Equipment Review: Oceanic, Zeagle, Mares, Henderson, Tusa

[brocnizer]

All of you were so much help with my first purchase that I will give a review of my equipment so others can benefit.

I purchased two of everything for my wife and myself for $1430 from scuba toys. All of the following (both mine and my wifes) fit in a large suit case and weighed 46 pounds at check in, which did not incur any airline surcharges.

First the BC: Zeagle Scout
All I have to say is that I was amazed. The quality is top knotch and it is very light. My wife and I had zero issues with it being back inflate, and to tell you the truth is was far more comfortable that any other jacket style I have used. It is super easy to get in and out of because the straps detach and I used 14 pounds of weight in the rear with not even the slightest issue of "turtling". The side pockets are enough for what you need to carry on trips. Overall I give it 5 of 5 stars

Oceanic Veo 100 dive computer
Simple and easy to use. Easy to read underwater and both computers were reading identical underwater. I do hate the fact you can't manually turn it off as I feel its just wasting the battery. I have no need for nitrox and probably won't for many many years so this computer fit the bill. I give it 4 of 5 stars because I can't turn it off

Oceanic CDX5 regulator with alpha 8 secondary and alpha 8 octo
What a bang for the buck! Breathes really easy, even the octo. On many occasions my brother would free dive to 35 feet and he would use my octo for 10 min plus at depth and he loved it. There was never an issue with me feeling him breathe. As of 15 dives, no free flow or any other issue. Only problem my wife and I had is that we both felt the hose was a little short and it felt like the regulator was being pulled to our right. No matter how I positioned the tank in the BC, always the same issue. If we switched to the octo with the longer hose, the issue was resolved. I dove solely on the octo one dive just to test it out and it was near identical in performance to the primary. My wife said she did experience some mouth fatigue, but I did not. Maybe she was biting too hard. 4 of 5 stars because of the pulling issue

Mares Avanti quattro full foot fins
These are my wifes pair. She wears a size nine but a size 6.5/7.5 fit her like a glove. Very comfortable pockets and nice power. They were easy on the legs and she did not get tired. We did dive some 1-2 knot current and she could almost keep up with me. 3 of 5 stars

Mares volo full foot fins
Hands down the best fins I have ever tried. I tested them at a dive shop on the trip and tossed my split fins in the garbage. Much faster than the split fins and a tad faster than the avanti quattro. This was the only purchase not made through scuba toys but the LDS sold them to me for $90 brand new. They are easy on the legs yet have some good force behind them. In a pool test I used these, the avanti quattro, and a set of aqua lung that look like these OMS SLIPSTREAM fin, OMS I got the fastest time with the volo and I tried them last. Super comfortable pockets. I wear a size ten shoe and fit like a glove in the 6.5/7.5 If you have a wider foot, beware. I have a narrow foot and fits great but could not imagine having a wide foot in these unless you try on a few different sizes. 5 of 5 stars

Tusa pano geo mask
Simply a great mask for a great price. Feels great with good visibility. 5 of 5 stars

Henderson 3mm neoprene shorty
Due to my wifes shape, she had issues with other shorties. Either too tight in the butt or would pull down and choke her. Not an issue here. They are very stretchy and comfortable. Mine also fit nice. Only issue it quality. Already some stitching is coming apart. 2 of 5 stars for poor quality.

Thats it. Hope it helps

 

[crpntr133]

Glad to see that you like the back inflate. It makes my blood boil when someone says that a back inflate will make you face plant on the surface.

If you find a computer that you can turn off I would be surprised. The Dive Rite Duo doesn't shut off PERIOD.

Enjoy your gear!

 

[brocnizer]

Just to assist the people looking for gear, I will do a follow up

The Zeagle BC, just plain AWESOME!!!! A lot of people are coming up to me asking where I got it and how nice and compact it is. Great for traveling to warm water destinations. I have used up to 14lbs in the integrated pockets and have had ZERO issues. My wife does not even "turtle" like others say they do. I love how the straps detach so you just pull the BC over you instead of struggle to put it on like others.

The oceanic CDX5 regulator and alpha 8 secondary are holding up beyond expectations. I have been down with my wife to a max so far of 100ft and it breathes just as easy on the surface.

Both sets of our fins do very very very good in the water. In cozumel where the current is very strong, both my wife and I could go against it (to go see the awesome stuff the dive master would point out) while others could not. Both designs are very efficient and we never get sore legs or feel tired.

The henderson wetsuits are ok. The velcro damages the neoprene very easily and some stitches are coming apart. Although, for a shorty they do keep us warm down to 76 degrees. My wife is very cold intolerant and felt okay after two 45 min dives at 76. She did get slight goose bump at end of second dive, while I was very comfortable.

My wife has no complaint for the Tusa mask. I put some soap water in there before dives and she gets zero fogging

the oceanic veo 100 computer. An awesome basic computer. Does everything its supposed to and does it well. One button to scroll through so nothing to screw up.

overall, as my first set of gear, I couldn't be happier and see many many happy years of diving from it. I should note I only dive warm water.
Hope that helps

 

[brocnizer]

Another follow-up on my equipment.

I'm a very very happy customer with oceanic. My first service was $120 for both sets and parts were covered under warranty. Make sure you get in before the 1 year point to save you some money.

Been on a few more dives and all the gear works flawless. I could not imagine what better equipment feels like because this feels like perfection to me.

I'll report back in a week after some dives in the Caymans.

Good luck to all those with your first purchase. I'll keep this updated to help you out.

 

[Hatul]

I have two comments. Never seen a computer that can be turned off, and for a reason. The computer has to process even after the dive in the event you dive again, at least until there is no more excess nitrogen in all the tissues. It could just turn the display off but I doubt the display uses much power, and you don't want it turn off by accident while diving.

It may even need to draw some current when "off" to be able to wake up underwater.

When you say your free diving brother breathes off your regulator, that's a recipe for an air embolism if he's used to holding his breath and ascends.

Adam

 

[DiveNav]

...the oceanic veo 100 computer. An awesome basic computer. Does everything its supposed to and does it well. One button to scroll through so nothing to screw up....

I am glad you like your Veo 100 and most likely by now you know it well, but, just in case you forgot something, I suggest you have a look at the Veo 100 Online Specialty Class we have co-developed with Oceanic.

It doubles up as the Veo 100 online multimedia manual

Alberto