Oceanic vs. Aqualung

[marku]

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!

Mix & match I say. I saw a guy with a 1year old Oceanic reg (GT I think) and it was already leaking air. Also, a guy who is an LDS for Oceanic and Aqualung in SanFrancisco dived with me and he was using Titan LX's. So for regs it's Aqualung for me.

I used to have a SeaQuest bc (which is now part of the Aqualung line now) and the plastic thread to which the inflator screwed on to cracked and broke. I was able to scavenge the same part from a Spiro bc (still part of the Aqualung line) but it broke again. I know several guys who had the same problem. So it's Oceanic for the bc.

The LDS whom I dived with said they had an unusually high number of Oceanic computers come back to them because of problems. Something wrong with the software, he said. I have a Suunto Gekko and it works well enough for me. And I dive a lot (~30 dives a month). Go for the Suuntos.

Hope that helps,
marku

 

[DiveMaven]

I'm assuming you're putting together these specific pieces of gear as packages for a better price than buying them one by one. My husband dives with AquaLung regs (Legend) and Oceanic BC (ProQD+) and computer (Pro+2, and loves all of them. I dive with none of these.

What I would say is this. You and your wife should try on the BCs and see which fits better and is more comfortable. If the LDS's have them available for trying in the pool, even better. If you're wanting a package deal, buy the one that has the BC that fits the best.

IMHO all of the gear you're looking at is good stuff, and it simply comes down to personal preference which one you choose. For example, for all those that dive with Suunto, you'll find just as many who prefer another brand, and vice and versa.

 

[WileEDiver]

The regs and computers don't have "fit" issues--BCDs do! One of the reasons that there are so many BCDs out there (even by the same manufacturer) is that different ones feel better on different people. In addition to comfort, check out the features of the BCDs with respect to D-rings, rear dumps, pockets, etc. I believe these are all jacket style BCDs, so that is not an issue, but what about trying some back inflation styles (like the SeaQuest Balance)?

 

[theskull]

AquaLung! Much better reputation for quality construction, durability, performance, and service issues.

A few others are as good (ScubaPro, Cressi) but not Oceanic.

theskull

 

[stoiclown]

There both good equipment, I lean towards agua lung though. Very good equipment, also check out the new PRO XLT, it a like 50.00 more & in my opinion a far better BCD, than the PRO QD. No one thing stands out, just a bunch of little things.