Review of BOSS Elite Package

Today, I'll be reviewing, not a single product, but a package. This package is brought to us by BOSS, no not my boss(because I don't have one), but the BOSS currently supplied by Land & Sea Sports Australia. Never heard of them? Nor did I until I got my first mask and snorkel set, which I must say is one of my greater regrets alone with the XR1 NX, but this review isn't about that, its about the BOSS Elite Package, which includes: BOSS Elite integrated weight system BCD, BOSS Elite balanced diaphragm regulator with adjustable Air Balanced 2nd stage, octopus and a Brass Contents gauge plus MDI in console. All this for AU$1199.00.







Sourced From: http://www.scubadiving.com.au

Please note: I do not have any affliation with this dive shop. I have simple borrowed their picture because my Sony A350 is rubbish unless the object is well lit, and I cannot do that becaue I currently do not have a studio.




The BCD wasn't too bad, apart from having all plastic D rings, tiny zippers I could never open if I was wearing gloves, and a Integrted weight system, which looked similar to that of the AquaTec before they changed it(and due to that fear, I ended up not testing the integrated system, but did find that it was safe with about 3lb(pounds) in each pocket. These weights can really add up you know). It did have adjustable shoulder straps which were hard to use. The size was an issue for me, as the medium was too small and the large was too big. So I tested both. The medium was just able to fit me in and my shoulders were comfortable, but somehow, I almost lost my entire weight belt as the BCD had kind of pushed it out almost on to my legs. The large however was so big, it didn't really make a difference inflating the BCD or not. One thing I did really like about the BCD was that it had a hard plastic carry handle, which was missing on the AquaTec Atlas. The gauge console is nothing speical with a depth gauge and a air pressure gauge, as you would expect. Next was the regulators, which I must say looked alot like my AquaTec rg-2000s, and I assume that I could just as easily replace the purge button cap by unscrewing the silver edge with either the AquaTec or the BOSS and not many people could tell the difference just by looking at it. The real difference was in the first stage, which only had 1 HP port and 3 LP ports. However, I found out that I could have bought a BOSS PBR2 High Performance, which looked exactly like my AquaTec rg-2000 or Mark II at about double the costs. BOSS was selling their's for AU$549.95. Unfortunately, I could not decipher their price charts so I couldn't tell if it did come with a octo or not(I assume it does, but I'm not 100% sure, and I don't want that to backfire on me). And that's all you get for your twelve hundred dollars. Worth it? That really up to you, but how about I give you something to compare it to. Oceanic is selling their package for AU$999.95, which includes Alpha 8 SP5 Regulator, Second Air Octo, Oceanpro Buoyancy Compensator without Weight Integration, Max Depth Combo Gauge and another AU$99.95 if you wanted the QLR Weight Pockets. Whether a hundred dollars added to the price for supporting an Australian company is really up to you. Personally, I would love to support Australia, if the price was reasonable or even close, but in my opinion, there are far better options out there.







Sourced From: http://www.scuba.com

Please note: I do not have any affliation with this dive shop. I have simple borrowed their picture because my Sony A350 is rubbish unless the object is well lit, and I cannot do that becaue I currently do not have a studio.
Please note: I do have an affliation with Amazon, and if you wish to help me, please buy through this link. Thanks in advance.

Rules to follow while buying scuba gear.

I realised that all my reviews are of the lower end of the market and are most likely to be for a new scuba diver. So, instead of writing a review(since I had run out of money), I would write a guide. If you've found this site, that means you've done alot of digging.



The first thing I really wanted to warn people about is their snorkels. If you haven't bought one yet, great! If you have, well, just put up with it. The thing to know is that snorkels come in four different types. First is the snorkel, buy this, and I promise you will regret it for the rest of your Open Water, Advance Open Water courses. Second is the purge snorkel, which isn't too bad if you are going to be diving in super calm waters until you get your AOW(Advance Open Water) certificate. The third and forth are the semi-dry and dry snorkels. These are what you want. Contrary to its name, a semi-dry and dry snorkel is still going to leak water, but the real difference is that when a wave hits you, you aren't going to have a surge of water come straight down your throat(remember, with a snorkel in your mouth, you can't close it). The difference between a surge of salt water and a tiny stream of it could be the difference between going diving or jumping out of the water. Be mindful though, a lot of divers end up not using their snorkels. Does this mean, as a new diver, you shouldn't invest into it? That's not it at all. New divers tend to use alot more O2(oxygen) than an experienced diver, and to save what little air you actually bring with you, you want to switch your regulator for a snorkel. This could be the difference between one dive or two dives.

