runsongas
Contributor
you likely will end up upgrading from the cressi starter gear if you start diving regularly which means taking a loss on the first set.
Hey all from Texas Got a few questions about gear
- Thread starter Mike Klieb
- Start date
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I am in central Texas as well. There is nothing wrong with Cressi. I have a Cressi MC9/Compact set and it works great. Reviews for their top end T10 are consistently outstanding in equipment reviews as well. I also have a Deep6 signature that works great. There is a general bias on Scubaboard against Cressi because the brand is not as widespread in the U.S. and their range of equipment does not include technical or cave oriented gear, it is mostly geared towards recreational divers. If all you want to is recreational gear the Cressi range breath very well and are reliable. If your asperations are more towards advanced/technical/or cave diving you should consider brands with equipment geared to those activities.
If you go Cressi or any brand purchased over the internet, be sure there is a shop close by that will service what you purchase. Some/many shops will only service the brands they sell or are otherwise certified to service. If the shop(s) near you do not sell Cressi or are not certified to service them you may find yourself in a pickle when it comes time for them to be worked on.
-Z
-Z
OP
Mike Klieb
Contributor
Thanks for the input I believe I am going to for the most part be rec. diving only mostly at local lakes and on vacation so thanks for the input Loose. Zef I will most definitely look at my local shops I know the one I have been dealing with services pretty much all brands but tend to push ScubaPro quite hard.
GrafCanuck
Contributor
Hey Mike, I'm a self-proclaimed ScubaPro snob outside of my dive computer (Petrel 2). However, I have never paid list price. Check out online prices at LeisurePro for instance to see if there are any sales or sell offs. Leverage this with the local dive shop. Last year I worked with an LDS and know that ScubaPro as well as other Brands have periodical sell offs but more often then not these are not widely advertised. Hope this extra little bit of information helps. Cheers, Darrell.
noj3333
Contributor
No, no, no...
I'll go on my normal rant here...
Scuba diving is maybe the BEST hobby in the world for buying used gear. The are thousands of divers each year who swear they'll get certified and dive on a regular basis. They spend a small fortune on gear, they take one trip, put the gear in a closet for a year, and eventually realize they have to get out of the hobby... selling their gear for pennies (or maybe dimes) on the dollar...
That's when a savvy diver can swoop in and buy their gear.
The following is just my opinion...
Regulators (and SPG's).... pay 30% to 50% of the lowest on-line price. Although any 'name brand' regulator will serve you well for decades, I prefer 'high end' (aka expensive) ScubaPro regs. Many people don't share my zeal for SP... for various reasons, but I like them, and buy buying used I got a $1,200 set for maybe $500-$600 all in. VERY IMPORTANT, when buying regs, make sure you can get them serviced (seems like you've learned that lesson) and add $150 to whatever you pay, to cover the cost of a full service. Personally I'm not worried about local support, I send all my regs out to AirTech for service... I'm VERY happy with them...
BCD's... again, buy used... I'd look for a 'used, but only on one trip' back inflate BCD. Maybe rent for awhile and get a feel for what you like, and what you don't need. If you buy used, and buy 'right' (ie don't overpay) you should be fine. Doing that you can always sell it and break even, or lose a very small amount of money...
Mask... buy it new... make sure it fits really well. Don't buy some expensive mask just because it costs more $$... Spend the $$ if you need to... just make sure it fits well...
Computer... used again... buy either a CHEAP zoop (or similar)... or maybe if you have money burning a hole in your walled splurge and buy a perdix (used). The SW Perdix is a great computer and it holds its value really well, maybe better then any other piece of gear. Really though, a zoop (or similar) is fine for almost all rec divers out there (me included, even though I have a SW Perdix AI)...
Fins... I bought mine on-line, but you may want to go to a shop and try them on... if you do try them on in a shop then buy them from the shop. I prefer open heal Deep6 Eddy fins, with Henderson boots... Open heal fins w/ boots cost more, in general (again, just my overall opinion). Think about the type of diving you want to do, and then figure this out...
