RWBrooks 26 Posted June 21, 2008 Hi, anyone else having issues with Dive Rite bladders out there, just had a second one go at the seams after 2.5 months diving...this was the replacement after the first one went after 2.5 months..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seagrant 4 Posted June 21, 2008 Wow, that is really strange. Be sure to let Dive Rite know all the details so they can isolate the problem. I've got 2 Transpacs, one travel wings bladder has over 1,000 dives on it and it is still going strong and the other travel wings has 300+ dives and is just fine. So Dive Rite bladders have been solid for me. Good Luck! Best, Carol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RWBrooks 26 Posted June 21, 2008 It is very wierd, both failed along the RF seam with 3 months . Dive Rite have been very good and sent out the last replacement priority mail, (I live in Palau so don't have much in the way of Dive-Rite stockists here) But I was just flabagasted to open up the zip and find a huge tear along the seam in a practically brand new one. Dive Rite are replacing this one now too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SFLDiver 0 Posted June 21, 2008 (edited) Wow, I've been using Dive Rite equipment for years and NEVER found any of their workmanship to be sub-par, rather quite the opposite! In fact, I've been using their Nomad Wing on my Dive Rite Optima Closed-Circuit Rebreather for over a year now, diving every weekend in Florida, and it still looks brand new! Thanks for the heads up, but would not assume it to be anything other than sheer bad luck! How has their overall customer service been when dealing with this situation? Edited June 21, 2008 by SFLDiver Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eric black 1 Posted June 21, 2008 Very strange indeed- I have a pair of Super Wings and Travel Wings that are each 14 years old and have never had a problem- some of the best gear on the market in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RWBrooks 26 Posted June 24, 2008 I must say that Dive-Rite's customer service has been spot on, I was amazed at the speed the replacement wing got to me with, Priority mail and everything. Very straight down the line and quick diagnosis and action. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diver dave1 23 Posted June 24, 2008 You live in Palau? I dream of visiting there. (Since I am more than 1000 miles from an ocean, I dream more than I dive) If you need more dive gear, can I be the delivery boy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frogfish 5 Posted July 3, 2008 I'm glad to hear that DiveRite is clearing this matter up for you. It's surprising to me how much seams have become a problem on wings from what have in the past been considered reliable sources of top quality diving gear. Perhaps it is because companies are outsourcing more of the manufacturing on items like this than before. In 2006, I dumped two fairly new Halcyon Eclipse wings after the seams began to fall apart on the one I was using the most - the material on the inner side of the cover wasn't glued or taped, so it had frayed back to the stitching - invisible and unsuspected until the cover started to fall apart! Ironically, I still have an old Halcyon Pioneer wing (now discontinued?) on which the seam is simply heat-sealed - no inner bladder, no stitching. That wing must be 8 years old, with hundreds of dies on it, but it turned out to be by far better manufactured and more robust than the supposedly superior Eclipse which replaced it - an inspection quickly that the inner seams on my other Eclipse wing were also already starting to fray. As it happened, the wing fell apart in the middle of a long live-aboard trip in the Banda Sea/Raja Empat. The boat operator was able to get my old Pioneer wing from my home and send it out to the boat with other supplies, but I had to rely on emergency repairs holding the damaged wing together for almost two weeks. Kudos to SevenSeas for getting the replacement wing to me, and to Steve Chan at ProDive in HongKong for giving me a new OMS wing to replace the Halcyon that fell apart, even though I didn't consider them responsible for the problem. I'm now a happy convert to OMS wings - the design of their single tank wing is very similar to the Halcyon Eclipse (elongated donut, with an inner bladder and outer cover) but all the materials used appear to be of higher quality. Most important, the inner seams inside the cover have been carefully taped and double-sewn. I have two OMS wings, each with several hundred dives, and no sign of any problem whatsoever - at least so far. Frogfish Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RWBrooks 26 Posted July 14, 2008 Hi, just had a 3rd one go on me, and after only 2 dives...... This one was blue, and it went in the same way as the first 2, dump valves all worked but bladder wouldn't take being blown fully up, seams are heat bonded I think but are very weak. Dive Rite may send out another replacement but I've had enough I'm swapping over to OMS. Got to laugh really, it does seem like a joke! Not holding my breath on getting my money back though as that is up to the original vendor who is in New York and I'm in Palau... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Perroneford 0 Posted July 14, 2008 I no longer buy anything from Dive Rite. They just cut WAY too many corners these days on too many products. I've seen some of Dive Rite's products from days gone by, and it bears little resemblance to what I see now. There are WAY too many good manufacturers out there now to fool with bad gear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoovermd 0 Posted July 14, 2008 ... Ironically, I still have an old Halcyon Pioneer wing (now discontinued?) on which the seam is simply heat-sealed - no inner bladder, no stitching. That wing must be 8 years old, with hundreds of dies on it, but it turned out to be by far better manufactured and more robust than the supposedly superior Eclipse which replaced it - an inspection quickly that the inner seams on my other Eclipse wing were also already starting to fray. ... I've got 2 Pioneer Wings. Great stuff so much so that when one got snakebit in some luggage I bought a third as a backup (amazing what AquaSeal can do) from a dive shop that still happened to have one in stock. I guess I'm lucky. Both the wife & I have about 150 dives each on ours and absolutely no issues on the seams. