Apeks Lifeline Ascend --- Worth the $$$?

[Sea_Jay]

Apeks now has a VERY expensive reel out on the market; we just got some in at the LDS I work for & I was shocked to see a sticker price of $329 for the 60m version.....

They are very nice looking reels. Wondering if anyone here on SB runs one, and what their thoughts are? I believe their closest competitor (both pricewise & considering line capacity) would be the Scubapro S-Tek Expedition 330 which has 30m more capacity and comes in almost $100 cheaper.

What do you make of it?

 

[happy-diver]

You goin to Mars with Elon mate

We dumped reels in preference of spools for DSMBs 25 years ago and what now people need a fancy reel

What a mess, and for almost the same price as a scuba tank

Go diving mate unencumbered by other peoples funny ideas

with a spool, a cheap spool, NOT an apeks spool, almost the same price as a small scuba tank, second hand

 

[admikar]

Short answer- no
Long answer- no!

 

[rhwestfall]

I was able to pick up one (actually 2) of the Apeks fairly cheap. I wouldn't pay retail for it (though I do have a Kent Tooling version too).

Great to run a hard float (though the $25 ratchet reel also works fine).

The used market is a great way to get cool stuff you should never buy....

 

[flymolo]

they spent all their money on R&D to make stuff like that and now they're goin broke

 

[Bloody Marvelous]

It's pricey, but it's incredibly well designed. That said, you can prep a cheap spool pretty much the same way for a lot less.

I'll be honest though, once you've tried one, you'll want one. You can spend your money on a lot of other things though, so prioritize what you should invest in. It's better to invest that amount of money in additional training than in a reel.

I have a couple of Apeks spools and an Apeks reel, but I live in Europe, and they're some amount cheaper over here.

 

[buddhasummer]

Apeks, a whole bunch of money for what you get. Their pricing is just silly.

 

[Bloody Marvelous]

Apeks, a whole bunch of money for what you get. Their pricing is just silly.

In the US, definitely. They're about 30% cheaper in Europe. Still expensive, but not THAT expensive.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Apeks, a whole bunch of money for what you get. Their pricing is just silly.

I thought you were an AL user Simon.

AL is taking the APEks brand and turning out a bunch pimpified versions and non-standard hardware and calling for mo' money.

Is AL still in business or did they finally go Twits Up?

Disclaimer - I do still like their v.1 XL4 seconds.