Sourced From: http://www.scubatoys.com Purge Snorkel	Sourced From: http://www.scuba.com Semi Dry Snorkel
Sourced From: http://www.leisurepro.com Dry Snorkel

The second piece of advice I want to give to people is, don't buy your gear straight away. Try to use as many difference gear as you can and find the one that really fits you. Even if you are buying off the internet, that fine, but go to a dive shop that stock the product and try it on, otherwise, you will regret it. What I really want to recommand is you set yourself a reasonable budget and that it from their. A reasonable budget is around the AU$1200.00 for just your regulators, octo, gauge, computer and a BCD. I know, if you go on the internet, you can get as low as about AU$800.00! But thats not what you want. Here is how I see it. Most of my gear, I will be replacing anyway, so I would spend a good bit of money on either a regulator, BCD or a computer and which evers you did not pick, along with the gauge, should be a bit more lower end. I can't enforce the looking, and trying it on first rule. Everything looks good on a professionally photographied picture, but when it arrives at your door, it will be nothing like what you expected. After you get more experince, replace the remaining lower end items with more stuff you like, because you now know what they are. My advice is to spend the money on the regulators, preferably with 2 HP(high pressure) ports and lower end on the BCD and the computer, because one out of ten, you will find that you want a back inflated BCD, or you don't want it, or you want BP&W(back plate and wings) or you do want that jacket style BCD. The same goes with the computer. You thought you would never need a PC connectable computer, but later you might, or you find that you like to scuba dive and free dive, or that you want the computer with the buttons. You might also find that your LDS(local dive shop) is willing to fit your budget and you will be better off with the LDS compared to the internet, but be warned, not all the LDSs are so friendly to try and help you out. Visit as many as you can, as often you will find that you will be diving with your LDS and not a club, as clubs are quite up tight about their membership and will look down on you and your lack of experience.



Dive as often as you can before buying your gear, as you may find that diving isn't for you. Or you thought diving wasn't for you, but might find it exciting as soon as you are not restricted in an Open Water course. The fact is, I hated my open water course, as it was so rushed, and for some reason, I need to equalise even under just a few meters down, where nobody else did. This meant that I could either stay and equalise and try to chase the group or force myself to follow. Neither of those options were fun for me, but as I got to dive freely(assuming my dive body would wait for me), I found that I really did enough diving(just after I got over the fact I couldn't breath with my nose anymore).




Forthly, try not to buy second hand on the internet. They may look cheap but you need to service them, and you know how much that costs? Some of the dive shops I've been to charge upto a hundred dollars just for your first stage and your second stage regulator (not including your octo). With that kinda money, you could have almost bought yourself a new one with maybe some warranty. Don't get me wrong, cheap second hand regulators are great for praticing your servicing skills, but not for your use. If you must buy second hand, try to buy from a dive shop, who will have pre-serviced it before putting it up for sale and offer a short limited warranty.




Well, I hope this helped and good luck on your bargain hunting.

Review of AquaTec Atlas Tec

AquaTec Atlas Tec BCD

Today I will be reviewing the AquaTec Atlas Tec BCD. Now here is a thing you all have to be aware of. Aquatec has a strange naming system which goes like this: Name, Name Tec, Name Pro. Here is the difference. Just the name means you only get the basic BCD. If it has Tec next to it, you get a weight integrated version of that BCD, and finally, Pro is the weight integrated BCD with an alternate air sourse power inflator. Now, I've got the Atlas Tec which mean I have the weight integrated. Now, if you have started reading from my first review, you'll be wondering why would I be reviewing an already well known and well reviewed product. Here's why:















Spot the difference? No? WHAT!? Ok, ok, here is a Northern Diver Atlas:








sourced from: www.diveshop.co.uk

Please note: I do not have any affliation with this dive shop. I have simple borrowed their picture because my Sony A350 is rubbish unless the object is well lit, and I cannot do that becaue I currently do not have a studio.





Thats right. AquaTec has actually listerned to its customers and changed the weight integrated system and its quick release system.


The Aquatec Atlas was famous for three things. Being the same as the Northern Diver Atlas at a fraction of the cost. Divers loosing the weight integrated bags while diving, and finally, the power inflator going free flow on the horns. Here's what Aquatec has done. They have changed the weight integrated system, but still offer to replace the bag, if you ever do loose it while diving, through no fault of your own. And they offer a limited life time warranty on the whole BCD, so they will fix or replace your power inflator. And unlike the annoying Oceanic limited lifetime warranty, which you have to registor with in a certain period of time, they come with the limited lifetime warranty just with purchase, as it should be with warranties. But the really great thing I found was that the local distributor actually offered to whole his own class for people to learn and maybe service their own BCD, regulators, etc. The only other company I found that offered to hold its own courses were Zeagle and I was very temped to buy Zeagle just on that fact alone, even if they were roughly 4000kms away. Some people should learn from these examples, cough, cough (I'm looking at those people who promised, but never delievered). I might be sounding very bias right now, but I gain no profit from this. Heck, I even had to buy this stuff myself to just review them. I just really, really like having the option of self servicing, even though I will never self service(yes, after 3 broken laptops and a PC into this self servicing business, I learnt that I wasn't born to self service).