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Undertow 31 Posted September 15, 2008 I also will never buy Dive Rite again, had a horrible experience with a canister light and the service center completely ripped me off. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RWBrooks 26 Posted December 22, 2008 Here we go again! Can't beleive it as another bladder has gone, still Dive Rite but this time it's where the bladder is supposedly attached to the inflator hose flange. Back in July I was told that DR had in fact changed the material of the bladder to a more robust type and had experienced about two dozen failures. Make that two dozen and one. It's a good thing it didn't decide to fail when I was waiting for the boat to pick me up in the really big waves we get down in Pelileu as it would have been a weight ditching struggle to stay up as it doesn't hold any air for more than 10 seconds. What the F*** is going on Dive Rite? So I wrote to them and I was asked whether I was diving in an extremely tannic or Hydrogen Sulfate enriched site...... No just normal sea water, or is that too much for the product to take? My patience with it has finally snapped, it is an inconvenience and to be honest, dangerous in it's unreliabilty. I have never known a worse peice of dive equipment. I wouldn't want to try their regs. All I'm asking for Dive Rite is my money back so I can go out there and buy something reliable and worth the money I pay for it. Jokes Over! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walt Stearns 52 Posted December 22, 2008 If you are looking for a really good quality wing, let me suggest either DeepSeaSupply – https://www.deepseasupply.com and Oxycheq – http://www.oxycheq.com I can also suggest looking into Golem Gear - http://www.golemgear.com/c-2-bcdswings.aspx , in addition to being a Oxycheq dealer, the BCD wings under their own brand are quite good (suspect most are made by deepseasupply) If you need to find something – dive equipment, photo equipment, another forum site, etc. visit http://www.underwaterjournal.com AquaPages Directory which has links to just about everyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scubamoose 0 Posted December 22, 2008 It's a good thing it didn't decide to fail when I was waiting for the boat to pick me up in the really big waves we get down in Pelileu as it would have been a weight ditching struggle to stay up as it doesn't hold any air for more than 10 seconds. Could not agree with You more! Clearly BCD's and regulator's are in practise one of most important part's of one's divegear and theyr failure can (and has) become a lifethreatening situation. Doesn't matter how good is theyr refund or compensation policy if You'r not there to state You'r claim. So as it seems, DR wing's are "not the best" anymore and will not get a "buy" recommendation from You guys. But besides OMS that seems to get good reviews here, has abybody tryed Poseidon wings?? Regards Scubamoose Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PIG004 0 Posted December 24, 2008 I'm glad to hear that DiveRite is clearing this matter up for you. It's surprising to me how much seams have become a problem on wings from what have in the past been considered reliable sources of top quality diving gear. Perhaps it is because companies are outsourcing more of the manufacturing on items like this than before. In 2006, I dumped two fairly new Halcyon Eclipse wings after the seams began to fall apart on the one I was using the most - the material on the inner side of the cover wasn't glued or taped, so it had frayed back to the stitching - invisible and unsuspected until the cover started to fall apart! Ironically, I still have an old Halcyon Pioneer wing (now discontinued?) on which the seam is simply heat-sealed - no inner bladder, no stitching. That wing must be 8 years old, with hundreds of dies on it, but it turned out to be by far better manufactured and more robust than the supposedly superior Eclipse which replaced it - an inspection quickly that the inner seams on my other Eclipse wing were also already starting to fray. As it happened, the wing fell apart in the middle of a long live-aboard trip in the Banda Sea/Raja Empat. The boat operator was able to get my old Pioneer wing from my home and send it out to the boat with other supplies, but I had to rely on emergency repairs holding the damaged wing together for almost two weeks. Kudos to SevenSeas for getting the replacement wing to me, and to Steve Chan at ProDive in HongKong for giving me a new OMS wing to replace the Halcyon that fell apart, even though I didn't consider them responsible for the problem. I'm now a happy convert to OMS wings - the design of their single tank wing is very similar to the Halcyon Eclipse (elongated donut, with an inner bladder and outer cover) but all the materials used appear to be of higher quality. Most important, the inner seams inside the cover have been carefully taped and double-sewn. I have two OMS wings, each with several hundred dives, and no sign of any problem whatsoever - at least so far. Frogfish I had the exact same problem with my eclipse. Give them their due thought they replaced it with a new one even though it had been out of warranty for more than a year. I couldn't believe it only lasted 2 years or about 450 dives! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
