What item of equipment was a waste of money?

[scubaranger]

so far its got to be;
1) slate that was a waste.
2) wrist compass before I bought gauges with a compass. another waste and uncomfortable.
3) small dive light I've used it twice and it's broken twice I got to take it back to my LDS.

 

[sgtmnstr]

Just finished my AOW course, and my instructor had some sort of sounding device attached somewhere around the inflation hose area - it sounded like a honk- very audible underwater and hard to mistake for anything other than what it was.

Came in handy when I veered off course during the navigation dive - zoned out on the last segment of the square pattern - he probably let us go for about 30 -40 feet before honking at us.

Sounds like the mini hammerhead, just bought two, one for my DB, they work great!!! $59.95
Rich

 

[Scubadawg]

Why in the world did you pay $30 dollas for it, Your LDS sucked you in... I just bought one for a buddy of mine and only paid $14, I'm not saying you mad a bad choice in books but a bad choice in your LDS. i know everyone makes mistakes but as long as we learn from them..its a lesson

 

[aquaoren]

My snorkel.
Never used it after dive#6

 

[Wendigo]

Don't really have anything I dont use....too poor to buy gear unless I am absolutely positive I will use it and it isn't junk.

 

[zboss]

The idea from this thread came from the thread started by barb on good equipment.

We have all bought items of kit we later regret but often our pride prevents us from admitting it.

In my case I admit it was an all singing, all dancing digital compass, which turned out to be an abject failure. (A good idea at the time!)

Like all divers, my brain stops working once I hit the water and it is all but impossible to use any of the advanced feaures on this item of equipmement.

Secondly, I find it difficult to read it in dim light.

In any case it is only accurate to about five degrees.

Hardly £100 well spent.

I have reverted to using a normal magnetic diver's compass, which is more than adequate.

My first BCD... even though it was a good one. Any "cheap" (knives/scissors) items from LeisurePro (they just rust up). The cheap SMB I got from LeisurePro - just a piece of plastic wrapped up with a rubberband to hold it together... it eventually floated away out of my BCD pocket. I got a real one from my dive store.

 

[zboss]

One of the first things I bought was a slate, it can with a few clicps and black curlly rubber between them... at first I thought it was so cool... but now I realise it was a gizzmo product, not a functionally based one .

I now dive witha wrist slate, with 5 surfaces, works great.

of those etch-a-sketch things... you can't write with enough definition to get more than one word on the slate before running out of room. I went back to my old slate but I think I am going to convert that to a wrist mounted one.

 

[mstudley]

Everytime I see it on my wife's BC I want to go the the LSD shop that sold it to us and heave it through the plate glass window.

I've been searching forever and still can't find an LSD shop near me. They're always getting busted by the local police. Throwing a snorkel through their plate glass window would probably give them one heck of a bad trip :eyecrazy:

My advice is to not buy anything from those darn hippies again! :winky:

 

[AnZal]

My wife purchased an underwater whistle..

I was scheptical at first, and lauging my ass off after seeing it used.


I can make more sound yelling into the watter.

The dive instructor where me and the wife got certified had an underwater buzzer. It may have been cause i was new at diving and a bit nervous, but i couldn't stand the sound of the buzzer. Made me hair stand on edge and wanted to make a bee-line for the surface everytime i heard it. Did get my attention though ..... easily.

 

[hex92]

I hate that thing with a passion. But I spent $54 on it and I refuse to toss it aside just yet. Everytime I have to switch tanks I get pissed as hell at the worthless POS.

I could have bought a Dive Rite stage bottle setup for $32. Eventually I will sell it on ebay with the title "Most infuriating piece of dive equipment ever...pony bracket". Probably would affect the final selling price tho