A Realistic View of Gear Reviews

What are you getting when you read a product review in a dive magazine?

Requests from gear makers for a published review far exceed those than we can actually print. Consequently, California Diving News gives priority to advertisers. We support first those who support us, but not at the expense of readers. Reviews published in this journal are objective, drawing on an experienced author's perceptions, and mentioning both negative and positive aspects of the gear in question. Most gear reviews we print are done by myself, drawing on my over 25 years experience in diving. We do not, however, publish "bad" reviews. If we find an item not up to its promised performance, it is handed back to the manufacturer with a polite explanation. And, yes, we have lost advertisers over such refusals. But better to lose advertisers than the respect of our readers.

One weak point of our gear reviews, or any review for that matter, is that they are opinions of individual writers. Even when review "teams" are assembled, it is still only the opinions of those individuals. It is very difficult to "scientifically" analyze the performance of most dive gear. Much of how a piece of dive gear performs has to do with the diving style and needs of each individual diver. What will work for 6' 4" John, the beach-diving underwater hunter, may be absurd to put on 5' 2" Jane, the photographer. Why do you think there so many types of fins, dozens of which are successful? This is also why articles that are "product comparisons" are a poor way to analyze a class of equipment. The "winner" of the comparison is often not the right choice for your style of diving, needs, or budget.

Nearly all the dive gear that comes across my desk lives up to its promises. Dive gear, as a class of consumer products, is of excellent quality. In must be, after all, as its users often depend on it for their lives. Not all of the gear I test ends up in my personal gear bag, some because the makers want them back. But often, although good, the gear in question does not meet my personal diving needs. By the same token, I do many different types of diving, so I have multiples of some dive gear to suit each differing dive situations.

You as the reader need to approach reviews from a point of information, not endorsement. A review should tell you enough about the product that you can determine if it will suit your personal diving needs. Read as many reviews as you can get your hands on. But don't rely on just reviews to make your decision. Talk to the diving pro at your local dive store. Talk to your diving friends. Look over the ads and manufacturers' web sites and catalogs. Your feedback will be varied, to be sure, but you will have a good cache of information to make an informed decision on your dive gear purchases.