Halcyon Kit

"Winethinker" wrote

> I am keen to get some more kit and noticed Halcyon around. Seems like a
> nice streamlined way to get around, has anyone had any good/bad
> experiences with it?

Generally speaking, it's good quality,with good customer service, but it
comes at a high price.
Few discounts are available.

Lee

In article <IHvbf.14841$td.8486@bignews3.bellsouth.net>, "Lee Bell" <pleebell2@bellsouth.net> writes:
>"Winethinker" wrote
>
>> I am keen to get some more kit and noticed Halcyon around. Seems like a
>> nice streamlined way to get around, has anyone had any good/bad
>> experiences with it?
>
>Generally speaking, it's good quality,with good customer service, but it
>comes at a high price.
>Few discounts are available.

I agree with Lee that Halcyon Kit is good but overpriced.

While I have no personal complaints, there is at lest some suggstiong
that customer service is not always good.

Halcyon attempts to enforce a no-discounts policy -- and succeeds well
from what I have seen. For this reason alone I will NOT purchase
Halcyon gear unless there is no alternative. DiveRite is probably
what I would buy today.

Check out WWW.DIVERITEEXPRESS.COM -- but always copare prices among
the brands you find acceptable.


--
Charlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA
(hammond@not@peek.ssr.hp.com -- remove "@not" when replying)
All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's.

Yup, I know what you mean by discounting, I haven't seen any although
to add to that I also don't see it getting sold second hand so may be a
$ vs Quality.

I had a look at the Dive Rite gear, it looks good, we don't see it down
in Australia and Halcyon has only just started distributing here so the
range is pretty shoddy I reckon.

Thanks for the tip, I am off to Sipadan on Friday so I won't have a
chance to get it before then I imagine, it will have to wait until I
get back.

cheers
John





hammond@not wrote:
> In article <IHvbf.14841$td.8486@bignews3.bellsouth.net>, "Lee Bell" <pleebell2@bellsouth.net> writes:
> >"Winethinker" wrote
> >
> >> I am keen to get some more kit and noticed Halcyon around. Seems like a
> >> nice streamlined way to get around, has anyone had any good/bad
> >> experiences with it?
> >
> >Generally speaking, it's good quality,with good customer service, but it
> >comes at a high price.
> >Few discounts are available.
>
> I agree with Lee that Halcyon Kit is good but overpriced.
>
> While I have no personal complaints, there is at lest some suggstiong
> that customer service is not always good.
>
> Halcyon attempts to enforce a no-discounts policy -- and succeeds well
> from what I have seen. For this reason alone I will NOT purchase
> Halcyon gear unless there is no alternative. DiveRite is probably
> what I would buy today.
>
> Check out WWW.DIVERITEEXPRESS.COM -- but always copare prices among
> the brands you find acceptable.
>
>
> --
> Charlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA
> (hammond@not@peek.ssr.hp.com -- remove "@not" when replying)
> All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's.

Winethinker wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am keen to get some more kit and noticed Halcyon around. Seems like a
> nice streamlined way to get around, has anyone had any good/bad
> experiences with it?
>
> John

I'm happy with pretty much every piece of equipment I've bought from
them. The only two things I no longer use are the backplate pouch for
lift bag storage and the integrated weight pockets. The backplate pouch
was always kind of a pain and I prefer putting my lift bag in a thigh
pocket now. The integrated weights worked very well, but I didn't like
the way my canister light wobbled around on the right, and the d-ring
for the spg on the left was harder to use when on the weight pocket as
opposed to just being on the belt. I switched to using a standard
weightbelt.

My pioneer wing, harness, scout lights, HID light and lift bag have all
served me well. I would buy all of them again.

Winethinker wrote:

> I am keen to get some more kit and noticed Halcyon around. Seems like a
> nice streamlined way to get around, has anyone had any good/bad
> experiences with it?

I own several Halcyon wings, all first generation, which was excellent
stuff. They have served me well for several years.

The latest doubles wings I've seen are not so good. They've changed the
outside cover to something flimsier, and use a 70 lb lift bladder in
all of the smaller sizes. I was on a dive with a buddy who had a brand
new one, first time in the water, and one of the seams came completely
apart. He did not overinflate it - we were diving double AL80's in
wetsuits, with no stages, and he is a very experienced diver.

I don't know what their latest single tank wings look like.

If you like the look of this kind of setup, try also looking at
Dive-Rite, Oxycheq, and Agir-Brokk. You can generally mix and match
wings and plates, they all have the same hole spacing. Last time I
looked, anything other than Halcyon requires an adaptor bracket for
single tank. I like the adaptor better, because it allows for easier
change over between single tank and doubles (something I do often in
Mexico).

al

Just a suggestion~ I do not use the backplate pouch either. I have two
bungees about 3" in diameter looped on the outer bottom two holes of my
backplate (one on each side). Here is where I place my lift bag- I fold it
so that it slips into these bungees and is held at my lower back/bottom. I
clip the snap bolt from the lift bag and from the attached spool to my left d-
ring.

