New diver lost in the arguments

[Thalassamania]

AOW was, prior to a duplicitous marketing decision, O/W II.

 

[Scott L]

AOW was, prior to a duplicitous marketing decision, O/W II.

 

[TeriLeonard]

I havn't touched a snorkel after having made mine into a speeding projectile into the gulfstream upon completing my last AOW dive many years ago.

I know what you mean about the snorkel in currents, on a scooter, in overhead environments. However, I like having a snorkel under normal conditions. It allows me to see underwater when I am at the surface, and it also allows me to breath comfortably at the surface without using my reg or having to keep my face out of the water.

Many professional friends of mine have the snorkels that fold up so they can keep them in their bcd pocket when not in use.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Wow, that's a great picture! I'd love to swim around with a fish as big as I am.

Haven't you seen any sea bass? If not, you need to get yourself to Italian Gardens in Catalina. They're at least as big as the grouper in that picture ...

jstamets, this thread is really fun to read. Please keep us posted on your further diving career -- I'm looking forward to reading about it.

Me too ... another new diver has been added to my list of "people I would really like to dive with" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

John may also want to take a a look at the E.Lite by Santi.

Check out Fourth Element for the best undergarments known to man!

Santi makes a great suit. I currently dive an eSpace, and love it. My old TLS350 is, however, still the most comfortable suit I've ever owned ... I just wish I could get more than 20 dives on it without having to repair a leaking seam somewhere.

As for undergarments, I wasn't crazy about the Fourth Element Arctic stuff I owned. The two-piece design didn't really do much for me ... the top tended to ride up leaving me with an exposed midriff, and it needed a lot of weight to sink. I much prefer the Weezle Extreme I am currently using. It's warm, easy to wash, and doesn't need a whole lot of extra weight for the warmth it provides. It also packs down to practically nothing for travel ... far better in that respect than any similarly warm undergarment I'm aware of.

Drysuits and undergarments are a highly personal choice ... in both cases, "best" depends on what you like, how well it fits, and how suitable it turns out to be for the conditions you dive in.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Scott L]

I know what you mean about the snorkel in currents, on a scooter, in overhead environments. However, I like having a snorkel under normal conditions. It allows me to see underwater when I am at the surface, and it also allows me to breath comfortably at the surface without using my reg or having to keep my face out of the water.

Many professional friends of mine have the snorkels that fold up so they can keep them in their bcd pocket when not in use.

You can't argue with a fold-up model.

 

[jstamets]

I just picked up one of those roll up snorkles. We'll see. I am trying to find a dry mask - all of them seem to leak a bit. Not a big deal, but annoying and at times, distracting. Perhaps I just need to get used to a tighter fit on the mask - I like it sitting very lightly on my face and the snorkle may be pulling at it a bit hence the roll up. I have an Atomic frameless and another one that I picked up in Key Largo (can't remember the name) just to see if it would do any better.

 

[jstamets]

Please pardon my rant.

Drysuits. First, I try to be a loyal customer. Loyalty is something hard to find anymore. That and customer service. I believe that the two go together very nicely, so I have my "main" LDS - Aquatic Adventures of Ohio (AAO) in Columbus, and Silent World in Key Largo for my needs when I am down south. Since most of my diving is local, I purchase locally for the after sale support. As such, I intend to purchase my drysuit from AAO, who carry DUI and Whites among others.

I really liked the looks of the DUI and that is what a lot of the divers around here use. I wasn't sure which model to get so I signed up for the Dog Days thing where where you can try them all out, which is in June at Gilboa. DUI also had a very nice package running through the end of March (get $750 in extras with purchase). Now, if I lived in California (or Alabama), I could go to a Dog Days event, find the suit I like and then take advantage of the savings. But I have to wait until June to try it out, so Ohio divers don't get as much consideration. Not sure I think that is very fair.

Well, I put $3500 down on account for a suit as a good faith payment and asked the LDS if DUI could extend the deal for me until I could try them out at the Dog Days event. Sort of, pay the money now, but pick the suit out later kind of thing. Nope. No deal. Hmm, if I lived on the west coast... Ok, irritating, but I guess I can understand that. So I talk to a number of people and came up with the cf200 or the clx450. I guess I can just get it now and eat the 20 bucks for the Dog Days tickets I already purchased. Ok, my LDS has the cf200, but not the clx450 in my size. So - can DUI ship out one of the clx450s in my size so I can try them side by side and go ahead and purchase. Still would like to take advantage of the deal. LDS calls DUI to get a demo in. Nope. Not going to send one. "just try one of the others - they all fit about the same". Hmmm. Ok, now, for two or three grand that I have already paid, I would expect a little bit of love. I mean, that seems pretty reasonable to me - when I worked retail a customer that wanted to check out demo gear and put the cash down on it got demo gear. Unless the gear sucked during the demo, it was a guaranteed sale. Nothing? If DUI work so little to get a sale, I can't imagine what the service would be like after they already have the cash. For that level of customer indifference, well, scratch DUI. Amazing how they went from guaranteed sale to no chance so quickly. Some may call my decision harsh, but it's my money and I expect a certain level of service and I don't think asking to try on a demo suit before I purchase it to be unreasonable. Especially when I qualified the sale with a 100% deposit. I would even have paid the shipping on the demo.

