Tests and reviews done by magazine

[TSandM]

My buddies and I were just talking about how this might make a great deco reg.

Little pricey for that, though!

The thing that bugs me about reviews is that they're limited to the products where the manufacturer is willing to send the gear to the magazine for evaluation. So we never see reviews of things like Salvo regs, and even when somebody DID do a review of wings, none of the brands that are popular around here made it into the review.

 

[Teamcasa]

Hmmm... Maybe ScubaBoard could do gear reviews.... Wait a minute, that is done here everyday!

 

[ArcticDiver]

When I was looking for some new regs a couple years ago I looked at their tests. Their "experts" surely gave their honest opinions, or did they? Were they biased a bit by their personal preferences? Were their experiences biased a bit by some health or physical exertion issue? Were their experiences in the water on that day normalized to be meaningful to someone in another environement? If the people were, in fact, experts who dive frequently how meaningful could that be to someone with limited experience who dives seldom? Breathing underwater is no different than any other skill, it takes experience and currency to do it well. An expert tester can't help but give an impression based on a level of skill and currency the average diver will probably never have.

In short the tester's opinions are just as subjective as anyone else's would be and may, or may not, have any bearing on what a purchaser would experience. Using "Expert Testers" is just an another Jump On The Bandwagon marketing argument.

The machine tests seem to be over hyped. There is so little difference between regulators that the result is more akin to a distinction without a difference than anything else. Even then the testers have artificially limited the test universe so much as to make the outcomes meaningless at best and deceptive at worst.

Nope, they are entertaining but far from credible. Frankly, anyone who would buy a regulator based solely on the magazine's marketing isn't using all the cerebral capacity they were blessed with.

Far better to talk to other divers, read SB, test dive a few if you wish. Even just buy what you were trained with until you get enough experience to make a more personal decision.

 

[nilsdiver]

The work of Breathing test numbers seem to be one of the center points of the testing performed. (I only glanced over the article). Independant verification of the work of breathing performance is good. But im not gonna go out and buy regulators based on these numbers. There are many other features that are more important to me.

Plus putting some helium in your gas is gonna make a much bigger improvement than the difference between a 4 and 5 on the test results.

 

[mason417]

If your new like me, it is very hard to spend alot of money on reg's you may not like. I use ScubaBoard, Dive Mag reviews, Leisure Pro Product reviews, plus divers out on the boats. They are all a tool to help me make the right choice the first time, if possible. But I must say its very hard on here to find help on what equipment to purchase, there are soooooo! many opinions on here it makes my head spin.

 

[ArcticDiver]

If your new like me, it is very hard to spend alot of money on reg's you may not like. I use ScubaBoard, Dive Mag reviews, Leisure Pro Product reviews, plus divers out on the boats. They are all a tool to help me make the right choice the first time, if possible. But I must say its very hard on here to find help on what equipment to purchase, there are soooooo! many opinions on here it makes my head spin.

I felt the same way when I started. Then I realized that for most warm water diving unless you get a set of regs that were sent out of the factory untested, like I did, they are all good. It is just that some people like certain regs and other people like others.

Without reservation I recommend you buy almost any set of regs that are suitable for both warm and cold water diving. Don't spend big bucks. Dive awhile. Then if you have a "need" for something diffrerent that better matches your style buy new regs. When you sell the old ones you won't lose all that much money. Or, keep the old ones as backups, or whatever. The keys are: Don't get paralysis by analysis and Dive as much as you possibly can.

 

[Stu S.]

The magazine compares regulators by "work of breathing", and the spread between the "easy" and "hard" breathers is about one joule of energy.

It takes about a joule of energy to move a paper clip up a flight of stairs. How much more difficult is it to carry two paper clips rather than one? One joule does not seem significant.

How about a corrosion test like salt spray? A drop or impact test? A freeze temperature test? Could we have a water in the first stage test? Those are the things that are important if you plan on investing in a regulator.

 

[Rhone Man]

Without wanting to start an argument, I travel a lot on business and like to pick if Dive mags to read on the flight. By and large, in US magazines the equipment reviews tend to be of the "everything is wonderful" variety, whereas in the UK magazines tend to be much more critical. I certainly value the latter when I am considering parting with hard earned cash for equipment that my safety will depend upon.

Just my opinion.

 

[RJP]

If it is Scuba Diving Mag we're talking about here, I think their "reviews" are thinly disguised advertising at best.

I HEARTILY agree. Advertising dollars are a Major influence on the results of testing. Divers are generally discerning and open and honest. When you dive look at what other divers choose to sustain life underwater, ask them why they choose that manufacturer and model. They will respond: Scubapro; US Divers; Atomic; Sherwood;..... That is the real test, in my humble opinion.

Never forget the primary purpose of the magazine is to make money for the owners. So they aren't exactly an impartial reviewer. Combine that with their methodology and you get a result that is not exactly credible.

It's know it's easy to want to believe this line of thinking, however it bears pointing out the results of the regulator reviews that Scuba Diving magazine has published over the last several years have all been almost completely and 100% consistent with what you read here from thousands of unbiased reviewers - and thousands of biased reviewers as well!

Similarly their fin reviews always align perfectly with the dichotomous discussions seen here on SB regarding splits vs blades vs paddles.

This year's mask review/roundup could have come directly from any of the hundreds of posts here and on other boards from Atomic Frameless or TUSA Visualator or Oceanic Shadow owners.

So I guess you are suggesting that Scuba Diving magazine rigs their reviews to ensure that the results match up with the "real world experience" of divers from every corner of the globe?

Pretty neat trick

 

[halocline]

I'm sure the reviewers report both positive and negative experiences with the gear they evaluate, but I'm sure that the editors lean heavily towards the positive in what they choose to include in the published reviews.

I don't think they're biased towards a particular company, but whole the idea of the magazine is to get people excited for diving and to promote diving in general. Ever read a bad review of a dive destination? Not me.