OMS why all the flames?

[nyresq]

OK here we go, I might be starting a house fire but that is not my intention, so no trolls needed.

for this thread please disregard the topic of Bungeed wings, BWOD, and DIR vs. non-DIR, these have been beaten to death in other topics and have no relation to this question.
So,
My question is, why does OMS get such a bad rap on this forum, or more specificly I would like to hear from people who have had problems with their OMS gear, be it wings, lights or tanks etc...

I have seen people list their customer service from bad to nonexistant, but why were you calling them in the first place?

I have from OMS: two sets of doubles, and two singles with all oms hardware, two wings, a stainless BP, a harness pocket and a deco reg. I have to say I have never needed to call OMS for any problems so I do not know firsthand about their customer service, but I think their products are first rate, and their prices are better then some others (halcyon).

I especially like the design of the wings with the internal bladder that can be patched with a standard patch kit. And the new mini hid canister light looks like a good idea.

so why the bad rap on the forum?
...and please post only of things you know first hand, no "friends-cousin had a buddy who was without a bc for 6 months cause OMS didn't call him back"....

 

[Bob3]

My only complaint with OMS is that I sometimes worry of dying from old age before the order comes in. :tease:
Other'n that, remember when everybody was wearing shirts with the little alligators on the pocket? You weren't squat if ya didn't have an alligator...

 

[Walter]

Other than the bungie issue, I wasn't aware there was an issue with OMS equipment.

 

[Scubaroo]

My main gripes with OMS are these:

1. Their main mode of advertising appears to be "trash the competitor's gear" rather than let their own gear sell on it's own merits.
2. Sudden changes of heart in gear philosophy - not too long ago, OMS were publicly trashing barrel manifolds with dual o-rings, claiming that they were an inferior design because they needed two o-rings per side in order to prevent failure. OMS have since released a THREE o-ring per side manifold, claiming it is the best design out there. Around the same time, they pulled the page saying that TWO o-rings was one too many.
3. They have doctored images of Halcyon logos on a generic backplate on their website, again, trashing a competitor's equipment. I wrote to them to register my complaint at such marketing tactics, the response was very unprofessional. They have a big anti-Halcyon chip on their shoulder.
4. Vaporware - they advertise items before they can go to market - how long have people been waiting for the hot dipped galvanised OMS tanks? Funnily enough, in the same advertising material, they trash painted tanks - which is what they're still selling.

Things I like about OMS:
1. Their imperial brass SPG - very nice piece of gear. Just recommended it to another ScubaBoarder in another thread (and probably in a dozen more elsewhere).

OMS just have a very poor marketing department, and their corporate image is suffering.

 

[sasdasdaf]

on top of their poor marketing efforts, they also do make some ridiculous crap.

some examples:
bungee wings
100 lb wings (!)
double bladder wings
slob knobs
metal to metal stage kits
metal to metal light/argon mounts
deco reg mouth covers

can anyone make a reasoned argument for producing these items? not me.

on the other hand, they do make some good items, such as their SPG. i have one and i'm perfectly happy with it. i believe their regular wing is fine, as are some other items.

 

[O-ring]

You forgot the manifold cages. A lot of the good stuff is on this page - http://www.omsdive.com/valve-access.html .

The slobwinders are classic though..hehe..

 

[MikeFerrara]

Most companies want to market what they can sell. They let the market make the value judgments.

Metal to metal stage connections is SOP for most sidemount divers both in the US and overseas. If anybody has to worry about getting stuck and having to remove a piece of gear it's them. Reg covers are another example. It's been SOP for many years to be able to tell bottles apart by feel. There may be other ways but my gueass as to why they sell the stuff is that there are those out there who want to buy them.

Double bladder bc's is a real good example and one of the most fun to talk about. I haven't yet had any one explain to me how a balanced rig would get you out of a cave where the line is 10 ft off the bottom and the bottom is covered with deep silt. Being able to swim a rig up doesn't mean anything. You need the ability to get neutral. Without a dry suit I don't see how you're going to do it. If you're in a wet suit and if you have ditchable weight and if you ditch it, when you get shallower you'll end up buoyant and stuck against the roof.

 

[Karl_in_Calif]

OMS and Halcyon trash each other, about equally.

If you want to avoid them both, you can go down the DiveRite road.

However, if you are an open water wreck diver, you may see a fair amount of OMS gear on the boat.

And on the other hand, if you are diving caves, you will probably only see Halcyon gear.

 

[sasdasdaf]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...

I haven't yet had any one explain to me how a balanced rig would get you out of a cave where the line is 10 ft off the bottom and the bottom is covered with deep silt. Being able to swim a rig up doesn't mean anything. You need the ability to get neutral. Without a dry suit I don't see how you're going to do it. If you're in a wet suit and if you have ditchable weight and if you ditch it, when you get shallower you'll end up buoyant and stuck against the roof. [/B]

If you use a drysuit with heavy steel tanks and a wetsuit with aluminum tanks, you avoid this discussion altogether.

 

[JimC]

I have always wonder how being in AL tanks with an 8lb V-Weight bolted in them was any better than Steel's in a wet suit when you loose a wing.

Your still way to negative.


So you make the weight dichable.. now your back to being glued to the roof.