Opinions on the Sea elite value package from diver supply?

[darushin]

I don't doubt you had an issue.... but maybe it was the valve and not the regulator?

I used a Sea Elite reg 10 years ago or so. I never had one issue with it. I used it on both steel tanks and aluminum tanks. Never had any problems with it on either.... and on different type of yoke valves. (K valves and J valves).





I've found that..... Most of the time, the person who is saying that has never owned or used one of their regulators, or is a competing shop that doesn't like having to compete with lower priced "house brand" gear.


Most people who've had them that I know or have seen post here have been happy with them. Now you'll find someone that's had a problem. but you can say that for ANY brand of gear and find someone that is unhappy with ANY brand.

I am not sure as I personally haven't ever used their regs, so it could very well be more of the loudest voices about a product are the ones with a problem.

 

[debajo agua]

Hi there i am new to diving and just got my open water diver c card and was wondering if this would be a good package as i live in nebraska and will probably dive 25 to 50 times this season no deeper then 80ft. i was wondering about the scout reg or if i should up grade to the ranger and what the difference was in balanced and un balanced. i also wanted to know if sea elite supplies parts for rebuild if done as the manufacture specs. and witch is cheaper to service. thanks for any help. Shane

Hi, Welcome to the world of Scuba diving. Diver Supply carries HOG regulators at comparable prices to Sea Elite. Truth is, they're both very similar; however, I believe you you can service your own HOG reg. for around $15 . If I knew what I know now, I would have went with a HOG first (I went back and bought a HOG D1 for $110). HOG reg has a great reputation. I got about five shallow dives on it with no complaints.

If you do decided to go with a Sea Elite, there was a batch made where they had a clearance issue with the purge button (a little sand paper fixed it), so make sure you don't get one from that batch. Other than that, I've been happy with my balanced Sea Elite too.

 

[mike_s]

I am not sure as I personally haven't ever used their regs, so it could very well be more of the loudest voices about a product are the ones with a problem.

You clearly didn't read my post and are clearly making assumptions instead of searching for posts of where people have problems with it.

you even state that you've never used it.

To me... you are a perfect example of someone making statements about a product when you clearly haven't used it. (and even admit you haven't used it).


oh well..... thanks for proving my example.

 

[Merchant]

late to chime in , i use sea elite, never had any problems with em. but if you want a good cheap alt that is serviceable anywhere look at Hog regulators... very nice and you can send them to other dive shops for service or if your lucky your local shop will also sell and service them.

scuba toys sell them and many others.....

my regs,
scuba pro MK16 upgraded internals, DIN 300BAR this is my primary reg.
Sea Elite Ranger dr3 DIN x2 these are 1 my 2nd reg on a dual tank setup.
and 2 stage bottle reg's.

i will be getting 2 hog d2 cold water 1st stage's to replace the rangers for doubles setup so i can reconfigure for a hybrid single back tank and side mount setup for vacation travel. the mk16 and one of the rangers will be re tasked for this permanently. the 2nd stage regs on my sea elites are dive right copy's and i rebuild them my self using dive rite kits.

my sea elites do not breath as easy as the scuba pro mk16 but they breath and ive never had a problem with them. now im looking forward to comparing the hog's to my mk16 (diver supply has the hogs on sale right now btw.

 

[wrenchmonkey]

Bit late to the party, I know. But people saying that Hog is comparable in price have me scratching my head. A Hog set of regs is roughly TWICE the cost of the SE regs, everywhere I've seen them.

I bought SE regs with the intention of slowly upgrading them, because from what I could tell, even if selling them later for half the cost, if you do a dozen dives with them, owning your own stuff, over renting, will pay for itself. If you go on week-long dive trips, you're gonna be paying $100-$200 for RENTAL stuff, that may or may not have been vomited in, isn't going to be any better quality, and when you get home, you STILL don't own any regs.

Buy whatever you can afford, to initially own your own gear, and then upgrade as needed, and sell your used stuff to somebody else at a discount and let THEM save tons of money over rentals, until THEY can afford to upgrade. Circle of life.

