Opinions on Sherwood equipment? Don’t see it mentioned much

[JamesBon92007]

I bought my Sherwood Magnum in about 1985 and still use it. The first stage is sealed with positive pressure and therefore is like new inside. It is very easy to unscrew the second stage and remove any debris and lube it. I have two other Sherwood Magnums, one of which gets regular use. The other one has a problem with the piston due to someone over-lubricating it at some point. This is why I service my own gear now. I find them easy to service but parts are sometimes not available.

I have other Sherwood items and they have all held up nicely. I am still using my gauge console that I also bought around 1985.

 

[Scott]

Sherwood will not break the bank and will last as long as you want to own them.

Nothing wrong with the Sherwood line of regulators, IMO. Back in the 80's and 90's our rental fleet was all Sherwood regulators. Those were built to last and performed well. They may have made some minor adjustments to the line over they years until the SR1 came out 2007 or so. The SR1 was a pretty good reg but had issues that were resolved with the SR2.

As for BC's they are pretty basic, not real familiar with their BC line to be honest.

Their Wisdom computer is actually a good computer. One of the early selling points, prior to a lot of color display units hitting the market, was it had large numbers so it was easy to read. The other selling point was it came with a standard compass. Now it would be a great price point.

 

[mdb]

Sherwood will not break the bank and will last as long as you want to own them.

Nothing wrong with the Sherwood line of regulators, IMO. Back in the 80's and 90's our rental fleet was all Sherwood regulators. Those were built to last and performed well. They may have made some minor adjustments to the line over they years until the SR1 came out 2007 or so. The SR1 was a pretty good reg but had issues that were resolved with the SR2.

As for BC's they are pretty basic, not real familiar with their BC line to be honest.

Their Wisdom computer is actually a good computer. One of the early selling points, prior to a lot of color display units hitting the market, was it had large numbers so it was easy to read. The other selling point was it came with a standard compass. Now it would be a great price point.

Nothing wrong at all with the Sherwood brand-except they are caught in the middle.

They manufacture only their regulators.

Computers, fins etc. are all outsourced from OEM manufacturers-Pelagic, Mares, etc.

In a market that has been in decline for almost a decade many remaining SCUBA retailers
are reducing the number of lines they carry.

Sherwood is getting squeezed in this market.

 

[LMac8806]

Nothing wrong at all with the Sherwood brand-except they are caught in the middle.

They manufacture only their regulators.

Computers, BC's, fins etc. are all outsourced from primary manufacturers.

In a market that has been in decline for almost a decade many remaining SCUBA retailers
are reducing the number of lines they carry.

Sherwood is getting squeezed in this market.

Would this concern you? Fortunately, my closest dive shop is a dealer (basically all they carry is Sherwood other than some ancillary products), and there are an additional 6 dealers within 1-1.5 hours.

 

[mdb]

Would this concern you? Fortunately, my closest dive shop is a dealer (basically all they carry is Sherwood other than some ancillary products), and there are an additional 6 dealers within 1-1.5 hours.

If your local LDS stores. are full stocking Sherwood Dealers. that is a very good reason to buy at your local Sherwood Dealer.

 

[Dogbowl]

This is an interesting thread. Come to think of it, while I saw this brand being carried maybe a decade ago, I no longer see it in any of my LDS's anymore. I thought they went out of business, but I guess I was wrong.

 

[LMac8806]

Nothing wrong at all with the Sherwood brand-except they are caught in the middle.

They manufacture only their regulators.

Computers, fins etc. are all outsourced from OEM manufacturers-Pelagic, Mares, etc.

In a market that has been in decline for almost a decade many remaining SCUBA retailers
are reducing the number of lines they carry.

Sherwood is getting squeezed in this market.

Wondering who makes their BCD’s? Apparently they share a computer manufacturer with other known brands?

 

[scubadada]

The Axis looks like a perfectly acceptable back inflate BC

 

[Rhone Man]

I have always been a big Sherwood fan. My oldest Sherwood regulator is still trucking after 30+ years. I like 'em, my dive shop services 'em, so it is a no-brainer. I do try to buy new ones on Leisurepro when they go on special to keep the price down as the price point is not perfect relative to other products.

Their dive computers are pretty liberal though. I carry a separate Sunnto just in case (they are not liberal).

 

[Sevenrider860]

The Axis looks like a perfectly acceptable back inflate BC

I just evaluated the AXIS for a week in Bonaire. When Aqualung discontinued the Balance we moved to the Dimension. The Dimension has very few fans in my shop. The AXIS is similar in design to the Balance. Below is some quick feedback from my evaluation. The price point on the AXIS is also excellent.

Things I liked:
• The AXIS BC is a stable back-inflate design which matches our preference in training and rental BCDs..
• The angled rear-mounted trim pockets are placed higher on the BCD than the integrated weight pockets allowing horizontal diver trim to be easily adjusted.
• The single tank band is made of stiff nylon webbing. When used with same sized cylinders, there should be no need to continually tighten the strap in the cam buckle like we do with the Dimensions.
• The CQR3 Integrated Weight System allows quick and easy removal of the weight pockets. It is also very easy to re-insert and secure the weight pockets.
• The adjustable sternum strap can be completely removed from the BCD if there is no desire to use it.
• Nice accessory connectors. I really like the connector on the right pocket. I can clip on a slate or use a large assortment of optional Akona clips (octopus, stainless steel carabineer, lanyard, split ring, webbing, or spring-loaded gauge clip) depending on the needs of the dive.
• There are internal locations for retractors that are included with the AKONA BCD Pro-Kit. I really like the small retractor on the right shoulder for keeping my flashlight secure. The larger retractor hidden in the left pocket does a great job at keeping a gauge console or computer streamlined. The flashlight and knife in the kit are junk.

Things I did not like:
• The shoulders of the BCD are stiff. They caused excessive wear of my rash guards and at the end of a week of diving on Bonaire, the top of my shoulder was a bit tender.
• Very small pockets. Once the retractor from the AKONA BCD Pro-Kit is placed in the left pocket, it has little room for anything else.
• The integrated weight pockets do not stay in place and tend to shift forward or back depending on my position in the water.
• I found it a challenge to fully purge all the air from the BCD. The lower-right rear and right shoulder pull-dumps were not effective in purging all the air near the end of the dive. I often had to stop and position myself fully vertical while extending the inflator hose to ensure all the air was released.
• The length of the included low-pressure inflator hose is stupidly long. The inflator hose included with the Gemini was also way too long. Looking at the Scubalab TV video that the Sherwood website has linked to illustrates how long these hoses are.
• While not a huge issue, the knife mounting location is not ideal in my opinion. I would prefer to see standard knife mounting grommets in the left pocket.