FAQ ABOUT OUR PRODUCTS
Our general policy is not to accept orders for products where demand exceeds supply yet the product is not physically in our warehouse. For more information about the sometimes deceptive pre-order practice, read Why We Don't Accept "Pre-Orders".
We know it is frustrating trying to purchase a product that is in short supply. Instead of accepting pre-orders, our product description pages will usually include a link titled "Notify me when this product is in stock." located near the out-of-stock product name. You may click on the link and enter your email address to register to receive an automated email alert when the item becomes available to order for immediate shipment. You may also wish to add our divegearexpress.com domain name to your contacts whitelist so the email will not be sidelined as spam. If the product is high demand, once you receive the alert we recommend you act fast to place your order as the item may rapidly sell out.
Apeks®, Dive Rite®, Mares XR™,OMS®, and Poseidon™ are our primary "full line" scuba diving product brands. Our DGX Gears™ house brand represents time tested premium quality products at the right price that are really in stock and ship today with customer service from Dive Gear Express that you can rely upon. You can see all our brands summarized on our Featured Brands page.
Today, almost all SCUBA products are an amalgamation of materials and labor from places all around the world. The potentially misleading "Made in ..." statements often only indicate the country of final assembly or sometimes just where it was packaged. For a retail merchant like Dive Gear Express, it's essentially impossible to have a complete understanding of where most of our goods were actually made. The short answer is that many but not all of our generic and DGX Gears branded SCUBA products are imported from Asia, typically Taiwan. Even that answer is dynamic as recent geo-political concerns and supply chain logistics issues have been causing changes in our selection of vendors and their upstream suppliers.
The longer answer is that, as a result of globalized supply chains and industrial clustering, very little diving equipment is entirely made in the United States. Consider something as ordinary as a rubber regulator hose: The raw hose stock itself is manufactured in Ohio with "Made in the USA" proudly imprinted along the length of the hose, but the rubber jacket on the hose came from the Southeast-Asia region and the thermoplastic liner came from the Asia-Pacific region. The chromed brass fittings and oxygen compatible O-rings were manufactured in mainland China. The coil of raw hose was exported to Taiwan, where it was cut to length and the fittings were swaged on and then the finished hose exported to Italy. The hose was then assembled with a SCUBA regulator containing a variety of parts from all over Europe, where the product also received quality control testing and packaging. The finished regulator package is finally exported to a California warehouse to later be sold on to divers under the famous brand of a publicly owned multi-national outdoor products company. Yet, holding the regulator in your hand all you might see is a brand logo on the stages and "Made in the USA" on the hose.
Regardless, part of the Dive Gear Express mission is to provide premium quality scuba diving equipment with favorable prices and we are constantly adjusting our global supply chain to deliver on that mission.
All products purchased through Dive Gear Express are backed by the branded manufacturer limited warranty. Warranties vary by brand and type of product so please consult the manufacturer's website and/or user manual of the product in question for specific warranty details.
All our house brand DGX Gears™ products are guaranteed for the useful life of the product, backed by Dive Gear Express. All rechargeable batteries, generic and unbranded products are guaranteed by Dive Gear Express for two years from date of purchase. All services by Dive Gear Express are guaranteed for a period of ninety days. All service kits and repair parts are sold with no guarantees.
In general, warranties from all brands are limited to defects in materials or workmanship, only apply to personal use in recreational diving related applications by the original purchaser, and exclude all other uses as well as excluding normal wear, modifications and cosmetic defects. Warranty liability is limited to the manufacturer's choice of repair to the original product, replacement with a similar or reconditioned product, merchandise discount, or refund.
Warranty service usually requires return to either Dive Gear Express or the branded manufacturer if you prefer. If you are are unable to use a pre-paid return label then you pay for warranty shipping costs back to us and we always pay for the warranty shipping costs back to you.
Yes, it's In-Stock in our warehouse. We understand, it's frustrating to order something you need in a hurry only to learn later it's out-of-stock. We go to extremes to make sure our website product descriptions accurately indicate the stock status for each of our products and their status is updated daily. In rare circumstances our inventory count might be inaccurate, or we might receive multiple orders for the same item at roughly the same time when we have limited inventory. As a general rule, if the status is "In-Stock" on our website, then as far as the best information we have at the moment, the item really is in our warehouse.
Unfortunately, unless we have explicitly listed an estimated date on the product description page, our best answer is "NOT SOON." If you are willing to postpone your purchase, then our product description page usually includes a link titled "Notify me when this product is in stock." located near the out-of-stock product name. You may click on the link and enter your email address to register to receive an automated email alert when the item becomes available to order for immediate shipment. Also add our divegearexpress.com domain name to your contacts whitelist so the email will not be sidelined as spam. If the product is high demand, once you receive the alert we recommend you act fast to place your order as the item may rapidly sell out.
We stock accessories such as seals and gloves, as well as top and bottom separates in the Sharkskin line. However, we do not sell the full one-piece exposure suits themselves on our website. In our long experience the sizing guides from all the exposure suit manufacturers, drysuit and full wetsuit, are not reliable enough to make the final selection of a product for which fit has so much importance and yet is so subjective. This is especially true in the thicker wetsuit materials, plus the variety of undergarments further complicate the process of determining the suit size of drysuits. Full exposure suits are a product for which there is no substitution for try on and in-store fitting advice.
If it is time to replace your existing suit from Dive Rite, DUI, OMS or Sharkskin and you already know your size, please Contact Us to discuss a special order.
According to our suppliers, their Nitrox Ready products are oxygen compatible and oxygen clean from the factory, prior to initial use, for compressed gases greater than 23.5% oxygen. (Air is defined as containing from 19% to 23.5% oxygen.) However, most suppliers in the dive industry specify their Nitrox Ready products for use with gas mixtures containing a maximum of 40% oxygen as the upper limit. Although controversial, some dive industry professionals are of the opinion that Nitrox Ready products do not have to be dedicated to oxygen service and may be used interchangeably with CGA Grade "E" air as long as the Nitrox Ready product never contacts gas mixtures in excess of 40% oxygen.
To better understand the issues associated with handling oxygen rich compressed gas, please read Understanding Nitrox Ready.
Yes and no; this simple question has a complex answer because there is no widely recognized scuba diving standard for what constitutes suitability for oxygen service. Hypothetically, the equipment we sell could be used with oxygen if we describe it as Nitrox Ready, otherwise you should assume air only service. However, from the point of view of stringent U.S. aerospace guidelines and Compressed Gas Association handling standards for oxygen, nothing in general use in recreational diving is suitable for oxygen service. Using oxygen for diving requires you to make an informed decision to accept for yourself the risks of handing the oxygen. To help form your opinion about the answer read our article About Oxygen Disclaimers.