What Gear Not To Buy
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Pao
Contributor
Ill fitting masks. I went through about 5 models before I got the right one.
Strap-on thigh pocket. The glue-on ones are much better.
The Halcyon "cinch" straps - multiple setups are much better - but more expensive.
The UTD Z-trim sidemount wing - granted it was the only game in town back then.
1 mm wetsuit/lycra full body suit - sooner or later you will need a thicker one (age-related)
Good thing there is E-bay (and local equivalents) ;-)
Strap-on thigh pocket. The glue-on ones are much better.
The Halcyon "cinch" straps - multiple setups are much better - but more expensive.
The UTD Z-trim sidemount wing - granted it was the only game in town back then.
1 mm wetsuit/lycra full body suit - sooner or later you will need a thicker one (age-related)
Good thing there is E-bay (and local equivalents) ;-)
Brit divers seem to love smaller reels with a rachet for launching an SMB. I bought a test-winner. I quickly learned to use a spool with an SMB and used the reel maybe once. I finally gave the reel away because no one would buy it. A spool is just so much handier (for instance, because it goes inside a pocket, and unlike the plastic rachet reel, it does not break).
Have also heard exactly the same story from oseveral friends :-D so Finland is apparently a good place to get very slightly used rachet reels for free.
Medium-sized Raptor knife almost never used, mostly because the plastic sheath soon broke and the knife doesn't fit smaller sheaths.
The netting to covering my single tank gets snagged on things in transport & occasionally gets filthy with weeds. Never would have bought it but the tank came like that.
The plastic handle I bought for my single tank never stays on for very long, therefore somewhat pointless.
Have also heard exactly the same story from oseveral friends :-D so Finland is apparently a good place to get very slightly used rachet reels for free.
Medium-sized Raptor knife almost never used, mostly because the plastic sheath soon broke and the knife doesn't fit smaller sheaths.
The netting to covering my single tank gets snagged on things in transport & occasionally gets filthy with weeds. Never would have bought it but the tank came like that.
The plastic handle I bought for my single tank never stays on for very long, therefore somewhat pointless.
Laugh if you like, but 7" or so knife is a fast and effective way to catch fish, esp. flounder.
Admittedly I carry have to use a folding lockblade knife on an occasion like that because I'm too clumsy to get a knife back into a leg sheath w/o stabbing myself or my drysuit :-D
Admittedly I carry have to use a folding lockblade knife on an occasion like that because I'm too clumsy to get a knife back into a leg sheath w/o stabbing myself or my drysuit :-D
DDI
Registered
Mares Puck Pro single button computer instead of spending the bit extra for the D4 I dive now.
Jacket BCD that was cheap so I bought it for a back up.
First regs I bought yoke instead of din..
Jacket BCD that was cheap so I bought it for a back up.
First regs I bought yoke instead of din..
drrich2
Contributor
Stainless steel dive knives for me. Because they rust if not take care of to clean & dry after the dive, and I'm not that fiddly with my gear (e.g.: on a Bonaire trip, 4 - 5 dives/day, dunk gear in rinse tank after last dive, knife doesn't come out of sheath, or on a live-aboard trip...main gear not rinsed till end of trip, stays on tank).
I went with a Spyderco Salt 1 knife (made out of H1 steel, doesn't rust), but a titanium knife would've done, too (I tried a cheap Black Friday special titanium coated knife; that rusted. You want titanium, get titanium).
I made an exception for a Trilobyte, which is so small & low-profile I love it. I recently saw a very similar product with a ceramic blade (I take it that wouldn't rust) mentioned on Scuba Board, that I might look for sometime. Trilobytes are cheap & you can change out the blades with new ones if so inclined.
1st BCD I bought only had 1 tank strap; never again! I get a more secure hold with 2.
1st Pair of 'booties' was thin soled & didn't cut it on the iron shore of Bonaire, walking geared up; went to Sea Soft Sunrays, which are a bit more like wearing a sneaker, and now see little advantage to thin-soled boots.
Richard.
I went with a Spyderco Salt 1 knife (made out of H1 steel, doesn't rust), but a titanium knife would've done, too (I tried a cheap Black Friday special titanium coated knife; that rusted. You want titanium, get titanium).
I made an exception for a Trilobyte, which is so small & low-profile I love it. I recently saw a very similar product with a ceramic blade (I take it that wouldn't rust) mentioned on Scuba Board, that I might look for sometime. Trilobytes are cheap & you can change out the blades with new ones if so inclined.
1st BCD I bought only had 1 tank strap; never again! I get a more secure hold with 2.
1st Pair of 'booties' was thin soled & didn't cut it on the iron shore of Bonaire, walking geared up; went to Sea Soft Sunrays, which are a bit more like wearing a sneaker, and now see little advantage to thin-soled boots.
Richard.
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This is interesting. I like handles on my tanks because it makes it easier to schlep them, and netting because it protects against scratches, and also provides a little extra friction in case I'm not diligent enough when I close the tank band buckle.
You try that with your shears, and in the meantime I'll catch a couple using my apparently ridiculous BFK. Then let's see who has the ingredients for a nice seafood supper in the evening.
Your POV is obviously colored by some idea that your way is the only way, and an inability to realize that conditions and practices are different around the world. IME it's impossible to have an intelligent discussion with a person who thinks that way, so I'll let you snicker all you want if that makes you happy.
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