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Bryan
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DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:57 pm

This is my OPINION from an attendee of DEMA since 1983....NOT FACTS...... So don't get gravel in your panties if you don't like it.

This is the 1st show I can remember that I have attended that I have not placed at lease ONE order for something new that I thought the dive shop I was working for or for VDH customers. I found OC innovation did not exist.
There were a ton of rebreather mfg's and items that looked really cool.....even BLUE hoses on one....That I am not edumacated enough to comment on and in my ignorance there may have been a lot there that I just don't get.
I had an immense amount of compressor envy.... Not by the cheap junk but the tried and true manufactures of compressors had some fantastic merchandise. There were also a few places with small displays that offered personal gas analyzation to individuals which I think is great and everyone that owns a personal compressor should have easy access to.
Dive Computers, I'm old, I KNOW THAT.....How did we survive not knowing who what posting what on our instagram while we were diving??? Why the fuck do people need to see your surface interval at the crappy saltwater filled tank everyone washes their pee filled wetsuit in? Can't that photo wait a few hours till you get caught up on your other 12 social media outlets? I dived 3 decades without one and my Cochran seems good enough for my ancient behind to dive with for the last two.
BRIGHT NOTE.....Saw more young people there than I'd had the past couple. Crazy hair, weird piercings, tattoos everywhere etc etc.....again don't care as long as they learn to to love diving and embrace it like we do no matter how different!
Talked to Pete from SB for a bit, he was doing an interview with Shearwater but he pointed out a Garmin device that keeps you located before and after a dive with the boat Captain and that's not a bad thing in my opinion since I'm not a fan of surface swims when I'm on vacation paying for boat pickup!
TRAVEL, TRAVEL, TRAVEL.......Lot's available there.
Environmental causes.....I'm not touching that one with a 10' pole.
What I did hear from friends who had displays was that they would have been happier if they could actually SELL STUFF at the displays. Some of the smaller vendors did....i.e. did you know a bong could be made from almost translucent silicone??

To wrap it all up....Too expensive, Too restrictive, Cost prohibitive for the little guys. Lot's of other shows around the country gaining momentum and that's seems to be where many of them are focused. We were guest on the tailcoats of Amigos Dive Center and our good friend Wayne Kindard. If it were not for him getting us passes there is NO WAY IN HELL VDH would have paid the asinine membership fees, badge fees, internet access fees while in the center fees etc etc just to get in.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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ScubaLawyer
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:43 am

Agree with all of the above. DEMA in the 80's was a hoot! Especially the New Orleans venue! Looks like it will be there again in 2020. I'll have to dig out the photo I took of the heads of three major dive manufacturers stumbling drunk out of a brothel just off Bourbon Street at 2 a.m. I got lots of free stuff that year. :)  I still like wandering the event hall(s) looking at all the old shit repackaged as new and improved shit. I get lots of new ideas that I promptly forget. I see a lot of old friends and spend most of my time hanging out telling stories (some even true). I plan on going next year to New Orleans so if anyone wants to plan a vintage something at DEMA let me know. Mark
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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antique diver
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Tue Nov 19, 2019 11:04 am

ScubaLawyer wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:43 am
Agree with all of the above. DEMA in the 80's was a hoot! Especially the New Orleans venue! Looks like it will be there again in 2020. I'll have to dig out the photo I took of the heads of three major dive manufacturers stumbling drunk out of a brothel just off Bourbon Street at 2 a.m. I got lots of free stuff that year. :)  I still like wandering the event hall(s) looking at all the old shit repackaged as new and improved shit. I get lots of new ideas that I promptly forget. I see a lot of old friends and spend most of my time hanging out telling stories (some even true). I plan on going next year to New Orleans so if anyone wants to plan a vintage something at DEMA let me know. Mark
Yep, those older ones seem to have been much better in my memory.
Some folks would say it's getting more like a Dying Equipment Manufacturers Anonymous meeting being held at a Travel Show.
The older I get the better I was.

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Chris
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:51 pm

Just once I would like to see a regulator add that simply says "built like the 80's. Why? Because it worked".

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1969ivan1
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Fri Nov 29, 2019 11:16 pm

Bryan hit the nail on the head on DEMA. I doubt that I will bother going to another one in the future unless something changes. Scubapro did not even have a booth at this one! The rumor is that MARES is also pulling out and PADI is considering not going to future DEMAs. There were a lot of other absent vendors. I was told that the vendors are getting fined and punished for really minor infractions like having displays that were too tall or hung up with the wrong kind of string etc. It was described to me by one vendor as "Death by a thousand cuts." I am so bummed that I missed the great DEMA days and only really saw the decline.

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antique diver
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sat Nov 30, 2019 8:28 pm

Before the first DEMA in about 1977 major diving manufacturers would exhibit at the NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) shows. They could also be seen at regional events like film festivals and shows like the International Conference on Underwater Education (ICUE aka IQ). DEMA was initially a great step forward for the diving industry, but somewhere along the way it seemed to decline. Why?
The older I get the better I was.

