US Divers: Quality or Junk?
Alex L. Bangs
one another ... but of course, we are above that in rec.scuba ;-)
Well, so far, I've gotten some very positive responses on the Micra
regulator, but I've also gotten one very negative response about US
Divers quality in general. Specifically, they apparently have a large
number of recalls for their regulators, and this person knew of a
fatality resulting from a failed regulator that had been properly
serviced.
So, any opinions? Maybe even objective comments? ;-) Is there stuff
quality or not?
Thanks,
Alex the Inquisitive
Nicholas J. Simicich
Well, I have two opinions about this:
1. US Divers has had several recalls in the past few years. It is
not clear, for example, in the HP seat recall that other companies
who shared the same seats shouldn't have recalled their regs at
the same time. They have also had some design problems (the
inflator and the 'tie wrap free' mouthpiece) and a manufacturing
problem (the cracking regulator). But these problems are behind
them. And the company has shown responsibility by confronting
their problems, announcing the recalls far and wide, and taking
their lumps.
2. US Divers, at their best, produces no more than medium good stuff.
Their regs are uninspired internally (I've never stripped a Micra)
and do not breathe easily. They just aren't in the same class as,
for example, Scubapro, Poseidon, or other top-flight regulators.
Their BC's are always a step behind SeaQuest and so forth, and
they are more expensive than many. Their second stages are
'uninspired' and they breathe hard. And other regs, with similar
designs, are a lot cheaper.
Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the Micra, and I don't have an
opinion on it. I've heard both good and bad things about it (the bad
thing being that the bubbles end up in your face). Friends of mine
who bought other US Divers regs as their first outfit have tried my
regs (Poseidon) and then gone out and bought new regs.
--
Nick Simicich - uunet!bywater!scifi!njs - n...@watson.ibm.com
SSI #AOWI 3958, HSA 318, NAUI #14065
Join the movement --- turn 'to bush' into a verb.
bu...@vax.sonoma.edu
I don't know about thier regulators, but their Impulse dry snorkel is the
greatest thing I have bought for diving. Skin Diver magazine did a feature on
it last year (I think it was October or November).
Erik Burd
Dave Fortner
>In article <1kbu1k...@duncan.cs.utk.edu>, ba...@cs.utk.edu (Alex L. Bangs) writes:
>> [Nothing like a good subject which ought to get people flaming at
>> one another ... but of course, we are above that in rec.scuba ;-)
>
>greatest thing I have bought for diving. Skin Diver magazine did a feature on
>it last year (I think it was October or November).
Maybe my activities while snokeling are a little different than most peoples
but I do not like the Impulse snorkel for 2 reasons:
1) When snokeling I always get a little water in the snorkel,
dispite thier advertisements the Impulse gets water in it
also. I'm in the habit (I don't even notice it any more) of
reaching up with my hand to cover the end of the snorkel
occassionally while exhaling to keep the snorkel clear. If
you try that with the Impulse it doesn't clear.
2) The damn thing is so big that if your in a current the
drag put on the mask strap from the hugh snorkel can
pull the mask right off your head.
I have one of these, actually my wife has it. We were drift diving
off of Boynton Beach, FL two years ago and she was using her new
snorkel (the Impulse), the current was really moving pretty good.
She turned her head to look into a hole and the drag from the
snorkel pulled her mask off. I recovered it for her and on the second
dive we switched snorkels (I wasn't going to let such an expensive
piece of equipment go to waste). The current almost pulled my mask
off as well. Needless to say that the Impulse snorkel went into
the closet when we got home and I went back to my Tekna snorkel
that I found in the bargin box at the dive shop for $4. I'm probably
going to put the Impulse out in our next garage sale.
So far as the review in Skin Diver is concerned, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN
A BAD REVIEW IN SKIN DIVER? Your not quoting a real well respected
source.
