<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15583318#post15583318 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kmitch
Not worth arguing and wasting more time with you
If anyone could consider this a waste of time, it would be me... I'm the guy that owns a commercial dive operation, and as long as I'm sitting here pointing out the obvious technical flaws in your diatribe, I'm not under water, making money. Still, I care about this community and I fear that if left unchecked, your influence could lead some to dive unsafely.
For that reason, despite the fact that I could consider this a "waste of time," I don't.
I don't see why you would consider it a waste of time... You're the one that started this stuff and made claims of being in the "technical" dive industry.
I wish you the best of luck with your tech dive gear from leisure pro.
Thank you.
I don't buy "technical dive gear" from LeisurePro... I buy dive gear from Leisurepro... As well as many other places, just like I mentioned above. Even the most "technical" of dive shops don't call themselves "technical." To do so would be business suicide - no diver starts "technical," and rarely does a diver actively persue "technical" diving... They simply dive a lot, and find themselves pushing "recreational" dive limits. "Technical" divers are a minority group within the minority group of scuba divers in the first place... To create a shop that caters exclusively to divers of a "technical" sort would be rediculous. The market simply wouldn't bear it, and without the income created by new divers looking for their first certification and their first bit of dive gear, the shop would quickly crumble.
...Which is why no shop ever refers to itself as "technical." By definition, that is "beyond recreational dive limits," and legally and liability-wise, stupid... As well as financially stupid. Dive shops that cater to divers that dive beyond recreational dive limits would never call themselves "technical" - only the shops that identify themselves as "recreational" consider other dive shops "technical." It's simply a loser's excuse for why they carry crappy gear and lose their divers to the shop down the street as soon as they get certified. The reality is that there is no definitive difference between "technical" and "rereational" diving... And as a whole, people in the dive industry know that.
BTW - the incident with the divers octo from leisure pro happened while I worked at a shop in atlanta.
Really? What shop? What was the diver's name? What brand of gear was he using, and what model was he using?
...the parts and o-rings designed for the alternate were not the same parts kits for the primary
Really? What brand and model?
I would be surprised to see such a thing exist in the dive industry... Every manufacturer's parts kit that I've ever purchased is the same for all of their regulators. The reason is simple... If all of their second stages use the same parts kit, there's less confusion, less inventory, and the dive shop tech won't inadvertently receive the incorrect parts kit and attempt to install it on the incorrect regulator.
...But then again, I very rarely see a "parts kit" purchased by a shop anyway - typically, a well-stocked shop will simply have a healthy supply of all of the o-rings and lube and parts that it needs so that they don't have to purchase a "parts kit" for each regulator. This also allows them to use higher-quality o-rings and lubricants than what typically come supplied in the manufacturer's "parts kit."
...so when LP repackaged what was built as an alternate and required those parts as a primary, they nearly killed someone.
That's the third or fourth time you've said that - I sure wish you'd back it up if you're going to make that claim. What was the diver's name? What brand/model regulator? What "additional parts" did Leisurepro not put on an "octo" to make it worthy as a primary second stage? How did this create a freeflow? And why was a freeflow life-threatening for the diver?
...since leisure pro doesn't sell anything for my rebreather its a non issue 
What kind of rebreather do you own?
Rebreathers don't replace open circuit gear. A diver using a rebreather will still need stage bottles (or "bailout bottles") with regulators, hoses and gauges. He'll also still need wetsuits, drysuits, fins, masks, lift bags, spools, reels, lights, gear bags, Pelican cases, wings, webbing, line, and yes, even tank fills. It's just that now, he'll also have a need for Sodasorb, various rebreather maintenance items, and in some cases, batteries for his rebreather. What makes you think that having a rebreather somehow negates a diver's need to find a source for dive gear? Don't even get me started if the diver's on a scooter... Or spearfishes... Or is into photography or videography... Or owns a boat to dive from.
I would think that if you were really diving with a rebreather, you'd love Leisurepro.
I didn't see you take the obvious opportunity to mention your "technical" dive shop's name. I personally don't know of a "technical" dive shop in or around the D.C. area... Do you sell helium? Argon? Do you have a Haskel booster?
I'm doing an interesting dive with a max depth of 285 ft in about two months off of North Carolina on an unknown shipwreck. What would you recommend as a back gas? Alternatively, what brand of rebreather would you recommend, and what END would you recommend while I'm on the bottom?
Ya gotta stop using the word "tech," kmitch... It makes you look like a stroke.
A "tech" is the guy that services the regs, man... Not a description of the dive.