The LDS will have Whites in shortly, so I will try one of those. I really like the looks of them and they are recommended by my potential future tech instructor, who uses Whites in the Great Lakes. They also cost less, so I will be able to get a cannister light or camera housing or something with the difference. And they are sending one in my size to try out.

 

[bamamedic]

Hmmm....

My experiences with DUI were a polar opposite of yours.

I purchased the TLSSE model a little over a year ago...when it started leaking, I sent it back to DUI, fully expecting to pay for the repair. Not only did they repair it promptly (and free under warranty), but they included an additional patch I wanted (because of user wear, not covered by warranty), free of charge. They even upgraded the repair to "rush", because I had an unexpected diving trip coming up, without charging extra. The only thing I had to pay out of pocket was the return shipping. And they were ridiculously polite about my frequent calls to find out how the repairs were progressing.

As far as Gilboa having to wait until June for DUI Days, the only reason I can think of is that it's really just the same couple of people with a trailer of drysuits that make the rounds, and they can't be everywhere at once. I don't know why Alabama was in May and Gilboa in June, but I guess someone has to be first/last. DUI is based out of California, so maybe that's why Cali was first.

Anyways, sorry you had a bad experience with DUI...I've never gotten anything but fantastic customer service with them.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Please pardon my rant.

Drysuits. First, I try to be a loyal customer. Loyalty is something hard to find anymore. That and customer service. I believe that the two go together very nicely, so I have my "main" LDS - Aquatic Adventures of Ohio (AAO) in Columbus, and Silent World in Key Largo for my needs when I am down south. Since most of my diving is local, I purchase locally for the after sale support. As such, I intend to purchase my drysuit from AAO, who carry DUI and Whites among others.

I really liked the looks of the DUI and that is what a lot of the divers around here use. I wasn't sure which model to get so I signed up for the Dog Days thing where where you can try them all out, which is in June at Gilboa. DUI also had a very nice package running through the end of March (get $750 in extras with purchase). Now, if I lived in California (or Alabama), I could go to a Dog Days event, find the suit I like and then take advantage of the savings. But I have to wait until June to try it out, so Ohio divers don't get as much consideration. Not sure I think that is very fair.

Well, I put $3500 down on account for a suit as a good faith payment and asked the LDS if DUI could extend the deal for me until I could try them out at the Dog Days event. Sort of, pay the money now, but pick the suit out later kind of thing. Nope. No deal. Hmm, if I lived on the west coast... Ok, irritating, but I guess I can understand that. So I talk to a number of people and came up with the cf200 or the clx450. I guess I can just get it now and eat the 20 bucks for the Dog Days tickets I already purchased. Ok, my LDS has the cf200, but not the clx450 in my size. So - can DUI ship out one of the clx450s in my size so I can try them side by side and go ahead and purchase. Still would like to take advantage of the deal. LDS calls DUI to get a demo in. Nope. Not going to send one. "just try one of the others - they all fit about the same". Hmmm. Ok, now, for two or three grand that I have already paid, I would expect a little bit of love. I mean, that seems pretty reasonable to me - when I worked retail a customer that wanted to check out demo gear and put the cash down on it got demo gear. Unless the gear sucked during the demo, it was a guaranteed sale. Nothing? If DUI work so little to get a sale, I can't imagine what the service would be like after they already have the cash. For that level of customer indifference, well, scratch DUI. Amazing how they went from guaranteed sale to no chance so quickly. Some may call my decision harsh, but it's my money and I expect a certain level of service and I don't think asking to try on a demo suit before I purchase it to be unreasonable. Especially when I qualified the sale with a 100% deposit. I would even have paid the shipping on the demo.

The LDS will have Whites in shortly, so I will try one of those. I really like the looks of them and they are recommended by my potential future tech instructor, who uses Whites in the Great Lakes. They also cost less, so I will be able to get a cannister light or camera housing or something with the difference. And they are sending one in my size to try out.

That's surprising. I've owned two DUI suits, and one of the best parts about owning a DUI suit has always been the excellent customer service.

Of course, Whites also has excellent customer service. I couldn't make myself love the suit I purchased from them ... but it wasn't for lack of them trying to make me happy.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)