Doing it Right

[BVickery]

To say one company is clearly heads and shoulders above the rest because 'its made in the USA" is kind of a broad statement. I have read multiple threads about Halcyon stuff crapping the bed pretty much right out of the packaging like your kitchen stuff. ALL mfg's make lemons, and Halcyon is no exception. Am I going to buy Halcyon stuff? probably not because I just see a ton of gear that is as good, and sometimes better, than their stuff and don't feel like paying the "H" markup, much like I will never really own an apple computer for same reason.

Also, when was Halcyon incorporated as a business? Just curious because you are claiming they are the only company that made stuff for the tech market, and last I checked Dive Rite has been in business since 1986.

 

[Cave Diver]

...all made in china instead of the US, for cheap labor and retail cheaper than possible by American brands like we had in the 70's.

When someone tells me they can get an Oxycheck wing for much less than a Halcyon wing, it makes me sad to think how short sighted divers are becoming

Isn't Oxycheq made in the US? I understand where you're going, but I don't think it's an apt comparison.

 

[BVickery]

Isn't Oxycheq made in the US? I understand where you're going, but I don't think it's an apt comparison.

I can get a DSS wing for a lot less, and made in the US as well. Hell, I can get a full BP/w from DSS with a BP that is made for someone my size (6'7) instead of relying on an attempt to have 1 size fit all.

SP/Apeks have a history of making very reliable products, and as far as I know they are not made in the US either.

I do want to be clear, there is nothing wrong with being proud of your gear, but to say its the best period, that is very much stretching it.

 

[Blackwood]

Also, when was Halcyon incorporated as a business? Just curious because you are claiming they are the only company that made stuff for the tech market, and last I checked Dive Rite has been in business since 1986.

Halcyon formed because nobody at the time was making the gear these guys needed without DIY modifications. "Tech" gear was available, but not the right gear for WKPP.

 

[BVickery]

Halcyon formed because nobody at the time was making the gear these guys needed without DIY modifications. "Tech" gear was available, but not the right gear for WKPP.

Thanks, I thought Tech gear was available before hand. But the way Dan was wording stuff Tech gear makers were non-existent prior to Halcyon, and that Halcyon is the only one to make new innovations for gear.

 

[danvolker]

Isn't Oxycheq made in the US? I understand where you're going, but I don't think it's an apt comparison.

I did not mean to indicate where Oxycheq was made....just that this class of gear is here because of Halcyon, not Oycheq or Diverite...

 

[danvolker]

Thanks, I thought Tech gear was available before hand. But the way Dan was wording stuff Tech gear makers were non-existent prior to Halcyon, and that Halcyon is the only one to make new innovations for gear.

In 95 or 96, if you want to dive doubles, you had the monstous poodle jackets, not the far more intelligent and far more functional bp/wing designs of Halcyon. It was not that no tech gear was for sale, it was that the kind of tech gear for sale by the big mfg's around 95, was being made without any real appreciation or understanding of what the gear needed to accomplish.

I don't think you guys are seeing how much of a game changer this whole thing was...
We went from the entire industry just changing colors and pocket sizes and doing nothing of any value, to a company that finally took the risk, did the work, and made what was needed.

Dive rite was asked to do the WKPP spec...they couldn't have cared less, did not want to make this kind of gear...it did not fit into their plans.....But after the first DEMA show Halcyon blew the doors off in, they realized how stupid they had been--and the proof is in all the copy cats today.

And what does this mean for today, and for a year from now or more? Halcyon "stays" plugged in to the exploration needs of top exploration divers all over the world, day in, day out. The People who run Halcyon "are" exploration divers, and they will always be looking for anything that could be a real improvement....Others will look for changes where they can make more for a computer that talks to you with an australian accent, or they will try to convince you via advertising, that you need the new yellow colored models because they make you look sharper.

 

[Rhone Man]

I have to say, for a thread which starts with bait like: "GUE is the best in the world", this discussion has been depressingly civilised.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

GUE is the best training agency in the world and everybody knows it. Offering a broad line of equipment, no other tec diving equipment manufacturer can claim superiority over Halcyon's tightly controlled USA manufacturing ouput. DeeSeaSupply produces some great equipment, but Halcyon is without question the leading innovator of equipment IMO.

Damn Scott, you fell into the kool-aid didnt ya

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Dive rite was asked to do the WKPP spec...they couldn't have cared less, did not want to make this kind of gear...it did not fit into their plans.....But after the first DEMA show Halcyon blew the doors off in, they realized how stupid they had been--and the proof is in all the copy cats today.

I believe Dive Rite's entry into the BP/W market was the TransPlate, right? That would've been 2002/2003 time frame. Prior to that they were only offering the TransPac.

And what does this mean for today, and for a year from now or more? Halcyon "stays" plugged in to the exploration needs of top exploration divers all over the world, day in, day out. The People who run Halcyon "are" exploration divers, and they will always be looking for anything that could be a real improvement....Others will look for changes where they can make more for a computer that talks to you with an australian accent, or they will try to convince you via advertising, that you need the new yellow colored models because they make you look sharper.

Hyperbole like that doesn't help you make your case ... as you pointed out, the world has changed a lot, even in the last few years. There's several innovative companies out there now offering serious alternatives to Halcyon equipment ... many at far lower prices. Much of that equipment is made here in the USA, and has already established a track record for quality and reliability. All this nonsense about talking computers is just taking us back to the bad old days ... projecting DIR as an elitist club that makes fun of everyone who's not them. You're better than that, Dan.

As for colors ... isn't the latest rage at Halcyon a pink wing?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)