Qualities of Equipment Manufacturers

[yelldawg]

I just recently completed my PADI open water course through my local dive shop. They taught us a lot about the equipment we need and what it does, but they only sell Scuba Pro. It seems like there is a lot of other manufacturers out there, some at a lower price point.

I want to purchase some of my own gear, but don't want to overpay or necessarily spend for "top quality" gear, since I'll only dive a handful of times per year. Since our dive shop only sold Scuba Pro, they didn't tell us about any of the other brands.

How would you rate the other brands? Who has a consistent "best value". Who is the "cheap and cuts corners" brand? How would you rank Scuba Pro versus Cressi, Aqua Lung, Tusa, Oceanic, Aeris, and all the others?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Pane]

Scuba Pro is great stuff, and far from the most expensive. There's worse brands you can get stuck with

 

[dbulmer]

Yelldawg,
Your question is a very broad one indeed.

To answer your question I am going to assume that your diving will be conducted in warm water conditions.

Since you are just starting out, what I would do in your position is to postpone any buying decisions in the short term apart from getting a mask that fits, a wetsuit that fits and fins/boots (I prefer fins with boots because generally it can give you better propulsion and open up beach diving and boat diving. )

Rent the gear first and make a note of what you liked and disliked about an item. No one manufacturer in my opinion gets everything right - it will depend on the item. For example, I use a very cheap hood for my diving here but use a very expensive undersuit for my drysuit.

My point is that each item has to prove its value to me irrespective of brand. Sometimes you do have to pay over the odds for something you want - at that point manufacturers cater for our individual preferences and what I might like might be vastly different to what someone else wants or perceives to be better value.

 

[lmorin]

IMHO, all the manufacturers make good quality equipment as determined from a safety standpoint. Beyond that, as others have said, everything comes down to personal preference and the conditions under which you will be diving (e.g., cold water vs warm). Rent and keep a record of what you use and what you like or dislike. Go to a variety of dive shops and try on BCDs of different types from different manufacturers. Look at the details and write all the info down. Make repeat visits. You'll gradually figure out what is good for you.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Because of the threat of lawsuits my own opinion is that every major and even smaller manufacturers of equipment would not put out anything that is not safe. It all works and frankly if maintained properly works well. As a new diver who will only dive a handful of times a you would not notice the difference between a $700 dollar Scubapro reg and say an Edge Gear or Sherwood one that sells for less than half that. Don't let anyone tell you any different. A BC is a BC and a $250 one will do the same as one costing $600 or more. You can even check for used equipment. Nothing wrong with that just be sure to figure in the cost of a rebuild on a reg.

 

[coolhandcarter]

SCUBA Pro is great gear. Most dive shops use SCUBA Pro as their rental gear because it is reliable and tough. It can handle people not treating it like their own gear and still work with minimal maintenance.

Atomic IMO is the best your money can buy in terms of masks and regs. I have heard good things in terms of their new computer but it hasn't been out long and the $1,200 price tag is a big pill to swallow.

Oceanic is the only computer I buy anymore. They are super user friendly and make a model to suit your diving level and your pocket book.

Another work horse in the Dive industry is Zeagle. I have a zeagle BD and reg that have logged more dives than any other of my gear and they still look new and work great.

But it is mostly on the diving that you plan on doing and the amount of money that you are planning on spending. The best advice that I can give you is to not just buy something because it is what you can afford. Use rental and save your money for the stuff that is worth it. The stuff that has good warrantees like Atomic and SCUBA Pro. And free parts like SCUBA Pro. You loose so much money if you buy a set of gear that requires you to pay for parts every year after 2 years you have covered the difference that the SCUBA Pro would have cost you.

 

[mike_s]

I just recently completed my PADI open water course through my local dive shop. They taught us a lot about the equipment we need and what it does, but they only sell Scuba Pro. It seems like there is a lot of other manufacturers out there, some at a lower price point.

I want to purchase some of my own gear, but don't want to overpay or necessarily spend for "top quality" gear, since I'll only dive a handful of times per year. Since our dive shop only sold Scuba Pro, they didn't tell us about any of the other brands.

How would you rate the other brands? Who has a consistent "best value". Who is the "cheap and cuts corners" brand? How would you rank Scuba Pro versus Cressi, Aqua Lung, Tusa, Oceanic, Aeris, and all the others?

Thanks for your thoughts!

You didn't say if you have other shops around.... (other local choices).

it's nice to have a local shop to take your gear to if you have a problem. So if you don't have another shop around, then you can either
a.) buy locally from your ScubaPro LDS
b.) buy (mail order, internet, or while on travel) from another shop.


While ScubaPro is good gear, it runs on the side of being some of the more expensive. There are cheaper options and most of the other brands are good gear also.

Note that if you buy "some other brand", that it's possible for your local shop to "chastise" your free choice to buy gear elsewhere.

but remember it's your wallet.... not theirs.... Don't let them bully you.



An other option is for them to be price competitive. Ask them for a deal.

 

[yelldawg]

Thanks everyone! To answer some of the follow up questions, I'd be doing warm water dives around the southeast USA and Caribbean, mostly from a boat not shore.

I suppose I am looking for a good, reliable brand of equipment without breaking the bank. Its like saying I don't need to buy a cadillac or BMW for my daily commute to work, when an affordable and well running Honda will do the same thing.

I recognize that I need a shop to service it, and that I should be supportive of my local shop. We only really have one true dive shop in the area, and for things like BCs and Regs, they only sell or promote ScubaPro.

I do appreciate the idea of renting and keeping really good notes on what I use. I'm just mindful that at $40-$60 per rental package, over 8-12 dives per year, I could easily have mid-tier equipment purchased for the same price instead.

BUT ULTIMATELY, from what I'm reading from responses, it comes down to fit and personal preferences. A Oceanic BCD with a Sherwood Reg, Aeris Mask/Fins and Tusa computer (brands selected at random) could potentially be just as great as buying the full Scuba Pro package, depending on personal factors. Right?

 

[mike_s]

BUT ULTIMATELY, from what I'm reading from responses, it comes down to fit and personal preferences.

Exactly. the reason I own/use brand _______ booties is that they fit my feet better and work better for my type diving than another brand does.

and everyone is shaped differently and does different type diving.


someone else might use a completely different brand because their foot, etc is shaped differently and they need something else. same goes for the rest of the gear.

A Oceanic BCD with a Sherwood Reg, Aeris Mask/Fins and Tusa computer (brands selected at random) could potentially be just as great as buying the full Scuba Pro package, depending on personal factors. Right?

I think you'll find that a majority of the board uses different brand equipment. Such as an Dive Rite BP/W (BC) and then some other brand Regulator set.


One thing you might want to consider keeping the same brands on equipment is your regulator set. Having the same brand first and second stages makes it easier to get serviced because not all dealer will stock "rebuild kits" for all regulators. (even though many of the kits are interchangeable).

 

[diver_doug]

Fins: Mares, aqualung, scubapro, apollo, atomic, tusa

Masks: Atomic, mares, scubapro, aqualung, cressi, tusa

BC's: Aqualung, scubapro, dive rite, halcyon

Regs: Scubapro, atomic, apeks, aqualung

Computers: Atomic, suunto, uwatec, oceanic

You can't really go wrong with the aforementioned brands. I don't want to tell you which is "the best deal" because that is such a relative phrase. For example, a good Tusa mask is about $60 whereas a good Atomic mask is about $100. You could therefore make the argument that the Tusa mask is "the better deal". But to me the Atomic is the best mask available; so since I'm completely happy with it and have no desire to replace it, in some sense, it is a better deal. The same could be said when comparing regs, computers etc.