Sorry for the flame,
Dave Fortner
Disclaimer: I AIN'T RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTHIN'
Cech Claude G
>In article <1993Feb1...@vax.sonoma.edu> bu...@vax.sonoma.edu writes:
>>
>>I don't know about thier regulators, but their Impulse dry snorkel is the
>>greatest thing I have bought for diving.
>
>but I do not like the Impulse snorkel for 2 reasons:
>
> 1) When snokeling I always get a little water in the snorkel,
> dispite thier advertisements the Impulse gets water in it
>
> 2) The damn thing is so big that if your in a current the
> drag put on the mask strap from the hugh snorkel can
> pull the mask right off your head.
>
>
Snorkels are easy to overlook, but I suppose they're like any other
piece of dive equipment: Different equipment will be appropriate for
different conditions. Dave's comments about the Impulse in drift
diving/currents are valuable. But, in diving situations where you
don't encounter such conditions (not always predictable, of course),
the Impulse is quite nice. I got an Impulse after trying my wife's:
a HUGE difference in clearing ability. (though I still carry my old
snorkel in my dive bag for a backup...)
Cheers,
Claude
Joseph Crunk
#>the closet when we got home and I went back to my Tekna snorkel
#>that I found in the bargin box at the dive shop for $4. I'm probably
#>going to put the Impulse out in our next garage sale.
#Ha, I beat ya, I got my snorkel for $2.00, and I can snorkel just as long
#and as hard as anybody :-)
Ha, he who laughs last...! I found mine in 60ft of water, over
a sandy bottom. Looks to be brand new. :-) Oh, but I'd never
really use it. It has this big bulb thing on the tip-top. Looks
more like a part for the tank on a toilet than a snorkel :-)
-Joseph Crunk
jtl...@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
I have owned several regulators in nearly twenty years of diving. For my money the U.S. Divers Conshelf SE is one of the sturdiest most dependable one I've ever owned. That includes a Dacor, a ScubaPro, a Voit, a Parkway and a Sherwood.Lest we forget the original discussion was about the problems that some U.S. Divers regulators had. Yes, there were some but unlike many other manufacturers they admitted theirliability and fixed the problem. I will continue to own their gear as long as my life depends o
n
a no-nonsense proffesional regulator>
Max J. Rochlin
USDivers ( the Micro-power inflator). My SEA Reg and Octopus as been
recalled three times ( High pressure seal, Octopus' tended to crack, and
my second stage started to crack like th eoctopus did).
To be honest, I never had a failure while diving, and it's good to know
that if a problem is discovered they let you know. However, I wish they
did things right the first time rather than recalling things over and over.
BTW, I'm quite happy with the performance of my BC and Regulator.
...Max
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| m...@queernet.org | Max J. Rochlin |
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Martin Schuessler
>Ya know that's a hard question. My BC has only been recalled once by
>USDivers ( the Micro-power inflator). My SEA Reg and Octopus as been
>recalled three times ( High pressure seal, Octopus' tended to crack, and
>my second stage started to crack like th eoctopus did).
>
>To be honest, I never had a failure while diving, and it's good to know
>that if a problem is discovered they let you know. However, I wish they
>did things right the first time rather than recalling things over and over.
There are a couple of companies which sell the same product (Mares, I
believe). They DIDN'T issue a recall. Which company would I rather buy
from ?? US DIVERS any day. And let's be honest about the "RECALL". Out
of the thousands of regulators they sell, only a few were observed
to have a problem. Instead of ignoring it, they made sure their customers
were aware of the problem so it could be corrected.
Martin Schuessler
PADI DM-59146
Peter Quince
Oh yeah? Well, I was GIVEN my snorkel along with a bonus bag of
50 gold dubloons from the wreck of a Spanish galleon by a friendly
shark wearing a green accountant's visor in 153 feet of salt water
off the Florida Keys, but _I_ don't use it because its made of
cast iron and has a small carousel welded to the side that interferes
with my visibility.
pq
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