Having been to plenty of boat and dive shows in SoCal over the years I can tell you that the boat shows are much more fun in CA. Exhibitors are much more polite rather than a pita if you want to look at the boats. In that respect the BOOT was a huge disappointment! What a bunch of tossers, if I had paid the 20 for admission/parking per day to see boats there would have been a riot.
The dive show was great as they can and did sell (LBSS is much more restrictive with that), and have good prices. rh, the french company that sells brands like Ocean Technology Systems, Kirby-Morgan, Force Fin, as well as all kinds of other FFMs, lights etc was sold out on many products mid show and did an overnight run to France to load up the van again.
Lots of people buying big rolling gear bags and filling them up at the show.
Very cool was Olympus attending the show with two displays, one at the big PADI booth. All UW housings and cameras on display, the only camera manufacturer I saw. Plenty of housing manufacturers, too, with a broad range of products and materials (carbon fiber composite, very light weight for travelling and rock solid).
But for boat shows I take the West Coast any day, hands down.
Seattle, Bay Area or Newport Beach, and all in nicer locations than Düsseldorf.
