- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 0
- # of dives
- 200 - 499
Went early to wait for Shop in NYC to open, waiting in the cold with anticipation building up. Well, I was the only one in the city to be interested. Nobody else showed up during the 1.5 hours I spent trying the 3 LE items.
First, the fins are ugly. I never had Mares fins, didn't feel comfortable with the buckles. I already have 2 pairs, Tusa and SPro, so I passed on the fins ($249 + tax).
The BC is a slight modification of the Morphos Pro, which I have been using for some time now. Better: the heavy paddings on the shoulders and the top of the back, colors are slightly better (Airtrim is black and grey, not yellow and grey), denim is lighter and better quality with less drag according to the salesman. Worse: D rings allocation. The big one above the right side pocket, the only one I really use on the Morphos Pro is.... gone. There are now 4 absolutely useless D-rings on the shoulders. Pockets seem a little smaller, but not sure. Not sure if the price increment to the Morphos Pro is justified. I would have bought it if I didn't have the M Pro. All in all, I would recommend it, the same way as I would recommend the M Pro, if you can allow the price difference ($849 + tax).
The Reg is beautiful. Smallest first stage I've ever seen, second stage is a really cool looking proton metal (metal part is dark, not silver look). I've seen 2 sets, both were scratched though, not so big of a turnoff since it will be scratched anyway underwater. Purchased one ($699 + tax), without octo, will check if there is a proton metal octo.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed by the anti-climactic result. Nothing revolutionary at all, just items to show off that you're willing to spend money to own a numbered piece, except maybe for the reg, which is, again, beautiful. Would have been cool to see metal mask, metal order-made wetsuits and dry, metal bags etc, but not necessarily LE.
Blancpain did a better job in PR and advertising with the 50 fathoms anniversary than Mares with this metal LE. Mares expects revenue from this of 2,000 * $2,000 = $4M (good luck to Mares to get rid of inventory). Blancpain with a smaller revenue expectation (150 * $15,000 = $2.25M) sold out everything in matter of days.
First, the fins are ugly. I never had Mares fins, didn't feel comfortable with the buckles. I already have 2 pairs, Tusa and SPro, so I passed on the fins ($249 + tax).
The BC is a slight modification of the Morphos Pro, which I have been using for some time now. Better: the heavy paddings on the shoulders and the top of the back, colors are slightly better (Airtrim is black and grey, not yellow and grey), denim is lighter and better quality with less drag according to the salesman. Worse: D rings allocation. The big one above the right side pocket, the only one I really use on the Morphos Pro is.... gone. There are now 4 absolutely useless D-rings on the shoulders. Pockets seem a little smaller, but not sure. Not sure if the price increment to the Morphos Pro is justified. I would have bought it if I didn't have the M Pro. All in all, I would recommend it, the same way as I would recommend the M Pro, if you can allow the price difference ($849 + tax).
The Reg is beautiful. Smallest first stage I've ever seen, second stage is a really cool looking proton metal (metal part is dark, not silver look). I've seen 2 sets, both were scratched though, not so big of a turnoff since it will be scratched anyway underwater. Purchased one ($699 + tax), without octo, will check if there is a proton metal octo.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed by the anti-climactic result. Nothing revolutionary at all, just items to show off that you're willing to spend money to own a numbered piece, except maybe for the reg, which is, again, beautiful. Would have been cool to see metal mask, metal order-made wetsuits and dry, metal bags etc, but not necessarily LE.
Blancpain did a better job in PR and advertising with the 50 fathoms anniversary than Mares with this metal LE. Mares expects revenue from this of 2,000 * $2,000 = $4M (good luck to Mares to get rid of inventory). Blancpain with a smaller revenue expectation (150 * $15,000 = $2.25M) sold out everything in matter of days.
