What brands do scuba pros trust?
Of the 75 responses to our very informal survey asking dive pros the top three gear brands they trust the most, 25% of respondents chose ScubaPro, 20% picked Aqua Lung, while Apeks rounded out the top three with 17%.
What gear do you use?
If I had a dollar for every time a student asked me that question… I wouldn’t be rich. But I’d have enough for a really nice weekend away. (Hey, I taught part-time in cold water!)
Anyway, turns out my blog partner-in-crime got asked this same question all the time when he was teaching too.
So we wondered: When we’re diving for ourselves, just for the sheer love of the sport, what equipment brands do dive pros trust the most these days?
We were also curious, are there any brands out there that we haven’t heard of that are maybe kicking ass and taking names?
So we decided to do some research and ask dive pros what they thought. Here’s exactly what we asked:
- What are your three most trusted brands of scuba equipment?
- What brand of scuba regulator do you think is the most reliable?
- Optional: Want to to tell us about your choices? We’d love to hear it. Let us know in the comment box!
The disclaimer, aka fine print
Please note: This survey is in no way, shape, or form scientific. There is no complex mathematical-plus-or-minus-margin-of-whatever bullcrap going on and lives will not change as a result of this blog post. In fact, I’m pretty sure the math on this is not going to work out at all. Basically, we were curious, doing some content planning, drinks might have been involved, etc., etc., aaannd BAM!, survey.
Just how did we reach these 75 dive pros? Great question. We were only interested in responses from dive pros, preferably worldwide, so we needed some help. While Jason and I are awesome 🤣, neither one of us knows 75 anything these days, so big thanks to Henri Hemmerechts of Dive Professionals and Chris Brinkworth of Global Diving Instructors who generously allowed us to post the survey link on their respective Facebook group pages. We truly appreciate their help.
And, finally, we know absolutely nothing about any of the respondents – no idea who answered the survey, no idea where they live, their professional level (new instructor, seasoned tweenior, elder statesperson), certification agency – none of that. We just wanted their gut level responses to the questions, not an invitation to dinner.
So… What are the three most trusted brands of scuba equipment?
We thought ScubaPro might do well and sure enough, it pretty much swept the category – 30% of respondents picked ScubaPro as their first choice, 20% of respondents picked it as their second choice, and 17% of respondents chose it as their third option.
We also thought Aqua Lung would do well and it did. But, it didn’t make the top three responses across the board, which was a bit shocking to me considering it’s the grand dame of the scuba equipment world.
But, I date myself…
Not sure who I thought would make up the final top three responses, but I wouldn’t have chosen Apeks, mostly because I’m not that familiar with the brand. It seems I’m in the minority, because 33% of respondents voted for it as their top brand of choice.
And the top three choices are…
| Brands | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| ScubaPro | 25% | 20% | 17% | 62% |
| Aqua Lung | 15% | 16% | 8% | 39% |
| Apeks | 13% | 11% | 9% | 33% |
ScubaPro: The Clear Choice?
Like its closest competitor, Aqua Lung, ScubaPro has also been around a long time. Since 1963, in fact, when Beuchat’s US sales rep, Gustav Dalla Valle, and US Navy UDT/SEAL, Dick Bonin created it to give Aqua Lung some competition in the fledgling scuba gear manufacturing industry.
That strategy still seems to be working, at least in this survey as almost two thirds of respondents chose ScubaPro as their number one trusted brand. For the most part, dive pros seem to like ScubaPro BCDs and regulators, citing their versatility and ease of use.
Scuba pros on ScubaPro:
“Dive pro since ‘03. Sold, repaired and dove with many brands. If money is tight, I like Aqualung in rental. But I will recommend SP [ScubaPro] every time… for durability, how the company stands behind their products, form/fit/function, list goes on!”
“ScubaPro just because it is so easy to regulate yourself and so easy to find parts around the world.”
“I have been diving a long time and I have always loved ScubaPro regulators – I think you like what you like…”
“ScubaPro. I need reliable equipment with proven resistance.”
Aqua Lung | The Original
With a final tally of 39%, second place top three finisher Aqua Lung is the OG of scuba equipment manufacturers. It’s been almost 80 years since French naval officer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Air Liquide engineer Emile Gagnan filed their patent for the world’s first scuba regulator for crying out loud! Which is why I thought it would be a first place contender. Clearly, I thought wrong.
Here’s what the pros had to say about Aqua Lung:
“I changed to the Aqua Lung Legend 3 years ago, it has just been so reliable and easy, I don’t see myself changing to any other brand.”
