not a true gripe, just very curious to know why ...

[Mako Mark]

I consider my gear like my body, or my jeep. It has to be in good enough condition that it does the job and has a very low probability of failure. If it has a few dings or scratches, then those can be worn as proudly as a veteran soldier wears campain medals.

I have scars on my body, my car and my dive gear, that remind me of the dumbass mistakes I have made, the narrow escapes and lessons learned, and the successful adventures completed and stored carefully away in the cherished memories archive of my brain to be brought out on occasions when bragging to impress, or serious introspection or old age requires.

A couple of good scars impress the girls too. "yeah, that one was from when I was bit by a croc in queensland..... that one was from being shot at on the Sudan border...." who could resisit?

The shiny backplate and perfectly yellow painted tank will usually get a quiet "Hmmmmmph" from me. 'nuff said.

 

[FreeFloat]

I am personally working very hard at dulling the shiny PST finish on my steel Christmas-present tank. After 60ish dives it's starting to go away, and a few small scratches are adding to its personality. The other day I had my whole rig at the LDS for a fill and noticed that my Halcyon wing isn't the same dark color as their Halcyon wings, anymore.......... it's a start..........

 

[QuoVadis]

I too want my gear to be in mint operational condition. I do not care about its appearance.

That my friend, is a contradiction. If you do not take great care of your gear, it will look like what you have. If your BC is faded and such, you are not taking care of it. If your Reg looks like crud, you treat it like such. I am not talking about a scratch here or there or being COLOR COORDINATED but if your equipment was brand new when you first purchased it, there is no reason why it should not stay that way IF YOU TAKE PROPER CARE. It has absolutely no indication of how many DIVES you have done... Just tells me you don't care about your gear....And if you do not care about your gear, then you are not much of a diver.......

 

[FreeFloat]

That my friend, is a contradiction. If you do not take great care of your gear, it will look like what you have. If your BC is faded and such, you are not taking care of it. If your Reg looks like crud, you treat it like such. I am not talking about a scratch here or there or being COLOR COORDINATED but if your equipment was brand new when you first purchased it, there is no reason why it should not stay that way IF YOU TAKE PROPER CARE. It has absolutely no indication of how many DIVES you have done... Just tells me you don't care about your gear....And if you do not care about your gear, then you are not much of a diver.......

I have to disagree with some of your points. Perhaps Green_M could have used a different word than mint, and on the whole I agree with your points - however, regardless of how you maintain your gear, after it has accumulated a few dives it will fade, it will get little scratches and dings, stuff will rub onto (and off) of it. The only way to keep gear pristine, as in untouched/"mint", is to never dive it.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

That my friend, is a contradiction. If you do not take great care of your gear, it will look like what you have. If your BC is faded and such, you are not taking care of it. If your Reg looks like crud, you treat it like such. I am not talking about a scratch here or there or being COLOR COORDINATED but if your equipment was brand new when you first purchased it, there is no reason why it should not stay that way IF YOU TAKE PROPER CARE. It has absolutely no indication of how many DIVES you have done... Just tells me you don't care about your gear....And if you do not care about your gear, then you are not much of a diver.......

Well I guess you think you told me, eh? :11:

I do care very much about my gear, how it works and whether or not it looks worn or worn out and abused. What I don't care about is it is has obvious signs of being used on a regular basis and is no longer a deep, dark "shiny" black or blue.

Please explain to me how gear can remain looking new if it is being used on a regular basis? Or are you spending hours lovingly polishing, buffing and otherwise fondling your gear?

 

[The Kraken]

Geez, guys !!!! Can'w we just all get along ??????

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That my friend, is a contradiction. If you do not take great care of your gear, it will look like what you have. If your BC is faded and such, you are not taking care of it. If your Reg looks like crud, you treat it like such. I am not talking about a scratch here or there or being COLOR COORDINATED but if your equipment was brand new when you first purchased it, there is no reason why it should not stay that way IF YOU TAKE PROPER CARE. It has absolutely no indication of how many DIVES you have done... Just tells me you don't care about your gear....And if you do not care about your gear, then you are not much of a diver.......

Gee, I dunno ... after about 700 dives my old drysuit really looked like hell, regardless of how well I cared for it. The panels were faded, there were globs of aquaseal here and there, heck some of the patches over the worn-out areas weren't even the same color.

I loved that suit ... and did my best to take care of it. But like the body inside of it, the older it got the worse it looked.

But hey ... at least my mask, snorkel, fins, and SUV are all color-coordinated ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[augk]

I got a little disappointed when my pri. second got scratched up, (after a returning from a shore dive in HEAVY surge), basically because I take pretty good care of my stuff. As a matter of fact, I'm nearly fourty and still have the 'Tonka' trucks I played with when I was a kid. One of them looks brand new... Can you say 'anal'?

On the other hand, when I was first buying gear I was told that the best way to evaluate a diver's experience was by looking at how well their gear was 'coordinated'. If everything was in matching colors, you could bet that they were new to the sport and more into looking good than getting quality gear.

I don't think all newly certified divers could be identified by their gear condition or color.
Even though I have only been certified for one year some of my gear dates back to 79 and some is less than a year old nothing matches brands or color.
I belive I have chosen equipment based on what I perceived to be of good quality and function and fit rather than looks. As far as maintenance goes I clean after each use. Some dings scatches and discolored silicon but it all works .

Also: this is a scuba related topic isn't this the wrong forum?

 

[glbirch]

I'll admit, when my gear was new it was like a new car. Paranoid about that first scratch, ding or chip. In the long run, it's still like my car. I don't worry about all the little blemishes anymore, but I make sure that everything is cleaned, inspected often, serviced regularly and functioning at peak performance. After enough time in salt, sun and chlorine the colors fade and the shine goes no matter whatyou do. It doesn't stay looking pristine forever unless you keep it in the dark and never use it.

 

[d33ps1x]

some divers are so concerned that their gear is scratched or spotted. it's not a fashion show ... spiffy looking gear proves you are not diving.

Gear ain't cheap and lack of scratches doesn't neccessarily mean you aren't diving. It can show care taken in maintaining your gear and carefully diving it and not banging into things everywhere.

My gear looks great. I dive almost every day.