Back to the review, the AquaTec Atlas Tec is a nice large BCD with 4 metal D rings, large pockets with web/net bases so whatever water that has gathered in those pockets will drop out pretty fast when you walk out of the water. The weight integrated system was easy enough to use, but would have liked a manual release button instead of pulling on the tabs all the time. Its also got a nice Stainless Steel Tank Cam Lock Buckle and can be upgrade to carry two tanks. Unfortunately, I seem to find AquaTec's rubber products to be flimsy and could have used some scissors works to trim the long hanging left over threads. Am I asking for too much? Yes, a good scissors work is hard to come by even in expansive handbags, so what am I expecting. One thing that really got me though was the plastic zippers. Sure, plastic doesn't rust and will keep the zipper working well, but it just doesn't have the same feel of a metal zipper. Another thing which people might find hit and miss with is the size of the BCD itself. I, being a fat, short person, usually wear a medium large, but if they only have medium or large, then I'm usually screwed. Strangly enough, this wasn't the case for the Atlas, as the medium fit me (to borrow another manufacturer's phrase) like a glove. Usually a large BCD leaves me hanging off of its 'wings' and the shoulder straps floating where my head should be. Another reviewer(far more experienced than myself), concluded the AquaTec Atlas as 'too average'. Well, maybe his had one too many high end BCDs sent to him, cause from where I'm standing, this BCD is one of the better budget BCDs out there, pacted with features. So, if you are low on cash, might want to have a look into this BCD.

Review of Aeris XR1 NX

Aeris XR1 NX



Today, I'll be reviewing the Aeris XR1 NX, which of course is the Nitrox capable dive computer/watch. The first thing I notice when I opened the box is that the computer is small. Really small. How big did I expect it to be? Not very big. Maybe it is the right size, but sure feels small. However, what really shocked me was the tiny split display screens behind another 2mm worth of plastic which makes it look really deep inside and gives the whole 'small' feeling. Another thing I found was that the border around the computer is another 4mm or so. Enough with the negitives. The box also contains a safety and reference manual, operating manual, a battery replacement tool and a nicely laminated review card so you can take it with you, just in case you forget. About a hundred or so dollars more expansive compared to the Mares Puck, you really aren't getting much more. Infact, you don't even get the user pc interface, so your dive stay on the XR1 NX. Of course, the pc interface usb is extra, but at this price different, you could have bought the Drak USB interface. However, you do get time on the XR1 NX, which I'm not sure is worth the trade off. Infact, you don't even get gauge mode, which you get on the lesser model XR1. It is arguable how much you are really going to use gauge mode, but its always nice to have that option. Not beening such a keen reader, I had problems understanding some of the operating manual and could only go to set modes, and not the other modes it showed me that I could go to. This was mainly due to being a single button dive computer. I could only conclude from this that Aeris' XR1 NX was there to frustrate the lower end of the market to buying a multi buttoned dive computer. I'm sure this was not the idea of Aeris, but did sure felt that way. Another thing I had noticed was that the display screens being so deep inside the dive computer, it almost made it impossible to use apart from direct top down view, which is how most peole will be looking at it anyway, but when you're out of the water waiting for your next dive, you'll be doing a lot of bending over to read the computer. This problem could have been simply fixed with backlight screens, but again, those models cost more. I should have known why there were no reviews on the XR1 NX or why my local dive shop didn't even know such a dive watch existed. Even the distributor does not market the XR1 NX as a wrist mount. The good news is the XR1 NX is a 'puck' style computer, which means it can dismount a wrist mount or the console and switch over, another neat feature is that the XR1 NX turns into a mirror at the right angle(no, not the 90 degree angle) which you can use to look inside or below things. Also the magification of the water makes the XR1 NX actually readable in while diving, but you have to watch out as the mirror effect does turn on you sometimes. To be honest, there is no reason to hate the XR1 NX. It does what its supposed to do and looks more stylish than the Mares Puck. Plus, you no longer need to dive with a wrist watch to check the time. Also, if you had trouble getting hold of a Mares Puck because Mares were too busy cutting the middle man out, your local dive shop can have a XR1 NX shipped to them in 24-48 hours, which was a real surprise to me. Please don't let this review turn you away from the XR1 NX as it is a good dive computer. I know I have been harsh on it, but that is only because the Mares Puck is beyond reasonably cheap. For any reason you don't want the Mares Puck or can't get one or you don't want to have two things on your wrist while diving, the Aeris XR1 NX is for you.