“I’ve used most brands if not all in 30 years, Aqua Lung L is above the rest in every aspect.”
“I have used both Aqua Lung and ScubaPro regulators during personal training, guiding and teaching. I found the Aqua Lung Mikron to be more comfortable, it is lightweight and very easy to breathe, which is ideal for use in training but also when guiding divers.”
Apeks
Our third place top three finisher is Apeks, with 33% of the votes. And while I wasn’t that familiar with it, because I’ve obviously been living under a rock – Apeks has been around for almost 50 years – like I said, dive pros sure are fans.
Here’s what some had to say:
| “As a dive instructor I have used Apeks XTX200 for many years and it works every time perfect for me. Also good in difficult conditions.” “Apeks regulators never let you down, give you an almost perfect breathe, and are the same price as all the others.” “Long, good track record.” |
Honourable mentions, surprises, and final thoughts
Mares gets honourable mention with 30% of dive pros including it in their top three trusted scuba equipment brands.
I’d also like to give a personal shout out to Beuchat. The first scuba equipment I ever owned was Beuchat and from experience, I can tell you that brand can take a beating – it’s very rugged and durable, and can easily survive being run over by a Toyota Tercel. The ONLY reason I got rid of mine was because the guys at the dive shop where I worked hated it (too old, too dated, not hi-tech enough) and the owner didn’t carry the line. We had to buy and teach with what he sold. Which ended up being kind of expensive, now that I think about it. 🙄
Any surprises? Not really. I would have said Apeks before I looked it up and found out it’s been around for 47 years, so I might not be the best judge of surprises.
One thing I found interesting was how one respondent brought up how important fit and comfort are and how great it is to find more brands making equipment specifically for female divers, especially wetsuits, dry suits, and BCDs.
“I personally am happy with the fact that the diving industry is developing more variations for women, my bcd is specifically designed for woman, and so is my dive suit. Result is my bcd stays in place during all my dives (whereas a standard BCD often does not) and my suit is the best fit to keep me warm.”
So… I became a PADI Instructor in 1993 and I thought I’d made peace with the fact I’d have to dive with a uniboob and 200 pounds of weight to sink me unless I bought custom gear my entire life. It’s exciting to hear brands are making gear specifically for curves and not rectangles these days. Actually, I’m just excited to dive with one of these magical, made for the female form BCDs.
Read on to see all the exciting results from question one of the survey, What are your three most trusted brands of scuba equipment? What do you look for in a brand? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you!
🦈🐬🐳🐋🐟🐠🐡🦐🦑🐙🦞🦀
| Most Trusted Brands: 1st Place Picks | % |
| ScubaPro | 25% |
| Aqua Lung | 15% |
| Apeks | 13% |
| Mares | 8% |
| Halcyon | 4% |
| Dive Rite | 4% |
| XDEEP | 4% |
| Hollis | 4% |
| Shearwater | 3% |
| Atomic Aquatics | 3% |
| Beuchat | 2% |
| SCUBA FORCE | 2% |
| Sherwood | 2% |
| Most Trusted Brands: 2nd Place Picks | % |
| ScubaPro | 20% |
| AquaLung | 16% |
| Apeks | 11% |
| Mares | 5% |
| Atomic Aquatics | 4% |
| Shearwater | 3% |
| Hollis | 3% |
| Santi | 3% |
| Oceanic | 3% |
| XDEEP | 3% |
| Sherwood | 1% |
| Zeagle | 1% |
| DUI | 1% |
| Fourth Element | 1% |
| Cressi | 1% |
| Poseidon | 1% |
| Bare | 1% |
| Dive Rite | 1% |
| Suunto | 1% |
| OMS | 1% |
| Ambient Pressure Diving | 1% |
| US Divers | 1% |
| Most Trusted Brands: 3rd Place Picks | % |
| Mares | 17% |
| ScubaPro | 16% |
| Apeks | 9% |
| Aqualung | 8% |
| Suunto | 5% |
| Hollis | 4% |
| Zeagle | 3% |
| CRESSI | 3% |
| Othree | 1% |
| Seac Sub | 1% |
| Fourth Element | 1% |
| Santi | 1% |
| Sherwood | 1% |
| Otter | 1% |
| Tusa | 1% |
| XDEEP | 1% |
| Halcyon | 1% |
| Poseidon | 1% |
| DUI | 1% |
| Beuchat | 1% |
| Shearwater | 1% |
| Dive Rite | 1% |
No water, no life. No blue, no green.
– Dr. Sylvia Earle
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