Aquamundo?

[ThatsDeep]

Hi, this is my first thread started on scubaboard, nice to meet you all

I've recently (a month ago) acquired my OWD cert in Boracay, and 2 weeks after that got my AOWD in Anilao. Needless to say, I'm hooked on diving. In the interest of feeding my addiction and furthering my experience, I decided to get my own gear. Until now I have everything (including accessories) except one thing, a BC. I've researched all my purchases beforehand and as a result I'm quite happy with my choices so far. I have Mares reg, Aqualung fins and wetsuit, Scubapro mask, Oceanic octopus.

On my way back from Nautilus dive shop on Arnaiz St. in Makati to look at their OMS BP/W, I came across Aquamundo dive shop on Amorsolo St. I never heard of them! I went inside and was surprised to see it's not just a dive shop, it's a brand! All of it looks quite nice, and also very affordable too! They have a BP/W selling for 12800 with an aluminum BP or 14K for the stainless steel BP. This is way cheaper than the OMS combo I saw at Nautilus for 20K, which at the time I also found to be a reasonable price.

As far as I can tell, the two are quite similar, both are single webbing harnasses (Hogarthian-friendly ) but the only question remains: How good is Aquamundo?? As I said I've never heard of them, and searching through this site as well as google doesn't give me much in the way of reviews. It looks like quality gear to me, but I'm far from an expert. Does anyone have have any experience - first or second-hand - with any Aquamundo products? How does it compare to OMS? Good or bad, I'd like to hear anything! Not just about BCs, either

BTW, I posted this thread to PPD because Aquamundo is a Philippine brand and unlikely sold anywhere else (I could be wrong )

TIA!

 

[ThatsDeep]

I'm sorry, somehow in editing the post I posted this topic twice! :ermm:

Admins, could you please delete the other one?

 

[shugar]

aquamundo is a local brand - as you've already discovered...

they have most (all?) of their stuff manufactured outside and branded locally... so essentially you'll get a (let's say) italian-designed regulator w/o having to pay Mares prices...

something like that...

now: how reliable/ durable their BP/W is i cannot say (i didn't even know they had bp/w rigs already! i've got an EXD that's lasting me very very well)

but at 14k for an SS bp/w that's a steal! the plate should last you forever (unless aquamundo's rustproofing is that used for jeepneys)... so you can easily change the bladder after 5 years... sulit na yun

Jag

 

[shugar]

oh, btw, welcome to the ppd!

 

[ThatsDeep]

aquamundo is a local brand - as you've already discovered...

they have most (all?) of their stuff manufactured outside and branded locally... so essentially you'll get a (let's say) italian-designed regulator w/o having to pay Mares prices...

something like that...

now: how reliable/ durable their BP/W is i cannot say (i didn't even know they had bp/w rigs already! i've got an EXD that's lasting me very very well)

but at 14k for an SS bp/w that's a steal! the plate should last you forever (unless aquamundo's rustproofing is that used for jeepneys)... so you can easily change the bladder after 5 years... sulit na yun

Jag

Thanks shugar! I had an idea it was something like that....some of the reg second stages they have looked quite familiar actually

Actually the regular price of the wing with stainless steel BP was something like 30K, but they are having a 60% sale off EVERYTHING, except compressors and tanks. And the sale ends tomorrow na, so I have to decide quickly whether or not it's worth getting. But right now I'm leaning towards yes...

 

[Pao]

A backplate is a backplate. You might want to do a little research on the wing though. Things you should conssider are lift, streamlining, durability and of course the warranty and aftersales support.

Hope this helps,

Richard

 

[shugar]

go for gold!

check material n workmanship of the bladder

jag

 

[ThatsDeep]

Yeah my main concern is indeed the workmanship and puncture resistance of the bladder. OMS says grand things about the quality of the nylon they use, it's hard for me to tell just by touching it if the nylon of this Aquamundo wing is similar in strength.

Thanks for the advice so far. I'll be awaiting more replies but I'm pretty sure within 24 hours I'll be the proud owner of a new BP/W That is, unless someone has some horror story to tell...

 

[boljakool]

Aquamundo's products (most of them) are manufactured outside of PI. Their product research team is composed of dive pros & they make their products to the same strict specifications as any other brands. They can sell at low prices because they sell product as a direct seller, they don't need to pay for importation & add the necessary mark up prices for imported brands.

I suppose the best thing to do is make comparison with the other brands that you're interested in buying, also ask the guys from Aquamundo about product detail like where is made from & what materials they use. And of course, you can always decide based on your personal inspection of the product.

I'd be proud to see a Filipino brand getting a niche in the diving market someday.

 

[chip104]

I'm a gear nut so a complete rig for only ~13K brand new I'd jump on that. But if you want to do it right the first time and only buy one rig, then I'd probably skip on it and drop a bit more cash for a DSS, Oxycheq, or Halcyon rig (not familiar with any other top of the line brands that's popped up in the last 2 years) - assuming you are only doing tropical single tank diving.

But I've never seen what it looks like - is the profile identical to an OMS/EXD wing or more like an oxycheq or DSS wing? Is it bungieed? As Pao said - what's the lift (for tropical single tank diving you only need > 20lbs lift) and how streamlined is it (try notice if there will be a taco effect, and the placement of the corrugated hose and dump valve)?

Let's do a cost comparison to piecing it together:
* aluminum plate: ~3K
* harness: ~P800
* clips and rings, nuts and bolts: ~P800
* STA (optional for some wings): ~2K
* Oxycheq wing from scubatoys: $285 - 10% for being a SB member = $256.50 = ~P12K. It'll probably be a bit more in the PI (shipping and all...). Diverspoint is the oxycheq dealer in the PI that I'm familiar with.

Total brand new: ~P19,000.

A complete DSS rig is $460 = P21,390. I can't remember who the DSS dealer is in the PI.

I picked up my first rig for P12K, and it was a used EXD rig.

Hope that helps.