Buying my first set of equipment - Scubapro Equator BCD

[BoltSnap]

do you still teach, provide fills, and rent equipment at Scuba Quest Dive Center Libya just like most warm water dive shops? congrats, you run a dive shop. warm water dive shops in tourist areas also don't sell much gear either, so it is a moot point whether you sell gear or not, you are still are a professional in the industry running a dive shop.

We only provide equipment, fills, and study material for our students during the courses they take with us. We aren't a dive shop and don't provide air fills for the public and don't rent equipment either. We don't sell ANY gear at all.

The question is here, what does this have to do with anything at all? I don't get your point.

i also find it hilarious that you claim to be a professor and disparage public education. clearly nobody should bother attending a public institution like UC Berkeley right?

What we are discussing and the issues with your ability to comprehend is WAY below university level, we are talking about primary - intermediate reading comprehension level, not even high school level. And yes, there are serious issues with public school education system in the US in most underprivileged areas. I am sure that this isn't a new revelation to you.

At any rate, what does all of this have to do with the OP please, I am lost in this discussion?

 

[BoltSnap]

I forgot, we also do research with the universities and some other government institutions related to diving including equipment testing and evaluations. We pay retail X3 for equipment and never received anything with a discount (except once I got a 10% discount on some personal equipment I bought from a friend who owned a dive shop in the US 5 years ago I think).

 

[runsongas]

I forgot, we also do research with the universities and some other government institutions related to diving including equipment testing and evaluations. We pay retail X3 for equipment and never received anything with a discount (except once I got a 10% discount on some personal equipment I bought from a friend who owned a dive shop in the US 5 years ago I think).

so you are paying close to 2000 dollars for a set of scubapro regulators? somehow, I find that hard to believe.

 

[The Laconic]

I would get this all day, every day, over that Equator.

DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package | Dive Gear Express®

The Equator is a "jacket style". Not a back inflate. I wouldn't buy that, period. Even if it was half the price of the DGX rig.

I was wondering how many replies before somebody said "get a backplate and wing for God's sake". The answer: six. (Of course I agree.)

 

[runsongas]

We only provide equipment, fills, and study material for our students during the courses they take with us. We aren't a dive shop and don't provide air fills for the public and don't rent equipment either. We don't sell ANY gear at all.

The question is here, what does this have to do with anything at all? I don't get your point.



What we are discussing and the issues with your ability to comprehend is WAY below university level, we are talking about primary - intermediate reading comprehension level, not even high school level. And yes, there are serious issues with public school education system in the US in most underprivileged areas. I am sure that this isn't a new revelation to you.

At any rate, what does all of this have to do with the OP please, I am lost in this discussion?

I perfectly understand that you claim to be an impartial independent instructor only recommending to go with gear from a high priced name brand because any cheaper option is not close in quality. I am just calling that to be a total load of BS.

 

[Bratface]

I agree with others about the Equator. As a dive master, you would be doing too much diving for it to last as long as other BC's. I also agree that the Glide is an excellent choice. I have owned Scubapro ever since I started diving 13 years ago. I make well over 100 dives each year and my gear has always been reliable. I have replaced the BC but still using my original regulator.

 

[BoltSnap]

so you are paying close to 2000 dollars for a set of scubapro regulators? somehow, I find that hard to believe.

You, again, missed what I said; due to the situation in Libya and the devaluation of its currency vs the USD, Euro, etc., we are now paying more than 3 times what we used to pay in LYD over a year ago. For example, over two years ago 1USD = LYD1.30, now 1USD = LYD5 (or close to it).

 

[BoltSnap]

I perfectly understand that you claim to be an impartial independent instructor only recommending to go with gear from a high priced name brand because any cheaper option is not close in quality. I am just calling that to be a total load of BS.

Yes, cheap options are just that, cheap and I wouldn't recommend cheap stuff to anyone!!
I don't get why you have a problem with that at all.

I believe that I am impartial dive educator with over 30 years of dive training experience and well over 40 years of diving (more than 4000 dives so far). I am a qualified equipment technician for several brands with over 30 years of equipment service experience.

I have worked, tested, serviced and used many brands and models of each brand and I make my buying and recommendations based on my collective experience in diving as well as an engineer with undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from top US universities.

And what is your problem with this as related to the OP please? Don't you think that you have hijacked the thread enough and derailed it from its intended purpose?

 

[runsongas]

cheap doesn't have to mean low quality, it just means they have lower markups in some cases. especially since so much scuba gear is made in asia and then just has a brand slapped on it, including Scubapro.

 

[BoltSnap]

cheap doesn't have to mean low quality, it just means they have lower markups in some cases. especially since so much scuba gear is made in asia and then just has a brand slapped on it, including Scubapro.

I make the following distinction: cheap vs. inexpensive.

It isn't also about just "price" but more about "value." SP or Atomic or AL give much more value due to their size, reputation, customer service, product quality, longevity and financial standing than some other fly by night operations in China or anywhere else in the world. It is the total package they represent.

BTW, I prefer to buy a Toyota that was made in China from Toyota (the real Toyota) than buying a ToyoAuto that was made in China from a Chinese company. (ToyoAuto is a Chinese brand that tries to confuse the customer by making their brand sound like Toyota).