What item of equipment was a waste of money?

[Hoya97]

[Things I bought, but regretted:

2) A $200 "fairing" for my AtPac. I was a teenager, and I thought the AtPac fairing looked futuristic, like something from a Cousteau special. It completely enclosed my tank, first stage and back inflation in a streamlined fiberglass shell. The only thing missing was a matching light helmet. I epoxied it white (it was originally lime green), put on some fancy decals and thought it was cool. I made one dive trip with it before figuring out that it made changing tanks an ordeal and that it increased my drag in the water about a zillion percent. I sold it at a yard sale for 10 bucks.

Thought it funny you should mention the AtPac. When I was a kid, I thought that was the sexyiest piece of equipment on the block and wanted one so bad I would have sold my sister into slavery for it. But alas, I couldn't catch her so never had the money to buy one. Never thought about the difficulty of changing out the tanks or the increased drag. It was just so cool! SIGH. Guess I, by default, made the right decision!

Lee

 

[BigJetDriver]

My dearest Paul.... as a wise man once said, "Computers Rot Your Brain."

You've been using a computer, haven't you Paul? Tsk Tsk Tsk....

As an even wiser man once said: "Computers Don"t Rot Your Brain, Lack of Use Does!" I am sure the good doctor is capable of using of using a computer as a tool (as well as sharp objects, and medical texts) to extend his brain's capability.

 

[steve2281]

My DAN tag. Yes, I still have the ins, but got rid of the tag.

 

[Rick Inman]

[Things I bought, but regretted:

2) A $200 "fairing" for my AtPac. I was a teenager, and I thought the AtPac fairing looked futuristic, like something from a Cousteau special. It completely enclosed my tank, first stage and back inflation in a streamlined fiberglass shell. The only thing missing was a matching light helmet. I epoxied it white (it was originally lime green), put on some fancy decals and thought it was cool. I made one dive trip with it before figuring out that it made changing tanks an ordeal and that it increased my drag in the water about a zillion percent. I sold it at a yard sale for 10 bucks.

Thought it funny you should mention the AtPac. When I was a kid, I thought that was the sexyiest piece of equipment on the block and wanted one so bad I would have sold my sister into slavery for it. But alas, I couldn't catch her so never had the money to buy one. Never thought about the difficulty of changing out the tanks or the increased drag. It was just so cool! SIGH. Guess I, by default, made the right decision!

Lee

Hey! Don't you dis the AtPac! They were cool. They were sexy. And as long as you never had to drop your shot and found out it was permanently welded into the plastic housing, it was great to dive, too. The precursor to the popular PB/W.
Talking bad about the AtPac is like talking bad about Grandma. Sure, she may need a shave, but you don't need to point it out.

 

[mcm007]

I agree with the Zombie, I was thinking about cancelling my subscription to Rodale's, but it keeps my head in the water year round. The pictures are horrible, especially the ads with the same girl in the Flourescent Yellow and Pink Neoprene for the last 20 years... and always pics of poor diving and hoses dragging on coral. the gadget articles are getting better, since the new "takeover" at rodales.. I like the "horror" stories of bad dives.. I am always learning, especially after other peoples mistakes.

 

[mike_s]

Wow, this is an old thread.

Here's my 2 cents worth.

I don't think that Rodales is worth the $18/year they want. So I was going to cancel my subscription (or not renew it). Anyway, I did renew it, but for $8.95 for 2 years through an Ebay vendor (blueskymagazines). That's about 40cents per issue, which is about what it's worth. So I'll take it for that...

What items do I wish I'd NOT bought?

1.) The cheapest pair of dive fins the shop had for my first fins. what a waste of money as I had to buy a better pair and buying the first pair was like flushing money down the toliet.

2.) Dive Knife: Other have said it, but you don't really need that big old knife. The smaller ones are fine or a pair of shears. Sad thing is that I've got more than one dive knife that I never use.

3.) Tripple-A (AAA) dive flashlight. I keep it now about the A/C thermostat in the house to I can use it at night to check the temp before going to bed.

4.) Cheapest mask the dive shop had. Not as bad as the fins, but still a waste of money and pretty much a wal-mart snorkle mask.

5.) Any retractors I've bought.

6.) Used, out of hydro/VIP, old tanks. By the time I paid for the tanks, the Hydro, VIP, air-fill, replaced leaky valves and air fill after valve replacement, I could have bought brand new tanks.


What's some of the good stuff I've bought?

1.) A good quality gear bag instead of a "wal-mart special"

2.) A dive-weight carry bag. Great for getting all those weights out of the gear bag and into their own bag. Also keeps them all in the same place and keeps me from dropping weights on my toes more often.

3.) Dive camera. I don't have a fancy one, but it allows me to share my dive experiences with others.

-mike

 

[deadend]

1. Jetfins-the dive shop "dude" when I first started said they were the best and I tried to like them for 3+ years but had to make someone take them away so I'd quit punishing myself and get good fins and be happy All the older divers I knew had traded them out for freediving fins. I should have listened to them instead of the dive shop "dude".

2. Aluminum tanks when I first started. My father always had steel and recommended that to me. The dive shop "dude" insisted on AL. Luckily I bought neutral AL 80's so they weren't as bad, but still not as good as steel.

3. Dacor Pacer 960 metal 2nd stage regulators. Everyone swore by them including me now but if I'd have only known I'd get screwed later I'd have bought Zeagle then.
Should have listened to experience instead of the dive shop "dudes" who have been replaced many times over the years.

Good stuff:
Oceanic Shadow mask in black
FredT backplate
Cressi-Sub Gara 3000 freediving fins
Wenoka Blackie Collins EZ-lock titanium knife
Cheap Home Depot blue rubber over knit gloves
Ray Odor .223 ppd

 

[opiniongirl]

underwater lazer pointer.

Neat, but absolutely useless.

 

[gle]

My OW card. It has been a downward spiral of equipment, withdrawal symptoms, quick fixes, more equipment. Talking about wasting money

 

[grazie42]

Snorcle
I bought one that sorta came with my mask...never used it...finally lost it somewhere.
Then my LDS had a sale and I bought a new one(!). It was cheap but I never use it, waiting for the day when I suddenly can´t find it...

Dry-gloves
Bought a pair (quick disconnects that weren´t even quickly disconnectable the one time I put them on to make sure it could be done)...I´ve never used them and don´t think I ever will...I´ve done hour-long dives in 4C (45F?) degree water with wetgloves and it never bothered me...