New Scubapro S-Tek (BP/W BC's) Line

[lowwall]

The BP/W market is tiny world wide and SP isn't losing much of it actually. SP has strong following around the world and it represents the only manufacture/supplier of dive equipment for many markets in the world. Jacket/back inflate systems are king in the world. Your view is grossly skewed by the people you hang out with not by the market realities. There is a term in psychology used to describe this scenario but I forget it now

Then why is ScubaPro introducing a BP/W?

While it is likely they aren't worried about the little guys like Deep 6 or XDEEP or DGX specifically, they are obviously concerned enough about the increase in BP/W usage generally to try to counter it. Unlike the old days, they can't control media coverage and the BP/W has an outsize share in social media. I just did a search for "scuba" on YouTube (in incognito mode, so it doesn't give me biased results). The first four videos include people using a BP/W.

And I'll bet they are specifically worried about Halcyon which is an aspirational brand in China, the largest market for new divers. They could easily lose a chunk of the highest profit customers if they don't have a competitive product. Also, they can't ignore the Mares XR line. Mares doesn't have nearly the market share today, but they are a direct competitor in that they have the financial resources that comes with being part of a large conglomerate and they are a full-line manufacturer that is primarily sold through dive shops. And the number of those shops is growing due to their affiliation with SSI.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I would love to sit in on an R&D meeting at SP’s product development headquarters and just hear what they talk about and how in tune they are to the “real world” of diving.
Yes, you guys might have hit on something, maybe they are concerned about the slow steady progress BP/W’s are making in the recreational diving market. Stainless and “failure points” seem to be more of a focus on this product as opposed to everything they have come up with in the past. DIR has a hell of a lot to do with that.

 

[Compressor]

Then why is ScubaPro introducing a BP/W?

While it is likely they aren't worried about the little guys like Deep 6 or XDEEP or DGX specifically, they are obviously concerned enough about the increase in BP/W usage generally to try to counter it. Unlike the old days, they can't control media coverage and the BP/W has an outsize share in social media. I just did a search for "scuba" on YouTube (in incognito mode, so it doesn't give me biased results). The first four videos include people using a BP/W.

Yes, you guys might have hit on something, maybe they are concerned about the slow steady progress BP/W’s are making in the recreational diving market.

Both of you are so correct. When one goes to a dive site today, you see more often than not, someone in a BP/W. There is a noticeable difference with say 10 years ago.

 

[lowwall]

I would love to sit in on an R&D meeting at SP’s product development headquarters and just hear what they talk about and how in tune they are to the “real world” of diving.
Yes, you guys might have hit on something, maybe they are concerned about the slow steady progress BP/W’s are making in the recreational diving market. Stainless and “failure points” seem to be more of a focus on this product as opposed to everything they have come up with in the past. DIR has a hell of a lot to do with that.

If it's anything like the corp I once worked for, the initial product development meeting will be spent trying to decipher a vaguely worded demand from the sales department.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

SP is the second largest, if the not the largest, manufacturer/supplier of dive equipment in the world in the civilian market by a very wide margin (it competes again AL for the first spot with a narrow margin, at least before AL was sold). The manufacturer that comes after SP is about half of what SP sells annually. SP is a "full liner" that supplies to the whole world. It is also the "biggest" recognized name out there with a long established loyal following and network of dealers that are fiercely very loyal. A good percentage of the dealers around the world can't afford to have too many brands in their stores/schools and hence expect to buy everything from SP including the parts that aren't the main specialty of SP. This attitude is even stronger now with the pandemic and the very destructive implications it has had on the global economy and the dive business.




You are living in a bubble assuming that what may appear to be happening and is a trend in the US is actually the reality in the rest of the world beyond the iron curtain surrounding the US. The manufactures you mention are so small and insignificant in the overall picture they don't matter and not to forget to mention that the odds are against them to survive in this market. What SP does in one deal with a government or some rescue/police team in some third world country is a lot more (tons more) than what one of these companies does in business in a whole year. Poseidon has been offering regulator service classes to the public for MANY years before the other tiny companies and it is still an insignificant company in the whole international market compared with SP, AL and Mares. Poseidon didn't offer the training out of conviction or 100% belief in what is said about it in public, it was offered to overcome the extreme lack of dealer network in the tiny market where Poseidon is present. Poseidon almost disappeared for a while from the US market with no rep. or disti. as an example. Simply put, they had to do it this way to survive their not having a distribution/retail network not because that's what their initial dogma in doing business. Despite of their shifting their way of doing things, Poseidon is still insignificant in the market place. It is more so with the practically non-existent tiny other companies you mention (in the international market). Many in the business believe that it is a "fad" and a localized practice rather than a true change in mentality that meets a significant percentage of the market needs.

