SCUBA Equipment Reviews
Welcome to my SCUBA Equipment Reviews section. Here I’ll review some of the equipment I’ve bought and/or used and what I liked about it and/or disliked about it. I am not a paid reviewer for any of the equipment I review, I’m just a consumer who knows what I like. If you are a manufacturer of SCUBA equipment and would like me to review a piece of equipment, please feel free to contact me 
SCUBA diving is like any sport, a hazardous activity and you should take all precautions necessary to ensure your safety. Do not attempt SCUBA diving without proper training and certification.
My rating system works on a scale of 0-10 with 10 being best, and 0 being worst.
The Gear: SCUBAPRO TWIN JET FINS
Rating: 9.5
Price: $124.00-$150.00
Availability: You should be able to find a pair at any Authorized SCUBAPRO dealer (visit www.scubapro.com and use the Find a Dealer link to locate your nearest shop).
The Good: Great fin for the money. Open toe design provides exceptional comfort. Split fin design produces more power with less effort and drag. Shorter than a traditional fin, these fins fit much better in a gear bag when packing for a trip. Another nice thing is they are slightly buoyent so you don’t have to worry about them sinking to the bottom if let go of one while putting them on. Available in Black, Yellow, and Blue.
The Bad:Not much about these fins could be classified as bad. The only beef I have with them is the straps take a little effort to adjust. If you have the extra cash I recommend spring straps for these bad boys.
The Gear: SCUBAPRO-UWATEC Aladin Prime
Rating: 10
Price: $200-$300
Availability: Any Authorized SCUBAPRO dealer (visit www.scubapro.com and use the Find a Dealer link to locate your nearest shop)
The Good: Everything. This is a great little computer. Easy to read, comes with complete software to download and manage your dives, Nitrox compatible from 21%-50% in 1% increments, back light, sealed battery compartment, full watch functions with alarm, safety stop timer & DVD tutorial make this one of the easiest to learn dive computers on the market. Buttons are easy to press without being too easy (you won’t accidentally activate them with a casual bump). The Prime comes in wrist, 2 gauge console, and 3 gauge console. The SmartTRAK software is easy to use, intuitive, and offers a great way to replace your paper log book. All this and you get SCUBAPRO’s excellent tech support and warranty.
The Bad: After 21 dives with this computer I can’t think of a thing I don’t like about it. I bought mine to replace a malfunctioning Mares M2 that had been sent in for repair and came back still malfunctioning. The Prime is what all dive computers should aspire to be.
The Gear: Mares M2 Nitrox Computer
Rating: 4
Price: $175-300
Availability: Internet and some LDS (Local Dive Shops).
The Good: User replaceable AAA batteries and sealed battery compartment make this a computer you can take anywhere. Good quality mineral glass provides a scratch resistant display. Constant on back light option and large easy to read display.
The Bad: Buttons are very difficult to press. Unit is far more bulky than it’s competitors. Mares customer service-sent my malfunctioning M2 in for repair and they sent it back without doing anything to it, still had the same issues as it did when I sent it out. If you want to download your logs from the M2 you have to buy an Iris module (another $150) and the IR transmitter/receiver is on the bottom of the unit making download difficult at best, add to that the lack of free software to use in logging your dives. Mares could have done a much better job on this computer. It’s basically an M1 with a few tweaks in it’s algorithms and some display changes. With all the trouble I have had with this unit, I can’t even say I would recommend one of these as a backup dive computer, I don’t trust a computer that malfunctions after only 15 dives.