Equipment purchase is inevitable!!!!!

[CincyDave]

:icosm12: GREAT INFORMATION EVERYONE!!!

Pleae keep it coming. I think now I'm leaning toward an online purchase of a "Brigade or Ranger" a Atmos B2, Aries AI and a Dacor Viper! What do you all think about this? Again all info is great!

I hear alot of folks telling me to wait and proceed slowly; however, I have the bug. (LOL) A comprimise would be to wait untill myself and wife actually pass the check out dives and then purchase to set ups. Good idea perhaps.

My main questions are about the Aries AI - I hear customer service with Aries is not so great. Both my LDS have told me this and 1 of them sells it. The smart com I hear is not so great. I've tried it and think the digits are too small. Also, Does the Sherwood Wisdom have the same customer service as the Aries?

Does anyone have the Zip dump pockets for the Zeagle? Not sure I like the rip cord design.

I'm not really sure about the octo either. I was going with the Atomic SS1 integrated (mainly because it looks cool) -- Stuipid reason I know. However, it seems the preferance is the standard octo and a clip. I'm not sure I want anything that chances are I'll never use integrated with my inflator hose which I will use all the time. Thoughts on this please.

Let me end with that fact that my mind is on melt down with all this equipment stuff. I dont think I can increase my research efforts more than I'm doing. So any information you all provide the better, again many thanks!!

 

[scubatoys]

:icosm12: GREAT INFORMATION EVERYONE!!!

Pleae keep it coming. I think now I'm leaning toward an online purchase of a "Brigade or Ranger" a Atmos B2, Aries AI and a Dacor Viper! What do you all think about this? Again all info is great!

I hear alot of folks telling me to wait and proceed slowly; however, I have the bug. (LOL) A comprimise would be to wait untill myself and wife actually pass the check out dives and then purchase to set ups. Good idea perhaps.

My main questions are about the Aries AI - I hear customer service with Aries is not so great. Both my LDS have told me this and 1 of them sells it. The smart com I hear is not so great. I've tried it and think the digits are too small. Also, Does the Sherwood Wisdom have the same customer service as the Aries?

Does anyone have the Zip dump pockets for the Zeagle? Not sure I like the rip cord design.

I'm not really sure about the octo either. I was going with the Atomic SS1 integrated (mainly because it looks cool) -- Stuipid reason I know. However, it seems the preferance is the standard octo and a clip. I'm not sure I want anything that chances are I'll never use integrated with my inflator hose which I will use all the time. Thoughts on this please.

Let me end with that fact that my mind is on melt down with all this equipment stuff. I dont think I can increase my research efforts more than I'm doing. So any information you all provide the better, again many thanks!!

I get much better service from Aeris than from Sherwood... only because the units are actually made in Oakland Ca, where Aeris is. If I have a problem with a sherwood, I send it to atlanta, they send it to oakland, they send it back to atlanta, they send it to me, I send it to the customer.... but now they're too old to dive anymore.

I get any problem turned by aeris in 2-3 days... (doesn't hurt we are their largest single dealer in the country... might give me a little unfair advantage.)

And trust me ... the rip cord system is great. The only people who knock it, don't understand it. You can add or subtract weights without having to pull out pockets, no velcro to deal with, never seen one accidently dump (while the ocean floor is littered with other pocket systems). The only drawback is if you emergency dump your lead, it will take you 2-3 minutes to re-thread. As I explain, if you have to emergency dump, you will have plenty of time in the recompression chamber to figure out how to thread it...

I had someone tell me "yea but it takes 3 minutes every time you have to dump weights!" and my only response can be, if that is really an issue... perhaps you should take up another sport... I've got thousands of dives, and never had to dump lead once...

And of the air integrated inflators... the Atomic is my fav... next the Tusa/Scubapro. But the Atomic has much easier to push buttons, and breaths good too... My suggestion - go with the red instead of yellow...

 

[skeet]

You gotta give Larry a call before you buy anything, it will be enlightening and avoid a lot of possible mistakes. Scubatoys really will meet or beat any other price.

 

[Monkey Knife-fight]

Really give Larry a call. He will not only cut you a great deal (just got my atmos 2 from him for well under leisurePro's price) but will talk you through it all and try to help you out. He even offered to walk me through setting all the stuff up on the atmos 2 over the phone.

Chris

 

[D_O_H]

:icosm12: GREAT INFORMATION EVERYONE!!!

Does anyone have the Zip dump pockets for the Zeagle? Not sure I like the rip cord design.

I have the ripcord Zeagle weight pockets and they're great. With velcro or some of the other systems, I would worry about accidentally dumping my weights. With the ripcord, it's extremely unlikely that that could happen. Rethreading it is a bit of a pain, but I pulled it once to test it and hope to never pull it again. And like Larry said, if you do have to dump weights, you've probably got bigger problems than worrying about rethreading your BC.

 

[ae3753]

As a new diver who bought his gear really quickly, here's my 2 cents:

Definitely wait to purchase your gear if you can. The more you dive, the more you'll know what you want. There is a lot of information out there, but ultimately, the gear is going to have to work for you and the way you dive. How you increase your research is to actually dive the gear that you're interested in. One person's Porsche can easily be another person's Honda Odyssey. Unfortunately, for most people, there isn't a possibility to dive a lot of nicer gear. However, you may be lucky and can rent/borrow them in your area. It's worth checking it out before spending some significant $$$.

Ranger vs. Brigade. For recreational diving, my vote goes for the Brigade. I have the Ranger, and it's a great BC for what it was designed to do (rugged, weight integrated, back inflate, comfy), but it's bulky too. The Bridage cuts down the bulk by giving you a smaller, more appropriate wing for single tank diving.

Air Integrated Inflators. A lot of differing opinions here. But definitely don't buy just because it looks slick. Make sure it functionally meets your needs. We dove with rental ScubaPro BCs that had air integrated inflators, and didn't like the bulk and feel of the inflator. But there are many who like it.

Good luck!