Review of AquaTec Mark II (RG-2000)

AquaTec Mark II (RG-2000)



I assume most of you are here because you, like me, could not find any reviews on AquaTec products, or just wanted to learn a little bit more.
Today, I'll be reviewing the AquaTec Mark II or RG-2000. This review will be comparing the Mark II with the Oceanic Alpha 8 SP 5, as the AquaTec is in a similar price range.
Suprisingly for its low budget, the Mark II comprises of 2 HP(High Pressure) ports, compared to that of the slightly more expansive Alpha SP 5. Also, the Mark II is an enviromentally sealed regulator and the LP(Low Pressure) ports are on a different part of the first stage to the HP ports, allowing the reg and octo to move while the gauge would stay put. Of course, the famous,but more expansive Alpha SP 5 does not have any of the mentioned features.
High featured as the Makr II was, the one I got had very minor cosmatic features, which I'm sure if I asked nicely enough to the distributers, they would swap for another. One last problem I did find on the first stage was that the HP and LP ports used different sized allen(hex) keys. The LP used the standard 4mm allen key, but the HP ports used a rarer 4.5mm allen key(this is only a rough assumption as it is the allen key between 4mm and 5mm). Moving on, the second stage was also packed with features like pre-dive and dive mode and some kind of an air flow adjustment screw. Unfortunately, the Mark II felt much more flimsier than the Alpha 8 (if you have noticed that I have changed the Alpha SP 5 to just Alpha 8, that is because Alpha's first stage is called SP 5 and the second stage is called Alpha 8, not a mistake on my part by all means).
Also the second stage itself was much bigger compared to the tiny Alpha 8, like comparing an orange to a mandarin. I'm not saying bigger is better, I actually kind of liked the tiny Alpha 8. I'm not sure if the large size of the second stage regulator had influnenced the size of the mouth piece, but it was uncomfortably large for my small mouth which had grown accustom to the BOSS Elite Balanced Diaphragm regulator set which I was using until now. This is not a problem as a mouth piece can easily be changed and I was sure it would take me no time to get used to them, as they were of a very soft silicon compared to that of the Boss eilte. You have to remember before you take this second stage for a dive, you have to change the air intake, otherwise, you will feel so much air is coming out, you can breath at all, or the air just doesn't come out. Another big difference was the purge button, which was much harder to press on the Mark II than the Alpha 8, which I can only attribute to Oceanic's experience in the market. This may not be an error on the part of Aquatec, as if you take the inter-switchable coloured purge button off, you find an amazingly soft purge button underneath. I couldn't tell if they had just made the cover too thick and hard or made it purposely hard so you couldn't accidently purge is very unclear as AquaTec's website has no information apart from the very basic.
Infact, this is all it said:



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• 2 high pressure ports (7/16-20 UNF)

• 4 low pressure ports (3/8-24 UNF)

• First stage uses a pneumatically balanced diaphragm design

• Built in swivel on the low pressure port reduces the stress on the hose connections

• Second stage is a downstream demand valve with twin air intake control



The MARK II Regulator (RG-2000) contains: One unit of the RG-2000 First Stage and One Unit of the RG-2000S Second Stage maximum Intermediate pressure: 125-160 PSI. Inhalation Effort: 0.0-0.2 CIW (Column inches of water).



Exhalation Effort: 1.1 CIW

Avail Outlets: 2 HP Ports, 5 LP Ports

Flow rate: 30+SCFM (Air supply at 3000 PSI)

Caps color available: Black, Green or Yellow



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Sourced from: http://www.aquatecusa.com/products/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_48&products_id=27

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If you wanted to compare some of the stats, here are just some parts of the information from Oceanic Australia:



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FEATURES & FUNCTIONS



ALPHA 8 SECOND STAGE

Valve Type - DEMAND

Integrated Purge Button - YES

Mouthpiece - ORTHODONTIC

Nitrox Compatibility - STANDARD TO 40%

Weight (without hose) - 6 OUNCES

Dimensions (front profile) - 2.9 INCHES

First Stage Configurations - PX-2/SP-4

Minimum Cracking Effort - 1.1 CIW*

Factory Set Inhalation Effort - 1.2 - 1.4 CIW*

Work of Breathing - 1.23 JOULES (PX-3)

- 1.47 JOULES (SP-5)





SP-5

Valve Type - UNBALANCED PISTON

Primary Material - MARINE BRASS

Low Pressure Ports - 4

High Pressure Ports - 1

Nitrox Compatibility - STANDARD TO 40%

300 BAR DIN Fitting - OPTIONAL

Weight - 26 OUNCES

Factory Set Intermediate Pressure - 140-145 PSI

Pressure Drop - 13 PSI



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Sourced from: http://www.oceanicaus.com.au/product.php?id=8#

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This rg-2000 looks alot like a rg-1002 from:

http://www.aquateccanada.ca/product/RG-1002


and it got a little more information compared to that of the USA site, but they do not have the Mark II second stage, which in USA is called the rg-2000s.




Pictures of the AquaTec Makr II/RG2000