What with ScubaPro?

[Coalcracker]

1. Are SCUBAPRO products superior in engineering than the competition today? Or, am I driving all the way to the nearest dealer to buy over the counter (the stone age way) paying extra bucks so that I showoff the the brandname everyone associates with "starting it all!"

They did not start it all. US Divers, Cressi, Healthways, and others were here before ScubaPro emerged out of the Healthway brand.

Scubapro teamed up with NASDS and "fixed" prices so that every dive store had the same price and the same sales line. In many towns, large enough to support more than one store, there was the US Divers dealer, and then the ScubaPro dealer, each, usually, dissing the other. US Divers allowed mail order sales, the old New England Divers, "Honest Archie", Richards Aqua-Lung Center in NYC, etc. ScubaPro only sold through the "pro" store. Interesting now to see both Aqua-Lung and ScubaPro resisting the ever growing e-commerce side of business. Oceanic, Dive-Rite, Zeagle,
Sherwood, Mares, and others have emerged with quality products and a sane approach to todays market. Since I am in NYC working at least once every quarter, LP is now my LDS.

 

[vladimir]

Scubapro Dive Equipment from Simply Scuba

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I partially agree with DA Aquamaster that there are various market pressures involved in this business. As a consumer however, I am only concerned with only ONE thing:

1. Are SCUBAPRO products superior in engineering than the competition today? Or, am I driving all the way to the nearest dealer to buy over the counter (the stone age way) paying extra bucks so that I showoff the the brandname everyone associates with "starting it all!"

The fact that these people were pioneers of dive gear is little importance to me and many other divers today. If you want to buy a plane you would go to Boeing or Northrop and Grumman instead of Wright Brother bicycle shop that "started it all!!!"

As a company if their strategy was working for them we would see more and more divers on dive boats with scubapro gear. I dont see that! Are these guys a sinking ship with a glorious past?

My thoughts are that both Scubapro and Aqualung have extensive dealer networks and have a long history of providing parts and service support for long outdated products. Scubapro goes one step farther in making amny of their new developments retrofittable into older products through upgrade kits. So in short, you can still use a 20-30 year old Scubapro regulator and get first rate performance on par with any current offering where a reg by most other companies would either be outdated or obsolete through the non-availability of parts.

So if you gave me a choice between a Scubapro or, for example, a Mares reg of identical performance, I'd buy the SP reg every time and even pay more for it as I know I will still be able to get it serviced and even upgraded in 5, 10 or 20 years - long after the Mares reg will probably be good for little more than a paperweight.

Neither Scubapro or Aqualung are big on internet sales, but they are big on service and product support and that still counts for something with many divers - particularly those who plan on staying with the sport for a significant period of time. I have very few Scubapro or US Divers/Aqualung products that are not still useable, and after 20 plus years of diving I cannot say that about any other company I have purchased equipment from.

 

[SeaHound]

Very informative! Thanks.