Questions about ScubaDiving.com??

[Brannon132]

Hey guys, my name is Brannon and I am pretty new to scuba diving. I am looking into getting some gear and was wondering how bias eyebrow un-bias are they at Scubadiving.com. They have reviews on gear and such but are they partial towards certain brand names? Also are there reviews reliable how do they stack up to divers reviews??? Any other info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the time, Brannon

 

[WileEDiver]

Many have noted the apparent connection between manufacturer's advertising (in the mag) and the positive reviews their product receive. In at least one case my shop owner noted that the same snorkles made by the same company for branding by 2 different "manufacturers" received significantly different ratings--for the same snorkle! Also, you won't find reviews for Scubapro products in their pages.

BTW, welcome to the board!

 

[drbill]

Dan- Interesting since I know some of the testers at least on some of the items. Were there any differences in the two snorkels in terms of color, pattern, etc., that might have introduced an unconscious bias towards one based on aesthetics?

ScubaPro's choice not to have their products tested is an interesting one. Of course I think that ScubaLab (started by a deceased friend of mine, Jon Hardy) should actually blind purchase product and test it rather than use product submitted by the manufacturer. Yes, I know that would increase the cost... but if they tested the products locally instead of on expensive trips to exotic destinations, I think they could handle the purchases especially if they were made based on professional discounts. Of course one of my dive buddies who is a tester might not like that!

 

[WileEDiver]

Dan- Interesting since I know some of the testers at least on some of the items. Were there any differences in the two snorkels in terms of color, pattern, etc., that might have introduced an unconscious bias towards one based on aesthetics?

Bill-

When I get home (next week), I'll get the particulars on the snorkels and even see if I can dig up the reviews in question. For now, though, I'm on Maui enjoying the weather and the diving (saw 30 [by count] manta rays at a "cleaning station" on a DPV dive this afternoon--Wow!).

Happy New Year to you! Maybe in 2006 we can get a chance to meet and better yet dive together.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I find the UK reviewers pull fewer punches - if they don't like something, they're not shy about it, nor why they dislike it. I'll put the link here in case you'd like to check their Gear section.

http://www.divernet.com/index.shtml

 

[scubatoys]

Actually, you'll see the zeagle envoy deluxe getting best buy testers choice, as did some zeagle BC's... and Scott, being a cheap %$^$#, has not spent one penny on advertising with them.

So I'm pretty sure that disproves the "ads make the review" theory. And as far as the snorkels, don't know for sure on that one... would like to see it - but many times you can have a product, made by the same manufacturer, but still have subtle differences. Maybe one had a different attachment than the other, or a different mouthpiece.

I just ordered 10,000 snorkels... so I could have them made the way I want them.. Made by the same company that makes Scubapro, Genesis, Dacor snorkels.. but mine are slightly different than any of theirs. Don't know if it was something like that... but overall, I don't see a bias toward the largest advertisers.

 

[Diver0001]

Actually, you'll see the zeagle envoy deluxe getting best buy testers choice, as did some zeagle BC's... and Scott, being a cheap %$^$#, has not spent one penny on advertising with them.

So I'm pretty sure that disproves the "ads make the review" theory.

Larry,

The review *is* the ad. Do you think you can get a testers choice rating from Rodales without paying for it?

R..

 

[redacted]

From what I can tell, much of their test methodology is dependent on subjective assessments from their users (testers). And it is not completely balanced design meaning every tester does not use every test item. So some random variance should be expected and a rating of 23 for one item and 24 for another does not mean that they are really different. Even with objective tests like regs on a breathing machine, 2copies of the same reg, tuned a little different, may give different performance results. Just because the brand name on the cover are different should not be assumed to mean that the brands are different. Overall, they seem to do a pretty good job. My only consern is that they rarely will call a POS a POS, with the exception of some off-brand MO stuff where ratings seem to be biased to the low side IMHO.

 

[Tavi]

I remember reading a few years ago (I think it was here) that Scuba Pro would let them test their products but would not allow them to print their review without Scuba Pro's approval.

Since they aren't in there maybe the reviews weren't that great.

 

[spectrum]

They are a source on info, that's about all. Most reviews Target a buzz word like newest, lightest, most afordabe so you never see the whole spectrum n a single view. You also must be mindful of the review situation, setting, gear and diver. You don't want to buy a set of fins for cold water drysuit diving based on somene swimming around in a diveskin.

Your best resource IMO is the ScubaBoard gear forum. Spend some quality time there reading pages of dialog. After a while the terminology will come into focus as well as who uses what and where. Even here there are som biases but if you read you can get a good overview.Then you are on your way to making intelligent decsisions about your own dive gear.

When something is not clear do a search and if all fails post a question.

Welcome to ScubaBoard and to a wonderful sport.

Pete