I bought my SEs with the intention of upgrading, but honestly haven't felt the need. They breathe just as well as some other people's regs I've breathed off of, that cost 5-6 times what I paid for mine. The hogs definitely LOOK cooler, and I wouldn't mind picking some up, eventually, if I found a screaming deal on them.

The Hogs are nice, because they can be adjusted easily if your breathing feels heavy, but I've never felt that I would have benefited from adjusting them. The Sea Elites have the basic venturi adjustment, in case the start bubbling at the surface, but mine don't even do that, even with the switch left on.

There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with getting lower-cost gear. It beats the hell out of renting, pays for itself, and if you feel the NEED to upgrade later, there's nothing stopping you.

Honestly, the only thing that even SLIGHTLY motivates me to "upgrade" would be the attitudes I get from other people about my gear being 'cheap'. But in reality, I'm more motivated to NOT 'upgrade', because then when some asshat's 'high-end' gear fails, or sits there sputtering all over the surface while they hit it, rattle, shake, and smack it, and play with the venturi switch, and mine doesn't do any of that, I'll just give them a little wink and a nod, and gesture over to my "cheap" gear, and ask them if they want to know where to pick some up like mine.

 

[warrenhulk]

Define "quality package" and what makes you say the package the OP linked isn't "quality"? What gear are you quoting as a full package for $600? I'm pretty sure you don't sell a single SP package that costs that, though I do see a subgear package for $699 that also includes a computer. Is that the same package you're talking about (less the computer)?

Either way, that is still $200 more than the price of the package the OP linked, which includes the same type of equipment. Not everyone is made of money. Even more importantly, not everyone wants to spend more just because they can. $200 is 2 days of 2 tank dives on a boat. It's a whole lot more doing shore dives. Or it's the difference of buying the gear this month and eating groceries or waiting another month to buy the same functional equipment next month so you can eat groceries this month.

Several posters have pointed out that these regs work just fine as long as you recognize that you may have to service them yourself or send them back to divers supply. A vest BC is a vest BC for the most part, and regs really aren't that significantly different in design (assuming you're not comparing diaphragm versus piston). Modern regs from super cheap to crazy expensive all breathe reasonably well. They're all made of brass with chrome plating (except the titanium ones) and are likely to last just as long no matter what brand they are. Sure, some are better than others, that's part of why there are price differences. Tolerances really can't be so bad that these things "last only one dive" or are a complete waste of money, though, because if they were the company would be out of business because of lawsuits. Just because it's not a big-name brand doesn't mean it's crap.

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

This thread is from 2012...

 

[Islandheart]

Kinda interesting that this thread is like 8 years old, but I still use the Sea Elite, Edge and Hog brands routinely with students from Open Water through Instructor Candidates. I also now happen to be the Edge Hog Director of Professional development and have a few hundred OW instructors using and selling these brands.

The words, "Quality Package" has a greater meaning than most people realize. Quality of simple items used in BCD construction like velcro for instance varies greatly, dump/exhaust valves, the BCD denier level/quality and in regulators the precision level, finish, quality of O-rings, lubricants and overall quality of metals all fall into "Quality".

Now to the eat or buy equipment question, humm I'll take eating and paying my rent any day over a heavily featured dive computer or $900 BCD vs a $299 one. I'm not going to tell anyone to spend more than their pocketbook or wallet allows. How many times a year you dive or what you spend on gear is your affair.

Some folks drive Hondas, some 14 year old Chevy work vans and others MB or BMWs, and that's everyone's own business.
Are some Regulators better than others, well it depends on what you mean by better. Do you mean mechanically more complicated, and that may or may not be better.
Maybe it's brass vs Ti or a highly polished chromed finish vs PVD. Many tests by various "groups" let's call them, may say one thing or may limit testing to only the brands that advertise with them. Does that mean those are better?

Having your Instructor say something is better just because they use it or SELL IT, does that make it better or "Quality"?

Am I some Techie Dive God, No ! .....But in 50 years of diving, I do understand that "value" comes from an item's quality and the amount of money I invest in my gear.