Have you ever used scuba equipment you absolutely hated!

[12th Man]

I travel a ton in my job (well until Covid hit), if there's blue ocean waters chances are I'll build time in for a few dives if I can manage it. Until last year I used to rent most of my dive equipment for dives. This means I've tried a bunch of different equipment and manufactures over the years. After my dives if I used a particular BCD, dive computer, regulator, mask or fins I really liked I put them in my dive log. There was only one piece of equipment I truly fell in love with the first time I used them and that was Scuba Pro's Seawing Nova fins. When I purchased my own equipment they were tops on my list!

As long as the fit was correct, I can't really say I didn't like a given piece of equipment or a given manufacture. They always seem to work for the dives I was on. However, I came to really dislike full foot fins the times I had to use those!.

Everyone here has their favorite equipment, but do you have something you truly disliked?

 

[broncobowsher]

Mask with a clear silicone skirt. Allows light in, but it is useless light.

 

[2airishuman]

Poodle jacket with an Air2, dry snorkel, split fins, and a console with the SPG and a compass. I had to hide from scubaboard for a month to allow my self-esteem to recover.

Actually, I haven't used any rented gear since the pool sessions for OWD.

 

[tursiops]

JetFins

 

[ScubaSam]

Air2.

Great until you have to use it to buddy breath while trying to control BCD buoyancy. How did I discover this? During my Rescue class as an OW BCD wearing diver. Got rid it immediately and got a backup regulator.

 

[tridacna]

Jet fins. Any 7mm wetsuit.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

JetFins

Blasphemy

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Dacor RIG BCD. It was touted as a tech BC but the back ripped out twice from the weight of doubles. It also had weight pockets, which dropped away in the water.
Any wetsuit in cold water. I shivered through 800 dives before buying my first drysuit. I'll never dive wet in cold water again.
Spring straps. Although they are infinitely better than the rubber straps that come with fins, I've found bungees to be just as effective, easier to use, and cheaper to replace.
Hand-help lights. I use a bright SOLA light on my camera housing. Holding a light, even with a Goodman handle was more hassle than it was worth.
Scooter. I had one for several years. I missed so much of what there is to see underwater by zipping past.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Jet fins. Any 7mm wetsuit.

I love and wear both.

 

[wnissen]

Aluminum tanks in cold water. I'm a heavy guy, need 25 lbs with a steel tank. Carrying around the extra weight needed for aluminum is unpleasant and pointless when you're talking $100 over the life of the tank. In warm water as long as I can get trim weights aluminum is OK.