Clone gears from China

[h90]

a while ago there was a thread about cheap chinese gears.
someone posted a link to a company-search engine and when I searched there I found BCDs and regulators. Which looked the same as some brands but without logo. I thought either the copy them, or what is very common. some company produce in China and sell also cheap for the chinese market or they sell B Quality without logo.
I wanted to discuss that with a friend but couldn't find anything on the internet and lost the link.
Someone here know what I mean and where to search?

 

[David Wilson]

There were a couple of "Made in China" threads last year:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/193171-made-china.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/zeagle/189471-made-china.html

One online trade directory with extensive coverage of Far East manufacturing is Alibaba:

Alibaba Manufacturer Directory - Suppliers, Manufacturers, Exporters & Importers

Hope this helps.

 

[h90]

thanks thats what I was looking before. That are just threads: that evil communists in china making our bcds......
I remember eiter alibaba or globalsources but I can't find anything. Maybe it was just one company and it was shut down...
Anyway thx for your help.

 

[Rickg]

h90,

Their are several companies in the "other" China that have been the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for major scuba brands. One of them is Aquatec that has been in business ~20 and has now started marketing their own brand also. I have one of their BCs and am quite pleased with and the price was great. Here is a link to the US website.

Aquatec: Scuba Diving Equipment

Here is their website in Taiwan.

Aquatec Home

Here is a review of one of their BCs by DiverNet magazine in Great Britain.

Divernet | BC AQUATEC/CAMARO ATLAS

I'm not a great fan of China but outsourcing of scuba equipment to OEMs (whether China, Taiwan, Mexico, etc) has been going on for a long time.

Rickg

 

[h90]

I am not a great fan for that outsourcing as well, but don't want to start a political discussion here. On the other hand, why pay the double price just for someone stamp their logo on the same regulator/bcd.....
that seems to be a simillar one: TOPSCORE SNORKEL AND SCUBA

 

[Gombessa]

On the other hand, why pay the double price just for someone stamp their logo on the same regulator/bcd.....

I'm sure this has been covered in previous threads, but I would personally consider paying more "for a logo" to get the benefits of:

1. Warranty
2. Accessibility of customer service
3. Quality control (either cosmetic or functional issues, what's done with "bad batches", etc.)
4. Concern over whether the manufacturer is in reality an OEM or merely a lower-quality, look-alike clone maker, whether the OEM is actually manufacturing their house-brand to the same standards, with the same materials, etc.

If the price savings is worth more than these such factors, go for the no-name. If not, you may be paying extra for more than just peace of mind.

 

[h90]

Gombessa: good points. Luckily I have everything I need at the moment, so luckily no decision to make for me at the moment.

 

[WD8CDH]

I am not a great fan for that outsourcing as well, but don't want to start a political discussion here. On the other hand, why pay the double price just for someone stamp their logo on the same regulator/bcd.....
that seems to be a simillar one: TOPSCORE SNORKEL AND SCUBA

Personally, I think they should charge LESS with a logo. Why should I pay to do their advertizing.