Whistler wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>
>> John
>
>I'm happy with pretty much every piece of equipment I've bought from
>them. The only two things I no longer use are the backplate pouch for
>lift bag storage and the integrated weight pockets. The backplate pouch
>was always kind of a pain and I prefer putting my lift bag in a thigh
>pocket now. The integrated weights worked very well, but I didn't like
>the way my canister light wobbled around on the right, and the d-ring
>for the spg on the left was harder to use when on the weight pocket as
>opposed to just being on the belt. I switched to using a standard
>weightbelt.
>
>My pioneer wing, harness, scout lights, HID light and lift bag have all
>served me well. I would buy all of them again.

--
Dive Cozumel / Yellow Rose
US/Canada Toll Free: 866.319.2649
A.R. Salas #85- Downtown Cozumel


Message posted via http://www.scubamonster.com

"Whistler" <whiNstOler@sSan.rPr.cAomM> wrote in message
news:T7Wbf.4552$Hs.593@tornado.socal.rr.com...
> Winethinker wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am keen to get some more kit and noticed Halcyon around. Seems like a
>> nice streamlined way to get around, has anyone had any good/bad
>> experiences with it? John
>
> I'm happy with pretty much every piece of equipment I've bought from them. The
> only two things I no longer use are the backplate pouch for lift bag storage and
> the integrated weight pockets. The backplate pouch was always kind of a pain and I
> prefer putting my lift bag in a thigh pocket now. The integrated weights worked
> very well, but I didn't like the way my canister light wobbled around on the right,
> and the d-ring for the spg on the left was harder to use when on the weight pocket
> as opposed to just being on the belt. I switched to using a standard weightbelt.
>
> My pioneer wing, harness, scout lights, HID light and lift bag have all served me
> well. I would buy all of them again.

I've struggles with weight integration with BP/wing and could never get it to work
properly. It seems the happiest people with BP/wing use a weightbelt.

Adam

In article <T7Wbf.4552$Hs.593@tornado.socal.rr.com>,
whiNstOler@sSan.rPr.cAomM says...
> My pioneer wing, harness, scout lights, HID light and lift bag have all
> served me well. I would buy all of them again.

I have one of their lift bags, but haven't used it in years. I use
Carters and Subsalves, stored in 2 sets of bungees below the backplate.
Yes, I know, pure heresy, but those Halcyon bags are a PITA to fill and
they leak at the seam, and I wouldn't even think about trying to lift
something with one of them. If you look at a Sunsalve or Carter, there
is no seam at the top, and the material is ridiculously heavier (which
does make them harder to store/carry). The other downside to the Carters
and subsalves is their color - last I looked, neither was available in
orange, which is easier for boat captains to see.

YellowRoseCozumel via ScubaMonster.com wrote:
> Just a suggestion~ I do not use the backplate pouch either. I have two
> bungees about 3" in diameter looped on the outer bottom two holes of my
> backplate (one on each side). Here is where I place my lift bag- I fold it
> so that it slips into these bungees and is held at my lower back/bottom. I
> clip the snap bolt from the lift bag and from the attached spool to my left d-
> ring.

Done that. I prefer the pocket. Thanks.

Al Wells wrote:
> In article <T7Wbf.4552$Hs.593@tornado.socal.rr.com>,
> whiNstOler@sSan.rPr.cAomM says...
>
>>My pioneer wing, harness, scout lights, HID light and lift bag have all
>>served me well. I would buy all of them again.
>
>
> I have one of their lift bags, but haven't used it in years. I use
> Carters and Subsalves, stored in 2 sets of bungees below the backplate.
> Yes, I know, pure heresy, but those Halcyon bags are a PITA to fill and
> they leak at the seam, and I wouldn't even think about trying to lift
> something with one of them.

Good points. I shoot a bag about once in a blue moon and I've never
used any other bag, so I can't really compare. After a little practice
I found it manageable, but I'd be happy to find better.

I've never known mine to leak at the seam, but it definitely leaks at
the valve.

I agree they are kind of a pain to fill with a dry suit hose, but I've
found that just breathing into the valve works fine.

If you look at a Sunsalve or Carter, there
> is no seam at the top, and the material is ridiculously heavier (which
> does make them harder to store/carry). The other downside to the Carters
> and subsalves is their color - last I looked, neither was available in
> orange, which is easier for boat captains to see.

Yeah, it seems that noone has got it perfect yet. But the boat captain
of the liveaboard from Ft Myers to the Dry Tortugas that I did with
George M and Mike B was very impressed by how visible the Halcyon bags were.