Posted by JIm Hoffmann on July 11, 2001 at 10:23:00:
In Reply to: Are Scuba Lab Testers reviews objective and useful in picking gear? posted by moonpieboy on July 11, 2001 at 00:05:13:
Buying gear for a new diver is a hard thing to do (there is so many choices). I guess it
comes down to is who do you trust (do you trust the people on the phone at a mail order
house or the sales people at a chain store, or a diver at a dive store?). Do you trust a
magazine article? You want to make the right choice the first time, because the gear last
for a long time and cost allot.
I have been in this business a long time, and have used lots on different gear, here is a list of gear that you will be happy with this year and next year and the year after
that.
Buy a ScubaPro Regulator (G250, Mark 20) or an Atomic (B1 T2), they are the best of
the best (there is a wide gap between these regulators and everything else on the
market(you want he best breathing machine you can get!).(made in the USA)
Buy a Zeagle BC they have the best product on the market (every other BIU on the
market today is a copy of the Zeagle and for the most part a poor copy) the Concept 2 Pro,
or the Ranger, or the Tech all are great BC’s(try a BC in the water before you
buy it). A Halcyon plate and wings also would be a good choice (but try it in the water
first). (made in the USA)
Buy Oceanic gauges they have a pretty good track record and are made in the USA
(Oceanic makes the gauges for many of the other manufactures, why not buy from the
people who made the gauges in the first place). Uwatec is also a good choice, they have a
good track record to(but are not made in theUS).
Wetsuit are a hard choice, I like my X-Cel suit, but there are many good suits of the
market. The key on the Wet Suits is the neoprene and the fit. The Yamamoto rubber is
the best and RubberTex is great to. You need to configure your dive suit to the area that
you are diving (how cold the water is) don’t fall for all the talk about titanium or gold, it
all comes down to fit. There are something’s that make suit warmer Skin-in material,
neck, wraist, ankle seals, attached hood all help out. Look around see what the divers in
your area are diving in.
Buying that first set of gear is hard, you don’t know who to trust, I hope that this helps.
Jim Hoffmann
Scuba Toys