oms goes dir

[O-ring]

Meanwhile, I am amazed that only one other member in this thread picked up on the conflict of interest issue from the president of GUE owning Halcyon. Money is a powerful incentive.

...and you are right, it benefits JJ et. al. to push Halcyon gear. That is definitely questionable...

Also questionable is the fact that OMS had a page up explaining how the barrel style/rotating crossbar manifolds were junk and now they are making one to sell as DIR. You are right...money is a powerful incentive.

 

[Scubaroo]

As long as GUE can remain "manufacturer-impartial" (although the current DIRF book advocates Halcyon wings exclusively), OMS producing DIR gear can be a good thing - they join other manufacturers such as Dive Rite, GUTS, Canadian Extreme, DJS Technical (although Halcyon are trying to crush that one), and people like FredT as alternate producers of DIR equipment.

Halcyon have already introduced their "Fair Trade Pricing" policy, which is effectively preventing dealers from competing for business as they are all forced to charge the same price - some competition may shake this up, especially if OMS starts producing goods of equal quality to Halcyon - then they just have the market image to hurdle.

Now if only ScubaPro and Apeks would start shipping regs with 7' hoses as an option, and rename their octopus second stages to backup regulators !

 

[detroit diver]

leadweight once bubbled...
.......
Meanwhile, I am amazed that only one other member in this thread picked up on the conflict of interest issue from the president of GUE owning Halcyon. Money is a powerful incentive.

Is it really a conflict of interest? Think about this. You develop an organization that requires top notch equipment that you can't find anywhere else. Nobody wants to make it to your specs, because of the limited marketing potential, or the cost of production (I understand he got turned down by everyone he spoke to). What are your choices? You can dump your principals and suggest that your students use anything that's available, or you can put your neck out and produce the finest dive gear that there is, and promote it. If you look at the manuals, the only piece (I believe) that they push is the wing-and that's because the quality is so far superior to anything out there that there is no comparison. They (GUE ihstructors) could care less what brand of BP, harness, or cannister light you use-as long as it fits into their protocol (ie no BWOD).

JJ has been very careful in not making their instructors sound like a bunch of hardware marketing people. They would lose credibility if that were to happen. It so happens that many of us use their products because we believe that it really is the best quality.

Still a conflict? Maybe. How would you handle it differently putting yourself in his position?

 

[leadweight]

How would I deal with a conflict of interest that arises from running both GUE and Halcyon?

I would invent recreational DIR to greatly expand the potential sales base of Halcyon.

Think of it. Promoting technical diving gives the dive industry a shot at selling more gear to divers that have been outfitted for recreational diving. But, they are a limited group.

DIR directs that the diver will use gear that is, as much as possible, the same for all applications. Your cave students get to buy a Pioneer wing to dive singles. Next, think big, get everyone to dive DIR because there are 100 divers that will never cave certify for everyone that does. GI3 & Co. makes the DIR 3 video and recreational DIR is born.

 

[detroit diver]

Wouldn't it be easier to just create a high price line of jacket BC's and market them to the zillions of other divers?

Your logic defies sense. Why would anyone go thru all of the hassle and put up with the crap from the anti-DIR crowd to sell a few BP and wings and lights?

I think you've got the cart pulling the chicken.

 

[MikeFerrara]

The fact that a conflict of interest exists doesn't mean that anybody has done anything wrong but I believe it is a conflict of interest. I also believe that selling equipment and teaching diving is a conflict of interest.

If I owned a company that provided any services or equipment that were used by the corp I work for they would not do business with that company. If that company produced the kind of equipment that I specify, buy or design I certainly could not buy from my own company. Every corp ethics manual I have ever read states that if there apears to be a conflict of interest that I am in violation of the ethics policies. I can be terminated for allowing the appearance of a conflict of interest. Even if I started the company because what I wanted or needed wasn't available anywhere else the rules would stand. If the WKPP had such an ethics policy they would not be able to use Gavin scooters, Halcyon rebreathers or other equipment.

 

[Bob3]

Now if only ScubaPro and Apeks would start shipping regs with 7' hoses as an option...

I know of one manufacturer that ships w/o hose, pick your own length. They also have built in bungee attachment loops, (bungee included).
They even match Apeks in their "DIR requirements".

Guess who?

 

[leadweight]

detroit diver once bubbled...
Wouldn't it be easier to just create a high price line of jacket BC's and market them to the zillions of other divers?

Your logic defies sense. Why would anyone go thru all of the hassle and put up with the crap from the anti-DIR crowd to sell a few BP and wings and lights?

I think you've got the cart pulling the chicken.

Point 1: Everyone else has already marketed jackets to the zillions.

Point 2: Anti DIR hassle, for enough money someone would put up with it. Its more that a few pieces of gear. A company like Halcyon could have been started with less than $1 million and might be worth $30 million or more today. A single local car dealership brings over $20 mil these days, Halcyon is an international brand.

Point 3: My chicken rides in a BMW.

 

[ElectricZombie]

I don't really think that a conflict of interest exists with JJ and Halcyon. Right now, Halcyon is the only choice for extremely durable wings of the correct lift capacity. You don't really have a choice if you want top quality.

It will be interesting to see what OMS comes out with. If they fail to deliver a quality "DIR" product, they may do more harm than good to their reputation. It seems like they have done a complete 180 by coming out with "DIR" gear. Either way, competition is good and hopefully this will help lower Halcyon's prices a bit.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

"Right now, Halcyon is the only choice for extremely durable wings of the correct lift capacity. You don't really have a choice if you want top quality."

...I'm afraid that I don't share that opinion, and many other OMS users diving OMS.