Lastly... get a DSMB, and a spool. I have my preferred setup (but that's not relevant). Just make sure you get a DSMB, not a SMB, and a spool... add a bolt snap, and a double ender, and you're all set here...
Accessories... say 'No' to 95% of them... you don't NEED mask defog, or a retractor, or a $200 gear bag... go diving and find out what tools and accessories you'd like, and what you wouldn't. My scuba closet is chuck full of junk I don't need, but won't sell (because I'd get $50 for sh*t I paid $1,000 for).....
Wetsuit... buy new.
Anyways.... ask questions here, do some thinking, and enjoy the process...
RANT OVER.
OP
Mike Klieb
Contributor
Thanks for the input Graf I will do that as well.
OP
Mike Klieb
Contributor
Noj I have bought mask fins and boots new and very happy with them I do have a used BCD it's a parkway got it for a really good price so if I don't like it I'm not out much. I guess the loss on the Parkway regs have gotten me away from trying to buy used but I won't give up yet.
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@Mike Klieb
My great great grand father and uncle left east Tennessee with Davey Crockett to settle in Texas. One dies at the Alamo the other became a Texas State Senator, a son was on a cattle drive meets and marrieds my great grand mother in Missouri, they had a son was Sam 1 named after Sam Houston - I am Sam 111, so for a Texican I will take some time and hopefully provide some valuable advice....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@KWS
"Parkway if I remember was in the 60's along with healthways and others"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI
"Parkways Fabricator" was in established 1956 as a recognized wetsuit manufacture associated with the east cost foam rubber manufacture "Rubatex." Parkways began with small advertisements in Skin Diver Magazine. As the years progressed and Parkways fortunes grew the size of the adverstisemts increased in Skin Diver Magazine to 1/2 page and later on occasion full page
I suspect those are the advertisement you recall-- Certainly not any where near the size of Healthways who was one of the diving giants
In 1981 (38 years ago) after 25 years of making wet suits and setting on the side lines Parkways Fabricators entered the recreational diving market place with a slick full color 8-1/2X11 catalog with a full line of dive products -- Including a regulator and flotation equipment .
The company only lasted as a viable player in the dive market until 1983 (36 years ago) when the slowly faded away.
Therefore, it may be safely assumed your equipment is between 38 & 36 years old-- unless the original dive shop purchased it as close out and had it in their inventory for a few years.
The equipment as it is illustrated in the catalog appears to be rebranded items from other manufactures. l
The flotation equipment is similar in configuration and colors to Sea Tec and or Sea Quest units - which are no longer in business under the original ownership
Sea Tec pioneered double bag construction -- is yours a double bag ?
The regulators appear to have a relationship with several other regulator of that era - I have been fortunate to have dove about every regulator produced for the American dive market but I am not a student of the regulator as are @Luis H whom I consider and expert along with @herman or @Scuba Lawyer who is extremely knowledgeable and was a very active in SoCal diving during that period, However please bear in mind that the products were eastern manufacture and short lived in the market place , therefore not readily acceptable on the right coast
They possibly can provide insight as to the actual manufacture and availability of repair parts.
However all is not lost...
if the regulator is non reparable keep it around-- hang the second stage on the wall; attach the first stage and hose to a nozzle to clean off the work bench or blow up a tire.
The flotation?
Per @Jim Lapenta
"If the BC holds air for 24 hours and the power inflator works, it's fine. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ WOW !!! ~~~~
Please understand it is floatation gear and is 38 years old !
Hombre you are 50 years old -- you were 12 when this equipment was manufactured
Do you still have your bicycle you were riding at 12 years old ? I am certain the tires are rotten
Jim you are 59 - You were 21 years old and probably beginning your adult life as a professional dirt mover with your entrance in to the world of diving was many many years in the future
There is a beginning, a middle and end ...
Items are new. used and worn out
in some instances the life can be extended via repair, replacement or modification.
