The Scuba Pro v Poseidon thing

[batmanusa]

You know, these comments are helpful; they make me think from angles I have previously not considered. Having said that, the reason I got into teaching scuba is I love the discipline inherent in the sport. Teaching newbies to become competent safe divers is rewarding to me, both directly and indirectly. A number of you have addressed the power of influence. Let me talk about that for a moment. Each student, regardless of motivation, eventually and quite literally places a part of their life in our hands. In other words they trust us, or in this case me, and they do it in writing, every time they complete and sign the necessary forms. I am not so advanced that I have forgotten what it feels like to be where they are. I take my role and their trust very seriously. See, when I took my first OW class I was already professionally established in my career, and financially stable, but since childhood I always wanted to scuba dive. I’d sit glued to the telly watching the adventures on Sea Hunt, and later Jacques Cousteau, and later still Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Wow, boy does that take me back. It just seems I could never find the time. You know, school, then school, school after that school then job, family, children, more school. No time for Jacques. So when I finally found the time to learn to dive on scuba I searched the industry for the best instructor I could find, someone who understood my learning style and time constraints. What I found was a retired navy doctor who promptly told me “that to really learn safe diving takes time. You should find that, and come back, but here’s a list of many who will fit your time constraint.” Needless to say, I found the time, and a priceless instructor, friend, and resource. He’s dead now, cancer, but his influence is unquestionable, I’ll give you that. I vaguely remember his gear. I think it was mostly Aqua-Lung, but I know it was old. As for my gear, if I believe a thing works for me I say so, I recommend that students take gear and training very seriously, because their life may depend on it. I believe they should research, rent, and then buy. The internet is an excellent resource for research. A good LDS will augment your research, fit, sale and stand behind the product. Shop owners don’t buy on impulse. Ask any rep. I know many shop owners, I can’t think of one who buys anything without doing their homework. So, I will not recommend that students impulse buy either. My goal is to teach them to make informed decisions. Look, I don’t prod students into Bill’s or any other shop, and I certainly do not and will not masquerade in Scuba Pro. And Bill would never ask me to. I teach students to dive on scuba competently, I don’t sell gear.
O, BTW, I like Scuba Pro; they stand behind their stuff. New students especially need something they can grow with. I did. So this Scuba Pro v Poseidon thing, and Bill’s Poseidon bigotry is puzzling, in a funny kinda way.
Thanks
Bat

 

[nthach]

Ok, isnt Scubapro more of a rec-oriented line, while Poisedon is more for tech diving?

 

[tiretread]

I'm not an instructor, so my words are coming from a "consumer" not a provider. We as students had rental (Dacor) gear that was the same as the shop sold yet the instructor and "helper" both had Poseidon. My instructor's helper (not sure if in those days he was a DM or what) loaned me his reg for my test. It was an (now old) Poseidon 300 (red). This made a big impression on me. I was reading all the related magazines and library books I could on diving because I wanted to get some good gear. Remember this was before the internet so all we had was magazines and what our local dive shop said. Magazines didn't have many if any reviews on Poseidon gear but if you looked closely at the pictures of the "tech" divers in those days they almost all had Poseidon stuff. The fact that my instructors used Poseidon and they worked for me once was all it took to seed in my head that Poseidon was the way to go. Since, I've taken my Posiedons to depths way over what is accepted these days. I used them from bubbly warm pool water to cutting holes in ice and they have never ever let me down. My point to this is that if my instructors wore Aqualung or ScubaPro or some other name (except Dacor lol) I might be typing this whole reply stating I use those brands. It's a hard call on your part. I certainly would not over look just how influential a instructor's gear choice is to a new diver even 20 years on.

Excellent statement and I concur with it 100%.

 

[The Chad]

Indeed

 

[Scubakevdm]

Ok, isnt Scubapro more of a rec-oriented line, while Poisedon is more for tech diving?

It is my experience that in tech diving today the major players are Scubapro and Apeks.

 

[batmanusa]

It is my experience that in tech diving today the major players are Scubapro and Apeks.

