This going to go down well.... I still remember the
huge success Apeks had with their
Status first stage add-on and how it conquered the market!
This looks to be way more complex than what Apeks did back then, with some electronics crammed into the dry chamber.
Combining a first stage diving regulator with electronics is easy. Making it take the abuse that the dive community throws at dive gear is neigh impossible.
Did anyone see how it gets charged? Submersible, rechargeable electronics with a physical port and not wireless charging are a major headache to reliable engineer. The port will always be a point of failure, be it fatigue or user error.
I'm already looking forward to when I want to show people the near total darkness during a night-dive and the cool fluorescence of the water, when a **** with this swims past...
The financial motive here is so blatantly obvious, I'm lost for words. The customer lock-in with this is just insane.
- Did your computer break? Well you certainly don't want to buy another brand, it won't communicate with your first stage!
- What, your first stage flooded? Well, we can replace the electronics for a mere 600$ and you certainly don't want another brand first stage, how would your computer communicate with that?!
- Add to insult that even the second stage is now electronically connected, what sheer madness.
Instead of creating a sustainable product and "
Ensuring accessible oceans for future generations of divers", they have created something that the sport doesn't need and further taxes the environment by needlessly inserting electronics into a device perfectly capable functioning without it.
[...]This will allow more people to explore and fall in love with this fascinating environment, inspiring a deeper commitment to its protection[...]
People use regulators 50 years and older without any trouble. It can be a product that once bought lasts you a life-time. This is near the ideal that our society can achieve when trying to use less of the resources at our disposal. What are the odds that this regulator will endure anything close to that? I'm in no doubt that this will end up in a lot of trash-bags in a few years down the line. And with a few years I'm probably being way too generous already.
This will get bought by people thinking it will help to improve their breathing rate. I'm highly suspicious as to any seasoned diver would even consider this. This looks more like a thing a new diver will buy to compensate for experience. And these newcomers bought into an Eco-system that is a sheer insult.
I'm utterly disgusted by what they have engineered and by the disingenuous wording used throughout the announcement. I have kept my mouth largely shut over their financial troubles, as every company, good or bad, can fall into such a trap. But this has certainly changed my opinion.