If repaired, replaced or modified the unit - and especially floatation equipment should be tested
A) Fully inflate and allow to remain inflated for at least 24 hours
B) Fully inflate submerge in water for an additional 24 hours with a weight securing it to the bottom, -the weight simulates water pressure and submerging in water with applied pressure will identify leak paths
If used in salt water periodically soak the interior with Downey liquid soap solution - After much experimentation it was discovered that Downey breaks up salt crystals.
Flush several times prior to usage or storage-- store inflated.
BUT--My suggestion along with several others would be to purchase new(er) units but keep these around for use in your pool or during future training which requires pool exercises
Good Luck from CenCal
Sam Miller, III
My great great grand father and uncle left east Tennessee with Davey Crockett to settle in Texas. One dies at the Alamo the other became a Texas State Senator, a son was on a cattle drive meets and marrieds my great grand mother in Missouri, they had a son was Sam 1 named after Sam Houston - I am Sam 111, so for a Texican I will take some time and hopefully provide some valuable advice....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@KWS
"Parkway if I remember was in the 60's along with healthways and others"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI
"Parkways Fabricator" was in established 1956 as a recognized wetsuit manufacture associated with the east cost foam rubber manufacture "Rubatex." Parkways began with small advertisements in Skin Diver Magazine. As the years progressed and Parkways fortunes grew the size of the adverstisemts increased in Skin Diver Magazine to 1/2 page and later on occasion full page
I suspect those are the advertisement you recall-- Certainly not any where near the size of Healthways who was one of the diving giants
In 1981 (38 years ago) after 25 years of making wet suits and setting on the side lines Parkways Fabricators entered the recreational diving market place with a slick full color 8-1/2X11 catalog with a full line of dive products -- Including a regulator and flotation equipment .
The company only lasted as a viable player in the dive market until 1983 (36 years ago) when the slowly faded away.
Therefore, it may be safely assumed your equipment is between 38 & 36 years old-- unless the original dive shop purchased it as close out and had it in their inventory for a few years.
The equipment as it is illustrated in the catalog appears to be rebranded items from other manufactures. l
The flotation equipment is similar in configuration and colors to Sea Tec and or Sea Quest units - which are no longer in business under the original ownership
Sea Tec pioneered double bag construction -- is yours a double bag ?
The regulators appear to have a relationship with several other regulator of that era - I have been fortunate to have dove about every regulator produced for the American dive market but I am not a student of the regulator as are @Luis H whom I consider and expert along with @herman or @Scuba Lawyer who is extremely knowledgeable and was a very active in SoCal diving during that period, However please bear in mind that the products were eastern manufacture and short lived in the market place , therefore not readily acceptable on the right coast
They possibly can provide insight as to the actual manufacture and availability of repair parts.
However all is not lost...
if the regulator is non reparable keep it around-- hang the second stage on the wall; attach the first stage and hose to a nozzle to clean off the work bench or blow up a tire.
The flotation?
Per @Jim Lapenta
"If the BC holds air for 24 hours and the power inflator works, it's fine. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ WOW !!! ~~~~
Please understand it is floatation gear and is 38 years old !
Hombre you are 50 years old -- you were 12 when this equipment was manufactured
Do you still have your bicycle you were riding at 12 years old ? I am certain the tires are rotten
Jim you are 59 - You were 21 years old and probably beginning your adult life as a professional dirt mover with your entrance in to the world of diving was many many years in the future
There is a beginning, a middle and end ...
Items are new. used and worn out
in some instances the life can be extended via repair, replacement or modification.
If repaired, replaced or modified the unit - and especially floatation equipment should be tested
A) Fully inflate and allow to remain inflated for at least 24 hours
B) Fully inflate submerge in water for an additional 24 hours with a weight securing it to the bottom, -the weight simulates water pressure and submerging in water with applied pressure will identify leak paths
If used in salt water periodically soak the interior with Downey liquid soap solution - After much experimentation it was discovered that Downey breaks up salt crystals.
Flush several times prior to usage or storage-- store inflated.
BUT--My suggestion along with several others would be to purchase new(er) units but keep these around for use in your pool or during future training which requires pool exercises
Good Luck from CenCal
Sam Miller, III
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