Posted by Wayne on June 08, 2001 at 13:47:43:
In Reply to: Gear: The chicken and the egg posted by JRM on June 08, 2001 at 12:31:56:
Who cares about the salesmen and their motives? I do not. People have to make a living and some make it by selling gear. Most of the people that you are thinking of probably do not make a dime off promoting the gear -- and it does not matter if they do!
The DIR folks have a way of approaching diving that is wholistic. If you go DIR, just do it. The equipment they promote is good rugged stuff and you will not be dissapointed from what I hear. If you do not go DIR, then pick good non-DIR gear.
I always try to talk people into buying Scubapro regulators because mine are total workhorses and have NEVER given any trouble and my personal one has served me well for > 20 years. Because Scubapro has a lifetime warranty, all I pay for is the labor for my annual rebuilds. Do I make a dime from it, no but I try to get people to buy their gear because I love mine. It is the same for the active DIR advocates. They love their gear and want you to love yours as much.
If you look at the DIR stuff, you will note that they like Jetfins and other "off brand" stuff. They have found gear that works well for their diving and want us to match them. I see no evil in this.