Importance of diving equipment brand country

[BoltSnap]

Cressi “makes such crap?”, really? I have a D6 signature and a Cressi MC9/Compact set, both work extremely well. I also have a Cressi Travellite BCD and a VDH BP/W, again both work very well. Saying a brand is crap without supporting evidence does not support your argument

I agree with @wetb4igetinthewater 100% here, Cressi is all crap on their scuba side especially the more "complex" products. We are phasing them out of our rental/training fleet and replacing them with SP and Atomic. The problem is that their resale value is even more crap and hence we haven't been able to unload them fast enough. Their free diving/spearfishing is a different story and I can't comment there since I am not experienced enough with it.

 

[BoltSnap]

I do have insight on Paul's operation. I have some idea as to what is involved from some other companies, and I quickly picked up that he will only produce quality, well machined products. The fact that he's Russian is irrelevant. While he has a small company (just one guy afaik), he makes a good product. If he were to partner up with others equally committed to creating more quality products, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him any products that fulfill my needs.

As I said before, Backplates is one thing, regulators and life-support equipment or computers, something else.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

As I said before, Backplates is one thing, regulators and life-support equipment or computers, something else.

I don't disagree that a backplate is just a piece of metal. However, there is a wide variance into how well these are machined. HDG's backplates are very well made. His reels are well made. With that kind of precision, were Paul to make other products, I'd expect them to also be well made. Now shipping costs are another matter. But blanket statements as have been made in this thread are just way off base.

 

[loosenit2]

I agree with @wetb4igetinthewater 100% here, Cressi is all crap on their scuba side especially the more "complex" products. We are phasing them out of our rental/training fleet and replacing them with SP and Atomic. The problem is that their resale value is even more crap and hence we haven't been able to unload them fast enough. Their free diving/spearfishing is a different story and I can't comment there since I am not experienced enough with it.

Lets pull this thread a little bit because it is pertinent to this thread. What makes Cressi crap? Is it the design/engineering, the quality control, the lack of available service, lack of repair parts, warranty service in the US or some other set of things?

 

[runsongas]

they aren't a high end brand, so they come in at a fairly reasonable pricepoint, but they cut corners on materials. if you handle their plastic parts, they don't seem as high quality as the higher end brands. they use too much plastic also vs chromed brass, stainless, etc. and their fabric isn't as tough and sturdy for bcds, wetsuits, etc. the gear is just very bland and mediocre across the whole line. at least mares tries to make nicer stuff.

they represent a good value for masks under 40 bucks, i will give them that.

 

[JasmineNeedsGills]

Couple of points on this post. 1. After purchase support is just as important as quality. With Regulators etc you have to have availablility of parts, service, and warranty. If a company does not have a presence in your country this would be extremely challenging.

This is where Russian products fail in just about every industry. Someone mentioned Russian aircraft manufacturing, and exactly the same issue is relevant. Russian aircraft are perfectly acceptable middle of the road aircraft, but in the post-Soviet era, getting after-sales support is almost impossible. One Mexican airline returned almost an entire fleet of around 30 nearly new passenger jets from Russia because the maintenance support was absolutely craptastic - to the extent they had to ground 2/3rds of their fleet solely for want of parts for routine servicing. The planes weren't the problem. The manufacturer was.

Much the same is true for some Chinese brands - though some are better at this than others (and many have learned and matured very quickly), many smaller Chinese companies just aren't that good at properly supporting their products in the international market.