What did you buy that you regret?

[DiveMaven]

Two things so far:

My jacket style BC (Diva), that has since been replaced with my Zeagle Zena. Only good thing about the Diva was that I e-bayed it for the same price I bought it for, so I got to use it free for a year.

The Dacor octo. Thought it was cool when I bought it, but never bothered to think about how it would breathe at depth. Yuck, might as well be sucking air through a straw for all it was worth. Since replaced it with a Zeagle Envoy octo.

Yeah, I'm a Zeagle girl!

 

[rainmaker]

Reef Master DC310 camera along with numerous accessories. I was all ready to love this set-up, but it has been nothing but problems from day one. I'm all done with Reef Master products!

 

[Web Monkey]

Not exactly a regret, but maybe a sub-optimal choice.

I like my 50W Dive-Rite MLS Halogen light much better than my 10W HID light.

It's brighter, more reliable and the bulb is $3 instead of $100. There are no electronics to fail and it's much less delicate.

It's heavier on the surface, but only -2 Lbs in water, so I don't really care that it's got a big heavy battery in the cannister.

Terry

 

[halocline]

I've been pretty lucky (and frugal!) and have not bought a lot of stuff that I regret. One thing to consider about this thread is that hindsight really is 20/20 and that part of the learning process in diving involves gaining experience with specific equipment, and usually the only way to get that is to buy it. I chalk up some purchases to the cost of further learning; for example I bought a console with an air computer that will likely never get used again, but I used it for my 1st 60 dives or so, and so I can hardly call it a waste of money. Or maybe I just don't want to admit I made a mistake!!!

One thing I would pass on to new divers is to not be timid about buying used gear. My 1st BC I bought from a friend, which saved me some $ and freed me up to get into a BP/W set up. It's almost impossible to know what style/set up of BC is best for yourself without a pretty good amount of experience; so, it's fairly likely that any initial BC purchase will get replaced. Buying that 1st one used can really make this process less painful. There's nothing wrong with getting into this hobby on the cheap, as long as you're sensible about getting things serviced and/or checked out. But, the common LDS chant of "buy this new expensive reg, 'cause your life is worth it" is pure BS and uses fear to manipulate new divers into buying gear they simply don't need.

 

[scubaren]

Changed to DIN but not really a waste as from what I hear many diving resorts rent only yoke. Will keep the yoke - hopefully will use it in Bonaire next spring! In the meantime I'm happy with my DIN on my weekend dives here in the Northeast.

Air 2 - love/hate. I really like not having that additional hose but don't like using the Air 2 on OOA drills. I'm thinking I will eventually go to an acto.

Happy with everything else so far!

JE

 

[diverkristi]

Underwater Kinetics titanium bad a $ $ dive knife. My divebuddies laughed their a $ $ es off every time I asked for help on where to mount it. Eventually I e-bayed it for 1/2 of what I paid. I NEVER dove with it.

You just can't tell how your interests will develop when you start. I LOVE my Diva BC, but I am also leaning toward tech, so i see a backplate in the future....

 

[Wayward Son]

I can't think of anything that I really 'regret' buying. I do think that in the long run I will replace my jacket BC. The question between then & now (and this isn't urgent, it's gonna be quite a while) will be do I buy a back inflate BC or a BP&W?

Odds are I'll go with a BP&W setup. But my BC does what it needs, and does it well enough that I expect to use it for a few years before I spend anything to replace it. So while it falls into the "might not have been the best choice" in the long run, it fit my budget at the time and has not proven to be a bad choice.

 

[Firebrand]

I've come to hate my snorkel!

 

[NSDiver]

I'm kinda new, so the only thing I regret buying so far is my Tusa mask with the clear skirt - I wish I had gone with a black skirt so I'd look that much more like a ninja diver.

 

[JacobK]

Since I am new also... the Ocean Master mask.

The purge valve sucks. I can clear my mask better doing it the old fashion way. And the strap sucks.

Oh.. I also hate the damn snorkel. Unless I know I am going to have to do a long surface swim, I do not use it.