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ScubaLawyer
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:36 pm

antique diver wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 8:28 pm
Before the first DEMA in about 1977 major diving manufacturers would exhibit at the NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) shows. They could also be seen at regional events like film festivals and shows like the International Conference on Underwater Education (ICUE aka IQ). DEMA was initially a great step forward for the diving industry, but somewhere along the way it seemed to decline. Why?
So.... I see an opening for "Bill's & Mark's New Dive Gear Convention and Beer Fest." :)
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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antique diver
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sun Dec 01, 2019 3:32 pm

ScubaLawyer wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:36 pm
antique diver wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 8:28 pm
Before the first DEMA in about 1977 major diving manufacturers would exhibit at the NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) shows. They could also be seen at regional events like film festivals and shows like the International Conference on Underwater Education (ICUE aka IQ). DEMA was initially a great step forward for the diving industry, but somewhere along the way it seemed to decline. Why?
So.... I see an opening for "Bill's & Mark's New Dive Gear Convention and Beer Fest." :)
Yeah. I suggest we have beer available from all the popular diving destinations! :D
The older I get the better I was.

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Chris
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:28 pm

I wish there was something on the west coast. Gets lonely being one of two double hose divers in the state of Oregon.

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Formerly tripplec. Decided to use my real name since you guys aren't a bunch of flaky internet trolls.

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Bryan
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:33 pm

antique diver wrote:
Sun Dec 01, 2019 3:32 pm
ScubaLawyer wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:36 pm
antique diver wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 8:28 pm
Before the first DEMA in about 1977 major diving manufacturers would exhibit at the NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) shows. They could also be seen at regional events like film festivals and shows like the International Conference on Underwater Education (ICUE aka IQ). DEMA was initially a great step forward for the diving industry, but somewhere along the way it seemed to decline. Why?
So.... I see an opening for "Bill's & Mark's New Dive Gear Convention and Beer Fest." :)
Yeah. I suggest we have beer available from all the popular diving destinations! :D
Some of you remember DEMA in the 80's when it was like the wild wild west.....The after parties were the stuff of legend, millions of hangovers and many other regrets......
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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antique diver
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First Name: Bill
Location: North-Central Texas

Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:40 pm

Bryan wrote:
Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:33 pm
antique diver wrote:
Sun Dec 01, 2019 3:32 pm
ScubaLawyer wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:36 pm


So.... I see an opening for "Bill's & Mark's New Dive Gear Convention and Beer Fest." :)
Yeah. I suggest we have beer available from all the popular diving destinations! :D
Some of you remember DEMA in the 80's when it was like the wild wild west.....The after parties were the stuff of legend, millions of hangovers and many other regrets......
I have no regrets 8)
The older I get the better I was.

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couv
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sat Dec 07, 2019 1:28 pm

ScubaLawyer wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:43 am
Agree with all of the above. DEMA in the 80's was a hoot! Especially the New Orleans venue! Looks like it will be there again in 2020. I'll have to dig out the photo I took of the heads of three major dive manufacturers stumbling drunk out of a brothel just off Bourbon Street at 2 a.m. I got lots of free stuff that year. :)  I still like wandering the event hall(s) looking at all the old shit repackaged as new and improved shit. I get lots of new ideas that I promptly forget. I see a lot of old friends and spend most of my time hanging out telling stories (some even true). I plan on going next year to New Orleans so if anyone wants to plan a vintage something at DEMA let me know. Mark
I lived in New Orleans for > 20 years and could not tell you where one brothel is. Yet SL visits and... :shock:

Yes, DEMA was fun back then-so were the Boat Show and other outdoor vendor expos. Having said that, that's the only time I've ever been so I don't have anything to compare it to.
A sincere THANK YOU to all at VDH who make this wonderful resource available and to all the thoughtful contributors.

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ScubaLawyer
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sat Dec 07, 2019 3:04 pm

couv wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 1:28 pm

I lived in New Orleans for > 20 years and could not tell you where one brothel is. Yet SL visits and... :shock:
Like a moth to flame. It's a finely honed spidy-sense.... :)
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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Bryan
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First Name: Bryan
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Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:23 pm

ScubaLawyer wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 3:04 pm
couv wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 1:28 pm

I lived in New Orleans for > 20 years and could not tell you where one brothel is. Yet SL visits and... :shock:
Like a moth to flame. It's a finely honed spidy-sense.... :)
You don't need a shingle to run a successful business. NOLA was and is living proof of that...Houston was not far off of the mark either from what I can remember.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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antique diver
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Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:50 pm
First Name: Bill
Location: North-Central Texas

Re: DEMA just aint DEMA anymore

Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:29 pm

Oh well, never mind my last post on December 4th. I forgot about the Houston DEMA. :?
The older I get the better I was.

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