Wow, do you mean that? And what's a major player? Are there minor players? What do they dive/ wear/ use? Just Poseidon? Scubakevdm, I don’t think you meant it the way that it sounds, but that’s a slippery slope to be on. Thank for taking the time to comment.
Bat

 

[Scubakevdm]

Wow, do you mean that? And what's a major player? Are there minor players? What do they dive/ wear/ use? Just Poseidon? Scubakevdm, I don’t think you meant it the way that it sounds, but that’s a slippery slope to be on. Thank for taking the time to comment.
Bat

Yes. A major player is a material constituent or a company that has a large share of the market. In this part of the world, the majority of the technical diving regulator market is flat out dominated by ScubaPro and Apeks. I would estimate that as the waters get cooler Poseidon gains more market share, but down here they are pretty rare. I see more Aqualung regs on tech rigs than I see Poseidon, which would make Poseidon a very minor player. I don't know what Poseidon wears, I guess some kind of purple toga. I do know he has a big fork.

 

[batmanusa]

Yes. A major player is a material constituent or a company that has a large share of the market. In this part of the world, the majority of the technical diving regulator market is flat out dominated by ScubaPro and Apeks. I would estimate that as the waters get cooler Poseidon gains more market share, but down here they are pretty rare. I see more Aqualung regs on tech rigs than I see Poseidon, which would make Poseidon a very minor player. I don't know what Poseidon wears, I guess some kind of purple toga. I do know he has a big fork.

O-K, Sir, it appears I was wrong. You were serious. And for that I apologize.
Bat

 

[Charlie59]

I certainly do not and will not masquerade in Scuba Pro. And Bill would never ask me to.

I'm not sure that using equipment that you feel is a good product is some moral quandary. The issue isn't what you like, but presenting yourself in the least confusing manner possible. I'm not sure I see any noble cause in scuba gear, as long as it is safe and the manufacturer is reliable.

Also, as stated in other posts in other threads, similar equipment worn by student and instructor has safety and educational advantages.

While I don't want you to feel like a hypocrite, I don't see the real issue.

 

[divingbuddy]

I have seen this issue from both sides - as a student and as an instructor.

As a student, I was keenly observant in the fact that my instructors and divemasters did not wear the same gear as the shop sold. After becoming a divemaster with that same shop myself I found out the reason for this was simple economics - the owner of the shop gave no discount on his rather inflated prices. The staff divers (8 of 'em together at one time) drove 5 minutes down the road to get a much better deal on equally quality gear.

As an instructor, my first OW weekend with the shop I currently teach for, I wore my Dive Rite Trans Pac (which I really did like and felt very comfortable with). Unfortunately, my students were equally impressed with the Trans Pac. That made me realize I had to change if I was going to continue teaching for this shop. I explained my desire to wear gear that my students could purchase from the shop to the owners, who (as it turns out) offer their staff gear at cost (or even better for larger purchases like drysuits, regs, and computers - they arrange special pricing from the manufacturers). They had similar gear that I was equally impressed with (and more impressed with now), so I switched to an OMS BP/wing and sold the Trans Pac.

Lesson learned - having the instructor wear gear that the shop sells is a two way street. Owners/LDS need to offer significant economic incentives for the instructors to purchase the gear the shop sells - or provide quality gear free of charge to use while teaching their students. A DM who may or may not be making much money for his time and efforts may not feel too happy about having to replace gear that he/she already owns at their own expense.

If your friend doesn't like your Poseidons (of which I own two sets - one my primary/long hose on my doubles), then he can provide you a quality set of serviced Scuba Pro regs for you to use (free of charge). If that is not a suitable solution to you, then you should decline the offer to help him out. If he doesn't want you as you are equipped, and you don't want to switch gear, then shake hands as friends and go your separate ways.

I am fortunate that the shop I work for sells gear that I am comfortable using (including Poseidon). In fact, the mask, fins, snorkel and regs I use to teach OW class are the same regs the students use. Why? To show them the confidence I have in the equipment they will be using.

Just my two cents...Cheers!