Importance of diving equipment brand country

[Ayisha]

Poland for xDeep and Santi, absolutely.

Sometimes the cost of bringing unknown things in and the cost and hassle of repairs or replacement parts can be too excessive until the brand gets local distributors/stores. You'd have to figure it out on a case by case basis.

 

[Centrals]

Reputation is far more important.
I always avoid brand new brand especially dive computer.
I hate to see when my 22yrs old Uwatec Aladin pack up.

 

[JMBL]

Forgot about Poland and Santi. But Russia/Ukraine? Nope.

Would you care to elaborate, please ?

 

[Doc]

Not sure exactly what the question was, but...

I travel with Scubapro gear because it seems to have service available worldwide.

 

[loosenit2]

The question in my mind involves QA\QC of the manufacturing process and support after purchase. You can have the best designed gear in the world but if the manufacturing standards are not good and consistent I won’t buy. If all that is good but the customer service is poor I will likely not buy. A company has to have a customer service base in my country For me to consider buying.

I would not consider products from russia or Ukraine right now, it is interesting that you lump the, together. Ukraine is better served by more closely associating with Europe in terms of perceptions of quality, rather than Russia.

 

[David Wilson]

What about Russia, Ukraine?

For vintage diving and snorkelling, Russia's Al'faplastic (Альфапластик) and Ukraine's Kievguma (Киевгума) have been good sources of traditional basic gear such as oval masks, all-rubber full-foot fins and old-school snorkels.

 

[Colliam7]

I remember I saw Turkish diving equipment manufacturer, but I don't remember its name...

As an anecdotal observation, our shop purchased a compressor from a UK company, with manufacturing done in Turkey (so we were told). It was poorly constructed, at the very least, and has required engineering support from the UK to come to the US simply to make the components functional.

I would be wary of equipment manufactured in Turkey at this time.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

American brand names mean nothing. Most stuff is made everywhere else besides in the US.
Maybe some tech gear, plates, wings, a few fins? Cottage industry stuff, maybe a hose or two (Goodyear) but you have to look hard to find them.

Is there anything in mainline scuba gear that’s made in the US anymore, either in whole or in part? I don’t know one computer that’s fully made in the US, somebody please prove me wrong for my own sanity.
What the hell happened to us??
AFAIK, the only regulator still fully manufactured in the US is the Conshelf 14 all metal series that’s used by the military and commercial divers, not available to the general public.
Even with that, what about the O-rings and rubber/silicone bits? very hard to say.

 

[aviator8]

Deep6 is not made in the USA, but I trust it because @cerich , @LandonL and Bert make sure they source from known good suppliers, inspect the gear, thoroughly test the designs, and stand behind it if there are any issues. Not many dive equipment suppliers still make much in the USA.

 

[formernuke]

American brand names mean nothing. Most stuff is made everywhere else besides in the US.
Maybe some tech gear, plates, wings, a few fins? Cottage industry stuff, maybe a hose or two (Goodyear) but you have to look hard to find them.

Is there anything in mainline scuba gear that’s made in the US anymore, either in whole or in part? I don’t know one computer that’s fully made in the US, somebody please prove me wrong for my own sanity.
What the hell happened to us??
AFAIK, the only regulator still fully manufactured in the US is the Conshelf 14 all metal series that’s used by the military and commercial divers, not available to the general public.
Even with that, what about the O-rings and rubber/silicone bits? very hard to say.

I believe DUI is wholly USA made, but I might be wrong.