I would be interesting to see a poll directed specifically at the tech community to see what brands they are using. I would think a company like Diverite and H would be immensely more popular amongst the tech community than Scubapro.
Scubapro maybe number one or two in the world but that’s for basic recreational gear, not tech gear. The only thing Scubapro has cornered with the tech market are Jetfins and maybe regs for some, provided the divers have a source for parts or a buttload of money.
Apex was and still is probably the biggest regulator market for tech. If you’ve noticed, all the clone regs out there are Apex knock offs. Tech divers will typically have 6-8 or more full sets of regulators, so unless they can service the stuff themselves it becomes burdensome to always have to take the stuff in. They are also very critical and anal about how the service is done and many don’t trust someone else doing it.
The tech community is small enough that I think the small micro companies have pretty much filled that niche already.
The back plate and wing is really the most basic piece of gear there is. I doesn’t need to be anything more than what it is right now when it comes to tech diving with doubles.
This new SP plate will be aimed primarily at the recreational diver. I can’t wait to see it in my local dive shop if they choose to bring it in because then I can gloat and say
“See, I told you the BP/W was going to become popular for everyday diving!!”

But for the established tech community, not so much.

 

[Wibble]

I would be interesting to see a poll directed specifically at the tech community to see what brands they are using. I would think a company like Diverite and H would be immensely more popular amongst the tech community than Scubapro.
Scubapro maybe number one or two in the world but that’s for basic recreational gear, not tech gear. The only thing Scubapro has cornered with the tech market are Jetfins and maybe regs for some, provided the divers have a source for parts or a buttload of money.
Apex was and still is probably the biggest regulator market for tech. If you’ve noticed, all the clone regs out there are Apex knock offs. Tech divers will typically have 6-8 or more full sets of regulators, so unless they can service the stuff themselves it becomes burdensome to always have to take the stuff in. They are also very critical and anal about how the service is done and many don’t trust someone else doing it.
The tech community is small enough that I think the small micro companies have pretty much filled that niche already.
The back plate and wing is really the most basic piece of gear there is. I doesn’t need to be anything more than what it is right now when it comes to tech diving with doubles.
This new SP plate will be aimed primarily at the recreational diver. I can’t wait to see it in my local dive shop if they choose to bring it in because then I can gloat and say
“See, I told you the BP/W was going to become popular for everyday diving!!”

But for the established tech community, not so much.

SP's "Tek" wings are pretty naff, emblazoned wiv da tekk logos to impress all your recreational mates. Although not your technical diving friends as none of them dive with SP wings. Actually, very few of them dive with SP regs, nor reels, SMBs, torches, spools…

This kit is aimed — marketed — firmly at recreational divers with technical aspirations and plenty of spare money, probably just before they fly the nest of the Local Dive Shop into the technical diving community with their conservative kit designs served by the specialist technical brands such as big H.

In short, technical divers don’t need to be reminded that they’re technical divers by labels on their kit. They know what they’ve bought and rely upon it to work.

 

[Pressurehead]

As an Engineer, I certainly appreciate the effort to re examine the plate and harness design and optimise it. Certainly the rounded edges of the plate, the recesses for the bolts and the fact they've questioned the angles of the webbing slots, and again refined to give marginal improvements.

I think the option of adjustable harnesses is great. I know a couple of people who suffer from restricted movement who would love this

Sure it's expensive, so was the pointless Halcyon Carbon fibre backplate - didn't stop people buying those



This ^^^ Good on Scuba Pro for "having a go".
I am not an Engineer, I am sure you will all [well, mostly, some are set in stone] agree, the BP/W systems out there are not perfect [as some believe].
Give them credit for not doing the same boring stuff year in year out Ad nauseam.

 

[lowwall]

SP's "Tek" wings are pretty naff, emblazoned wiv da tekk logos to impress all your recreational mates.

Waiting for a version in camo with MOLLE straps.

 

[Pressurehead]

Like this one with MOLLE, the red I like, the yellow and red , not so much.
Great job, and not boring.

Finally finished. The thin red webbing is all molle. View attachment 675315 View attachment 675316

Waiting for a version in camo with MOLLE straps.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Like this one with MOLLE, the red I like, the yellow and red , not so much.
Great job, and not boring.

Thank you. The yellow was a reaction to the oxycheq lettering and it just went crazy from there. Like I said, though. I'm a finning depth gauge.