Scubapro dive gear

[meesier42]

well you have a ton of options besides SP. Look into it for a while, I am sure that you will find that SP is not the best equipment on the market. Price in this market has nothing to do with quality, you can easily get a great kit for a lot less than all SP, and most of the time end up with better gear, that fits you and your diving style better. A good place to start is the ergonomic scores that Rodales Scuba Diving publishes. They are not the end-all in reviews, but they try. and at least the ergonomic scores and their "Best Buy" ratings are good places to start.

Specifically- the ones I have expirience with
BCD- Aeris Atmos XT (or LX) very stable and comfortable
Regs- Zeagle DS-V, easily the best breathing reg I have ever used
both were given the Best Buy rankings and have proven to be worth every cent

 

[Joe-Diver]

I agree with all the responses to look around and compare, but if you do decide to go all ScubaPro, you will have a great kit of quality equipment. Just understand that you are paying a premium for the name, so if you're okay with that, go for it!

 

[Damselfish]

If you decide to go all Scubapro just by name, you should have quality equipment but it may not be "great" because the item that would work best for you may simply not be Scubapro. (And the fact that all your friends use Scubapro is by itself no logical reason whatsoever to choose Scubapro - heck, they may have had no better reason than their friends had Scubapro...)

Scubapro is generally good gear but not necessarily the best and has it's pros and cons like pretty much everything. Within the major brands, price is somewhat an indication of what you get, but not completely, and is more related to features and/or brand name, not safety.

You also want to consider ease and cost of getting things serviced. For example, I have Scubapro regs and have found them somewhat difficult to get serviced in the Caribbean despite what I had always heard, and I've unfortunately had a number of occasions to need service.

I would especially not get attached to any particular brand for things where fit is by far the most important factor, like wetsuits, masks & BCs. Different brands just make things with different cuts and fits and you might very well find brands other than Scubapro happen to have the stuff that fits you better.

For safety, you want decent quality, well maintained gear that fits. As long as you have that, brand or how much you spend has nothing to do with your safety.

 

[Wayward Son]

I like SP & have some SP gear. All our regs are SP right now. But I also have something from a lot, Aqualung, Henderson, Body Glove, XS Scuba, Zeagle, Ikelite, Biller, Sea Vision, Cressi, etc.

Zeagle has a lifetime warranty on their BC's, SP does not.

Lots of reasons to make the decision as to what to get besides what label it has on it.

 

[Chipmon]

I had a Sherwood Maximus regulator and a Seaquest BC that lasted me 16 years and as far as I know they may still be working just fine, but I sold them and went Scubapro. I have the MK25/S600 and the Classic Plus BC. The regulator is the best breathing reg I've found (The Atomic T1 was right there in my opinion), the BC is made very well, however the downside is the weight of the BC. If you are traveling(flying) with this BC, you better be ready to fork out a few extra bucks for overweight bags. I am considereing buying a lighter BC for my air travel. Yes, the Scubapro is expensive, for me it was well worth the investment.

 

[BDSC]

First of all congratulation ReelDUel on getting certified! I hope you will have many years of great diving.

I think you are making a wise choice in selecting Scubapro equipment. I own pretty much all Scubapro as my basic equipment. I have been diving their equipment for 18 years and have never had one single problem with any of my equipment. I have the MK17/S555 reg and the Classic Plus BC with the AIR II. All are great pieces of equipment. I really liked the AIR II concept as my octopus. It eliminates the need for an extra hose and regulator. I also have Scubapro fins and mask but I don't think the brand you select for those is as important. Whatever fits you well on those should work just fine. In my opinion don't bother with a snorkle or get a really cheap one. You will soon take it off and probably never dive with it again.

I know a lot of people will say why Scubapro? They say you can get something that is better a lot cheaper. But think about it. Can you really get something BETTER that is a lot CHEAPER? Not hardly. If that were true, then it wouldn't be long before Scubapro would be out of business. Scubapro is a brand that has been around for many years and will continue to be so because they offer top quality equipment. Is it expensive? Yep. Can you buy cheaper stuff? Yep. Will the cheaper stuff work ok? For the most part yes. There are a lot of manufactures of dive equipment and they all make good equipment. If anyone out there was making junk or poor quality stuff, they will soon be out of business. But don't take anyone's word for it. Go to Scubalab and see their reviews on equipment. Especially the regs. You will find that Scubapro consistently ranks near the top along with Atomics. And the people who designs Atomics are the same people who designed Scubapro.

I find that many people tend to buy what is sold by the dive shop where they were certified and have never tried a lot of other brands. I'm one of those although I have tried a few other brands when I have switched out regs with a buddy now and then just to see how the others perform. Some performed as good as my scubapro and some I didn't like as well. But none were better.

So if you want Scubapro, get it. I would advise that you buy it from a authorized dealer because they will honor the manufacturers warranty. Many online retailers are not authorized dealers. Some are. So just check that out if you go that route on your purchase. If your local dive shop sells Scubapro then you can be pretty sure they are an authorized dealer.

Of course none of this addresses your original question about how much you should have to spend. So if you want to know this, I would suggest you go to a site like Leisurepro. They sell Scubapro. You can check out their prices. You will probably pay a little more than what they have posted at your local dive shop. But your local dive shop will be an authorized dealer and will honor the Scubapro warranty.

Good luck with your purchase whatever it ends up being.

BDSC

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I am not stuck on SP, just my friends who I will be diving with all use SP. I just want the best I can get for my money!! Once again I want to get safe equipment with good warranties(heck if you die using it who cares at that point) Must be the legal beagle in me(or my wife). What would you think it should cost for this gear??

The wife and I were just OW certified and I do not want to rent gear to dive.. Like owning a house VS renting. Understand where I am coming from...

Thank you for helping

Fred

A top end SP setup is going to be close to 2500. You can spend more, you can spend less. Regardless of what gear you get or how much you spend I suggest staying away from the online shops.

 

[mig_diver]

I have just gone through the process of buying gear (only regs, bc, and computers) with my dad and my brother and we found that Scuba Pro was quite fixed on their prices. Buying three sets of gear we wanted a discount of course

I ended up getting an Aqualung/Seaquest/Suunto set and both my dad and brother got Oceanic sets. It seems that they were able to get a bigger discount than I did but in the end its your gear and you will be spending a lot so YOU have to be happy with what you purchase. Go with what you are comfortable with.

My wetsuits are both Scuba Pro though and I love them