarily the most expensive) is probably worth it.

Where I think price does matter is in exposure protection.
A good (well fitting) wetsuit will prevent flushing (due to extra features such as glideskin, wrist and boot zips etc) better than a cheap one therefore keeping you warmer.
A good drysuit (with good undersuit) will keep you warmer and last better than a cheap one.

 

[Centrals]

Have been diving for just over 21 years and only two items have lasted for more than 18 and are still alive and kicking: Uwatec Aladin Pro Nitrox computer(obsolete) and Apeks DS4(still available). I have other Apeks regs for tec dive but none of them are over 18 yrs old yet.
As far I am concerned, Apeks reg is No.1.

 

[RainPilot]

The Aegaeon Regulator by Deep 6 ......

It also contains twice the vowels of the leading competitors and 3 times that of the Polish brand.

Deep 6 Aeeaaaaeeegooeeeenn regulators. Now with extra "Aaaaeeeee!"


JK, wouldn't trade mine in for anything. Till you release the Zrxytcl model anyway.