Chinese diving equipment

[Joris Vd]

I have to add I recently bought a YI Lite action camera from Xiaomi brand. It films more or less the same as the gopro 5 in 1080p. The 4k mode is unusable on the xiaomi Yi Lite though (except for timelapses I'd say) but what can you expect for 120 dollar. I feel like gopro still performs slightly better though. This because the Xiaomi Yi Lite is very bad in low light conditions. So for diving not ideal I'd say. At the moment I only use it for swimming practice to film my strokes/ lap training to correct technique mistakes. It's perfect for stuff like that

 

[Mustard Dave]

I have quite a bit of contact with Chinese high-tech companies because of my work. In fact I just got back from China and one thing is clear, which is that there is NOTHING the Chinese can't do and most things they can't do better than Europeans or Americans. I think the average person should go to China and see how they actually do things.... it is Absolutely... Jaw... Dropping.... how much further they are than we are in the west.

Many Americans and Europeans think that the Chinese are copy cats and/or don't care about quality..... But that's not true. It might have been 20 or 30 years ago... but these days.... these days the Chinese have passed us on the right and we are eating their dust.

Even major American products that you THINK of as being typically American are made in China. The iPhone, for example. There is very little about the iPhone that is American. The design might have been made by a few Americans..... but the iPhone is a Chinese product made with Korean chips and Chinese parts.

Do you want to know why an iPhone costs so much? Not because of the manufacturing..... it costs less than 1/3 of the retail value to make.... 2/3 of the cost is because Apple wants you to believe that it is superior American Engineering...... Which is laughable because the Americans don't even have the ability to manufacture an iPhone.

R..

Correct! The Chinese will make the product you want according to spec and budget, and usually at a fraction of the cost. Most of the crap that comes out of China is produced on behalf of businesses in the west; the reason it is crap is because it meets the client's budget. If you ask the Chinese to make a quality product and are prepared to pay for it, it is exactly what you'll get.

 

[David Wilson]

I've bought several minor accessories from IST. So far so good. I had only an issue with an IST swim mask that didn't fit my face.

IST Sports Corp is based in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan (aka Republic of China) rather than mainland China (People's Republic of China). I snorkel sometimes with IST Sea Diver fins.

I agree that Chinese-sourced underwater equipment can be surprisingly good quality and value for money. I have used a couple of the many agencies out there that ship Taobao goods to the UK and have never been disappointed with my purchases. My only quibble has been with inconsistencies when sellers describe the material used to manufacture goods. Before ordering, it pays to read the complete specifications of an item rather than rely just on the heading at the top of the web page.

 

[Spinal33]

I use exclusively cheap chinese lights and action (video) cameras for diving.

Reason? When the inevitable flood happens, I don't cry over my £400 gopro, swear at the hair that got trapped in the o-ring, and then try to recover the footage. I throw away the £24 SJ4000 camera, and open a brand new one from a box. I tend to carry 2 or 3 on dive trips (and have brought them to just under 50m). Biggest issue on the SJ4000 cameras is that there are so many fakes out there (and many have buttons that jam if you go to any depth).

For the flashlights, I'm a convert of the XHP70 LEDs - they pump out around 1000 lumens (as measured by me). I've started reviewing the ones I use, can post a link if people are interested. My idea is to create a database of cheap chinese flashlights, assessing the actual lumen output...

 

[admikar]

For the flashlights, I'm a convert of the XHP70 LEDs - they pump out around 1000 lumens (as measured by me). I've started reviewing the ones I use, can post a link if people are interested. My idea is to create a database of cheap chinese flashlights, assessing the actual lumen output...

I'm interested!!!

 

[runsongas]

xhp70 should be capable of way more than 1000 lumen. datasheet from cree is more like 4800 lumen when overdriven at 48w and 100 lumen/watt.

 

[runsongas]

if you are going to buy cheap chinese regs, i would just go through amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Palantic-SCR-03-YOKE-NA-OC-Diving-Regulator-Octopus/dp/B00TP172KG/

https://www.amazon.com/Palantic-SCR-01-YOKE-AJ-Adjustable-Regulator-27-Inch/dp/B00TP0Z7XG/

 

[Spinal33]

I'm interested!!!

I've started putting them here: www.europoli.org - site is still in it's early phases... sorry... but the text is there

xhp70 should be capable of way more than 1000 lumen. datasheet from cree is more like 4800 lumen when overdriven at 48w and 100 lumen/watt.

I believe the CREE limit is 4022lm for an XHP70, but in practice they don't seem to be pushed that far in the models I've tested. Not necessarily a bad thing... but it's worth keeping in mind.

 

[Germie]

I have spools and backuplights from China, and masks. The same backuplights are rebranded in Europe for several brands. The first one ist still alive and I have taken it 22 times deeper than 330ft. I dove with the China masks to 420ft too.
Remember, a lot of 'real' brands let make the products in China or Taiwan. I do not trust Chinese regulators or drysuits.
But an action cam will do its work. One chinese actioncam is rated to a depth of 55 m, I took it to 122m. It just stopped working at 110m, and started working again at 103. But did not flood or break or had problems shallower.

 

[arew+4]

If you dive with enough Chinese gear, do you still need to use lead weights?