Oceanic vs. Aqualung

[saltyorange]

Thoughts on which is better? Details below as to why I ask.

I apologize if this discussion has been beat to death somewhere else on forums. I searched and could not really find it. I am looking for opinions regarding these two lines of equipment. I have 2 LDS near me, one that is an Oceanic dealer and the other is AquaLung. I am about to purchase a full set of equipment for me and my wife. We are primarily warm-water divers. We probably go to the FL or Carribean at most 2 times a year and do 3-4 days of diving on each trip. We are certainly not tech divers or cold-water divers searching for lobsters or artifacts. We are Advance OW certified with about 25-30 dives under our belt. We do not want the top of the line stuff because we really can't see needing it or getting enough value out of it given how much we dive. So, both LDS were basically guiding us to the middle of road equipment in each line. We definitely want to buy from a LDS and get serviced there. That we are sure of.

Oceanic: GT-3 (with CDX5) regulators and Alpha 8 Sport Octopuses for both, Pro Plus II Deluxe computer (OK, that is not middle of the line, but I wanted a higher-end computer for me), Veo 180 computer for the wife, Flex BCD for me and Isla BCD for her.

Aqualung: Titan XL regulators and the standard aqualung octopuses for both, Suunto Cobra computer for me, Suunto Gekko computer for her, Seaquest Diva BCD for her, and Seaquest Pro QD for me.

Both lines and equipment seem to get good marks at Rodale's scubadiving.com. They all seem to have good responses from people posting in other forums here. The deal I am getting at the Oceanic is $700+ less than at Aqualung so I am leaning that way. Of course, when telling the Aqualung dealer this he says Oceanic's line is inferior. I am sure the Oceanic dealer would say the same thing about Aqualung if I asked.

So, I guess the question (sorry for the delay in getting to it) is.....is Aqualung equipment that much better than Oceanic to justify that kind of premium? They seemed about equal to me in terms of features and fit, but I am admittedly not an expert by any stretch. Comments are welcome. Thanks!

 

[mdb]

Thoughts on which is better? Details below as to why I ask.

I apologize if this discussion has been beat to death somewhere else on forums. I searched and could not really find it. I am looking for opinions regarding these two lines of equipment. I have 2 LDS near me, one that is an Oceanic dealer and the other is AquaLung. I am about to purchase a full set of equipment for me and my wife. We are primarily warm-water divers. We probably go to the FL or Carribean at most 2 times a year and do 3-4 days of diving on each trip. We are certainly not tech divers or cold-water divers searching for lobsters or artifacts. We are Advance OW certified with about 25-30 dives under our belt. We do not want the top of the line stuff because we really can't see needing it or getting enough value out of it given how much we dive. So, both LDS were basically guiding us to the middle of road equipment in each line. We definitely want to buy from a LDS and get serviced there. That we are sure of.

Oceanic: GT-3 (with CDX5) regulators and Alpha 8 Sport Octopuses for both, Pro Plus II Deluxe computer (OK, that is not middle of the line, but I wanted a higher-end computer for me), Veo 180 computer for the wife, Flex BCD for me and Isla BCD for her.

Aqualung: Titan XL regulators and the standard aqualung octopuses for both, Suunto Cobra computer for me, Suunto Gekko computer for her, Seaquest Diva BCD for her, and Seaquest Pro QD for me.

Both lines and equipment seem to get good marks at Rodale's scubadiving.com. They all seem to have good responses from people posting in other forums here. The deal I am getting at the Oceanic is $700+ less than at Aqualung so I am leaning that way. Of course, when telling the Aqualung dealer this he says Oceanic's line is inferior. I am sure the Oceanic dealer would say the same thing about Aqualung if I asked.

So, I guess the question (sorry for the delay in getting to it) is.....is Aqualung equipment that much better than Oceanic to justify that kind of premium? They seemed about equal to me in terms of features and fit, but I am admittedly not an expert by any stretch. Comments are welcome. Thanks!

Go Aqualung.

 

[undrwater]

Go Aqualung.

Because....?

I'm also interested in the answer to this question.

 

[saltyorange]

Go Aqualung.

Are you quoting the song by Jethro Tull or giving advice?

 

[undrwater]

Are you quoting the song by Jethro Tull or giving advice?

Hmmm...that would be "Hey Aqualung"...or often "whoooaaoo aqualung!"

 

[saltyorange]

Hmmm...that would be "Hey Aqualung"...or often "whoooaaoo aqualung!"

Oops, my bad.

 

[nauidiver2004]

My dive partner uses Oceanic regs, I use Aqualung. I chose Aqualung because that what my LDS carries, it is what I learned how to dive on, and they have a long history of supporting thier gear for many many years (parts and service). My partner chose Oceanic beacuse he learned how to dive while living in HI and thats what he learned on and that's what his LDS (when in HI) carried. I think they are both good equipment mfgrs. I am an Aqualung fan, I am looking to buy another set of regs right now and I am looking at the Titan LX Supreme.

I suggest going to DA AQUAMASTERS public profile and look for all of his posts. Search them for both aqualung and oceanic. See what he has said about them in the past. I find his info credible and reliable.

good luck in your quest.
Ken

 

[cudachaser]

I use both in my classes...I put them on equal standing, both excellant regs, very hardy and dependable

Joe

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Check around and see about service after the sale as well. I use oceanic cause it's what I learned with and I'm comfortable with the service at my local shop. It also helps that I'm on staff with this one. But before I got this gig and was just learning I also could not decide which I wanted. While here the stuff Iwas considering was about the same price wise and was being steered what I felt was fairly by both dealers the one I chose had a much better rep for service than the other according to the locals I talked to. I have since seen it was the right choice after having seen some examples of the other lds' work for myself when it has been brought to us because it just didn't seem to be quite right. After an annual service there should be no corrosion under the hose protectors, the hp restrictor bullet should not be emitting a tiny stream of bubbles from your console, and your deflator/ inflator should not be cross threaded onto the bc. As was stated earlier both are excellent lines of comparable quality. For an lds to say that one line is inferior to another unless it's joe's divin regulator thingies and floatin vest is unprofessional and misleading. For what it's worth go with the best deal for you and ask about service afterward. Ask for references also if they hesitate there may be a reason. They also should be willing to let you see their service area. is it neat and organized or does it look like sanford and son's. My opinion go for the oceanic and use that 700 for another dive trip. Is one line really that much better? No it's not, the dealer will tell you it is but he's a business man and out to make money. But again to out and out tell you the gear is inferior is arrogant and unprofessional.

 

[stormrider]

Go with the LDS that you are more comfortable with. Its not just about the price of the gear. Sale and post-sale (service/maintenance, repairs, etc.) are very important, as JimLap has pointed out.

As was the case with me.

I got Aqua Lung regs/gauges and SeaQuest BCD because they're very good products and I like them. Plus, I was very comfortable with the LDS that carried these brands in my location. I wasn't too comfortable with the LDS of Oceanic over here.

The bottomline... both brands are good (that is, I heard Oceanics are good, too), so just weigh the quotes with how comfortable you are with the LDS.

Hope this helps.