How do you judge or form an opinion on gear you have not tried?

[bfw]

In the case of the fins in question: my impression…interesting idea, it unquestionably adds complexity. As a believer on the beauty of simplicity the next question is, can the complexity be justified? There are always a compromise.

And any engineer who's dealt with the tradeoffs, resource budgeting, and tension with marketing types involved in product design has to ask, if the complexity is not justified, what does that say about the considerations driving the corporate culture of the manufacturer.

Like many dive products, the fin is a solution in search of a problem, and adds complexity and failure points with no meaningful benefit. I don't want to trust my life to designs that came out of a company that thinks that's a good way to design gear.
They're likely to substitute gimmicks for good design and quality in other places, as well. After the HUB, I'm not too keen on anything from the minds at Mares, either.

 

[bfw]

I don't think you necessarily need to have used gear to have an opinion on it, but you probably need to have used it to have an authoritative opinion on it..

You say this, but go on in the next two paragraphs to demonstrate two counter-examples to your point. Most race car designers never get to take a lap. Many of the engineers at Lockheed don't have a pilot's license.

In fact, actual direct use of a piece of equipment is just as likely to cloud the issue with meaningless emotional impressions as it is to yield valid insights.

 

[ianr33]

If a lot of experienced divers rave about a new product then I will probably be interested in it.Good example is the Liquivision X-1.

If a manufacturer tries to sell something with extravagant claims the I will dismiss it as marketing. e.g. Flip Fins or Spare Air.

Basically I dont trust manufacturers or advertising.

 

[The Chairman]

Basically I dont trust manufacturers or advertising.

Which makes ScubaBoard so stinking valuable. Unfortunately, we have a lot of "wannabes" taking potshots at gear they have never tried. They are as bad as the manufacturers with no substantiations to their claims.

 

[seaducer]

everybody is inclined to have opinions, and they will follow suit fairly well with the first impression one has of a product.

Certainly some opinions are valid even without experience with a product, others not so much. It takes a discerning mind to sort the wheat from the chaff and decide what comments are usefull and what comments are just so much noise...

 

[Scubakevdm]

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their Omega Flip Fins. That way, when you criticize them, you're washed offshore but you have their Flip Fins.

Quite.

However, if your critcism was not misplaced, at that point... you're screwed.

 

[shoturtle]

In a recent thread about the Omega Amphibian Flip Fin, there were some people who expressed opinions on the fins without ever using them. This seems to be a common occurrence and I’m not sure how effective or credible these opinions may be.

OTOH, I find myself doing the same thing on gear I have not used. So, the questions is, can you have a credible opinion on gear without using it? I would say, It would depend on the gear and the basis of the opinion.

The answer is Yes and No.

On certain type of gear you can. If you have dived a Back Inflate BC and did not like it, you can deduced that you will not like a BP/W setup for similar reasons. But on specific gear, like one particular reg or computer, no you need to have used it to really know. So to rule out the flip fin without trying invalidate the credibility of the opinion.

 

[chadfordr6]

Humans can’t move at 60+ mph either, but we get very comfortable driving in cars and other machinery that allows us to survive that other limitation in us. As comfort level rises with the water environment and with the equipment we design to exist in it, you will realize that your concern is not that big of a deal. Having good respect for any danger (in the water or out) is healthy, but I always believe that the most dangerous part of diving is driving to the dive site (and I don’t get any adrenaline rush driving ...or diving for that matter).

Just remember to have fun when you are diving…

...and when your car breaks down you call AAA and deal with it. What's the solution when the "convenient on the beach" flip fins fail in a current? Scuba equipment is life support for a foreign environment, not a ride to the store.

 

[drbill]

Through visualizing it...

 

[BarryNL]

In a recent thread about the Omega Amphibian Flip Fin, there were some people who expressed opinions on the fins without ever using them. This seems to be a common occurrence and I’m not sure how effective or credible these opinions may be.

Well, these fins, for example, don't solve any real-world problem (they are a solution in search of a problem, as the saying goes). On the other hand, they do add some new and unnecessary potential failure points to your dive equipment. This is the case with a lot of new dive "innovations"; you really don't need to try this stuff to see that it's pointless.