Ferrari-- Toyota-- KIA Of Diving Gear

[Brian Robinson]

I need advice, What is the top scuba gear for the money is the question? I find numerous opinions when I search the web. I want to use this comparison for better clarification. As with cars. I know the Ferrari is the best, But To Expensive for a regular (none rich) guy like me. A Kia is cheap but (Junk) that will fall apart very soon. I like the Toyota, not cheap but I can get 300,000 miles out of it ,If I take good care of it.
I want to Know with the Diving Gear--The brands and Models comparative to the Toyota. Not to expensive, But I will definitely get good value and long usage for my money,If i take proper care of it.

 

[2airishuman]

Common question. Answer is that the industry mostly isn't like that. There are various brands and dealer networks and service policies but the quality and longevity of the gear is very similar from one brand to the next.

It's hard to predict what the future will bring. Dacor used to make good products, and now they're out of business and you can't get parts for the stuff.

There does seem to be some variation in the quality and longevity of wetsuits among makers.

Scubapro and Atomic would be more premium brands. I'm not sure how much of a difference in price and quality there is though.

 

[decompression]

mmmmm...........Halcyon/AquaLung/Cressi.......my 2 cents. Honestly nowdays there really isn't a bad manufacturer....I said Cressi as their stuff doesn't tend to work well in cold rough water, but even that's debatable. Notable inclusion would be HOG and deep6, low cost and very capable.

 

[tbone1004]

it depends on what you're looking for but the car analogy is unfortunately not a good one for diving gear as much of it has normalized over the years and there really is only so much that you do with it. Not enough variables to make a huge distinction other than quality of materials and price. Essentially negligible performance differences across the real quality products

Regulators are all going to be close enough to the same for new and you get almost nothing from the big names. What you do get are expensive repair bills if you break the free parts for life scheme, which is truly horrifically expensive. Aqualung/Apeks/Scubapro/Hollis/Halcyon, brands I try to avoid for that reason. Cost of paying for service and even worse the cost of having to pay for yearly service to maintain a warranty is ridiculous these days, so if I can't DIY service, and/or the warranty is contingent on service, then I won't buy that brand.
For "premium" brands, that is now Atomic and Poseidon. I lean Poseidon, but you may not. For the "toyota" of regulators, I think Deep6 fits that bill.

BCD's are a weird breed entirely as you do see quality differences between different makes but not always indicated by the price. Halcyon bp/w's cost about $800 and are top quality. Deep Sea Supply's bp/w's cost about $500 and are of equal quality with some arguably nicer features. Deep Sea Supply certainly wins the cost:features:quality contest for backmount systems.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The car analogy might have some relevance with regard to serviceability of regulators. Although I have never owned one, I have heard that high-end piston regs can be finicky and require more frequent tuneups (like a Ferrari) than diaphragm regs (Honda Civics?).

 

[rhwestfall]

my wife loves her Kia (actually all three she has owned). For her, it is a great "bang for the buck".

 

[runsongas]

I need advice, What is the top scuba gear for the money is the question? I find numerous opinions when I search the web. I want to use this comparison for better clarification. As with cars. I know the Ferrari is the best, But To Expensive for a regular (none rich) guy like me. A Kia is cheap but (Junk) that will fall apart very soon. I like the Toyota, not cheap but I can get 300,000 miles out of it ,If I take good care of it.
I want to Know with the Diving Gear--The brands and Models comparative to the Toyota. Not to expensive, But I will definitely get good value and long usage for my money,If i take proper care of it.

ferrari's also have a tendency to burst into flames. newer kia's have also come a long way in the last 10 years, they have caught up to the japanese for the large part. chrysler/fiat is the brand to avoid if you want a car that isn't made of cheap plastic and doesn't fall apart as soon as the warranty expires.

used scubapro regs (mk5 to mk20 and 109 to g250) are the closest thing to a mid 90s camry though. parts pretty easy to come by if not particularly cheap, reasonably easy and cheap to service if you do your own wrenching. the taiwanese regs are closest to a new hyundai/kia. competitively good quality at a value price.

 

[Remy B.]

Ferrari is not the best is just a brand name and the cars are not exactly reliable, it is more puf and bling bling ( Atomic )

Toyota is Toyota so far it is a real japanese, does what it advertises ( Apex, Agualung, ScubaPro )

Kia is not necessarily bad it just doesn't' have the brand name. ( Mares, Cressi )

I will go for a proven regulator that is intermediate priced that does the job, go Apex

 

[dmaziuk]

I need advice, What is the top scuba gear for the money is the question? I find numerous opinions when I search the web. I want to use this comparison for better clarification. As with cars. I know the Ferrari is the best, But To Expensive for a regular (none rich) guy like me. A Kia is cheap but (Junk) that will fall apart very soon. I like the Toyota, not cheap but I can get 300,000 miles out of it ,If I take good care of it.

Ferrari: "you merely have the privilege of paying its bills".
Kia: does everything you need and nothing you don't, very little resale value.
Toyota: everything you need, more of what you don't, has resale value -- if you're selling and if you find a buyer.

 

[BoltSnap]

Atomic = Rolls-Royce
Scubapro = Mercedes
Apeks = Audi
Aqua Lung = Volkswagen

Mares = Fiat

Cressi = ToyoAuto (Chinese Toyota knockoff)

The above is a general classification. There are other companies that are very specialized in one or two product categories and will have the "best of breed" in their specialty, e.g., Shearwater and Ratio in dive computers, DUI in drysuits, etc.