So I went and bought some gear today.

[scubafanatic]

It seems like there are almost as many people who consult the forum after they buy their gear as there are who do so beforehand. I don't agonize much over purchases in general, but I certainly don't do so after the fact. It's pretty difficult to buy bad gear these days; it's pretty easy to get a bad deal, however. At a glance I'd guess that you did neither.

Here's a good place to compare prices:

LeisurePro.com

Honestly when people consult/advertise what they bought/paid after the fact, I suspect a little bit of boasting is involved, as they are already convinced they got the best deal possible and just want to show off a little bit.

 

[scubafanatic]

It appears that Leisurepro is having trouble with their supply line for Atomic, and with Aqualung as well. They show no Atomic regulators and very few Aqualungs. For example, they have long been out of stock on Legend LX, and, even though it has been on the market for more than a year, have never listed the Titan LX ACD. My LDS tells me this model is selling very well.

You noticed that too ? I wonder what's up with that ? Given the heavy impact of the recession, one might expect MORE gear, not less to be showing up on LP to cure overstock/desperation to keep product moving, unless of course, the gear manufacturers have severely reduced production, and thus gear availability, so severely that they've even overcompensated a bit and gear shortages are in the offing ? BTW, I've have a 50' spool of hose wrap (Trident) and a pair of Akona gloves on backorder (2 months on the wrap and maybe 3-4 months on the gloves) with Scubatoys with no current ETA's, so I really wonder if the recession is 'taking out' a lot of the production capacity in gear we've taken for granted ?