What did you buy that you regret?

[MaxBottomtime]

After one thousand postings and multiple people who have read the entire thread can someone please summarize the general "Feel" of what to buy and what not to buy?

I'll start.
1. Quite a few of us who have tried BP/W's think that initially purchasing a BCD Jacket was a bad idea.

2. Snorkels are generally a "waste of money" except to pass OW and to do the occaisonal surface swim in Bonaire (or some such locale) or where it is mandated.

3. Tank bangers. O-U-T

Add to this?

Retractors
Split fins
Regulator "keepers"
Air2 or other inline octo
Bungeed wings
Spare Air
Consoles
AI computer
Ankle weights
Large knife

 

[CaboJim]

Spare Air
Split fins

 

[Garth]

Retractors
Split fins
Regulator "keepers"
Air2 or other inline octo
Bungeed wings
Spare Air
Consoles
AI computer
Ankle weights
Large knife

Lucky me for avoiding all but bungee wing in which if configured well is perfectly fine.

I have no knives (I have two line cutters and shears).

 

[asha]

Asha,

Aluminum 10L make great stage/deco bottles!!

These were AL80s.

 

[hg frogman]

What dive gear did I buy that I regret ?
- SS backplate from some well-known brand. Actually it had no particular flaw, but it just kept breaking my back and that was not a matter of adjusting the harness. I sold it to a better man and bought a backplate from another well-known brand that I tried longer and that fitted me perfectly.

- Wing from some well-known brand. It was robust but not well thought out in my opinion. I ordered it without actually seeing it, apart from on the Net. After I saw it for real (but that was too late), I sold it almost immediately. Maybe I would have been more satisfied with a bungeed version . But I am very satisfied of some wings from another brand.

- All my wetsuits with a back zip opening : I found out (but later) that a front zip opening was much more convenient, while diving, for my pissing without getting smelly. Now, all my wetsuits have a front zip opening, and I have no worries anymore about hydrating myself before diving. So it's not only about convenience, but also a safety issue .

- An electronic depth gauge. Good quality though, but half as expensive than a decent dive computer, and nobody wanted to dive with me because my diving with gauge + dive tables was uselessly penalizing for most of our dives (that were often multilevel) when compared with the dive computers of my buddies. For the same reason it was not much useful as a backup (I dive with two dive computers if I want a backup).

- A diving mask with polycarbonate curved glasses. Most expensive piece of junk I ever bought (apart from one of my cars maybe), absolutely no way to prevent fog and vision was deformed.

What did I sell that I regret ?
- My Scubapro Air2. I sold it, maybe influenced by too much reading of Scubaboard posts. After some time, I bought another one for my tropical setup (I put it on my Scubapro Jacket BCD, see my profile for more details).

What did I sell that I didn't regret too much ?
- My Scubapro Mk20 and Mk17 with G250 and G250V. Excellent regulators (though I broke a G250) but I am more comfortable now with my all-metal Mares MR22 Abyss that are robust workhorses, great breathers, and have suppressed all dry mouth feelings (the metal Scubapro A700 second stage wasn't available at that time. I'll continue with the Abyss anyway).

What am I happy I didn't sell ?
- My two Uwatec Aladin Pro computers (wrist-mounted obviously ). No-nonsense, no-gimmicks deco dive computers, very easy to use and very reliable. I wish nowadays computers could keep the best of these golden oldies, but in my opinion that's not the case. I don't mind being a grumpy old perfectionnist.

 

[SilverNU]

Apollo Bio Filter.

In theory it is genious. In real life not so much. Really doesnt seem to prevent dry mouth.

Does anyone else have this problem ??

How about after dive headaches?

Increased energy ... as Apollo states ??

 

[CT Sean]

2. Snorkels are generally a "waste of money" except to pass OW and to do the occaisonal surface swim in Bonaire (or some such locale) or where it is mandated.

I actually find them quite useful as I like to snorkel but otherwise agree - for strictly diving they serve no purpose. Mine never comes out of the dive bag if I'm diving (sometimes it doesn't even go into it).

 

[nwdiver2]

My EX girlfriends set of gear, should never have bought it she went to the Carib and never came back ;(

 

[DMDavid]

I regret having purchased pink dive gear for my future ex-wife, she left it all to me.

I regret having sold my two Dacor Seasprint DPV's.

 

[vladimir]

I actually find them quite useful as I like to snorkel but otherwise agree - for strictly diving they serve no purpose. Mine never comes out of the dive bag if I'm diving (sometimes it doesn't even go into it).

The best half-hour I have ever spent in the water was a snorkel on the fringe of a baitball. But I didn't have a snorkel, so I had to surface every minute or so to breathe. I really missed my snorkel, and I never board a boat without it since.