I dive a Halcyon Eclispe #40 with single Tank. I REALLY LIKE the SS/BP and wing BUT:
I must admit, for the premium price for a very good looking product and for all the hype their quality control is seriously lacking. (By their own design, it is very hard to separate the Halcyon Product Line from the DIR reputation for DEMANDING safety, reliability and simplicity above everything else. I have had two different problems with my gear since I purchased in Jan06. (I have never returned dive gear from Scubapro, Zeagle, US Divers etc. How can such "lousy gear manufacturers" get it right?) Okay even they use ScubaPro regulators, guess that was cheap shot to ScubaPro!)
1. From the FIRST dive trip to Ginnie Springs I noticed the stiching on my Wing (outer shell) was unraveling! The seam eventually opened in three different spots. Granted this was a mere cosmectic problem and not a life threatening failure. It was merely irritating considering I paid >$500 for BP/Harnesss/Wing system! My grandmother sewed better by hand!
2. (After only 6 months of use and approx. 50 dives) The Stainless Steel Inflator failed (stuck inflating my wing). I noticed this after a 90+ foot dive in murky visibility when I was attempting a 15 foot safety stop! I had read about it but have never experienced a run-away inflator and after going through some spastic gyrations trying to stay at 15 feet until I recognized what was going on, I was able to disconnect the sticky inflator and complete my safety stop. I have had MUCH "CHEAPER" Stroke Company inflators that worked day-in, day-out for MANY YEARS with NO special maintenance, even after ABUSING them in salt water, sediment and chlorine swimming pools! Yes, I resorted to playing the old "Stroke" garbage!
I will state that when I called Halcyon Manufacturing (THEY DIDN'T CONTACT REGISTERED OWNERS!) they did quickly offer to replace my wing and performed free service on my sticky inflator however they did not replace it? They stated that the faulty wing outer shell was one that they manufactured after receiving the WRONG material from their supplier. It was lighter weight, different material than spec'd. Wrong Material received but their choice to proceed with manufacturing timeline anyway! They realized the problem and were aware of it BUT they haven't issued a recall (dirty word in Dive Gear business I suppose? I am drawing some of my OWN conclusions here, they are accurate to best of MY knowledge but . . . .I may be screwed up?)
I can even understand not recalling the Wing Outer shell BUT I firmly believe they should STOP "Pussy-Footing" around and RECALL their Stainless Steel Inflators (AGAIN!) Even the newer improved SS still has issues! They offered no real comments about inflator BUT I will be looking to replace mine with a RELIABLE INFLATOR! Any suggestions? What is price/source of the SCUBAPRO Inflator some swear by? They say it is pricey (HOW Pricey?) but Bullet-Proof! Maybe they should sell them to Halcyon; it sounds as if it meets up to their HYPE!
I want an inflator that works when I press it and STOPS when I release it and don't want to be FORCED to perform REGULAR maintenance on it. Annual maintenance should suffice!
The more it is maintained seems like it would contribute to even more failures?
IMHO