Got burned on a $700 Kirby Morgan rebuild kit that didn't fit

I ordered a rebuild kit online for my KM 37 last month from a place I'd never used before. Turned out the o-rings were for an older model and nothing matched up, so I lost the whole $700 because they wouldn't take returns on opened kits. Anyone else run into fake parts or wrong sizing for their gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_williams12d ago

I read a post on a diving gear forum last month where a guy in Florida got sent a Chinese knockoff of a Kirby Morgan inflator valve that looked identical but the threading was off by like 2 millimeters. He had to eat the cost too since the seller ghosted him after he complained. This is a REAL problem right now with scuba parts because there's tons of counterfeit seals and o-rings coming through eBay and random shops. I always stick with Dive Gear Express or the actual factory distributors now because a $700 mistake hurts a LOT more than paying an extra 50 bucks for peace of mind.

milesbarnes12d ago

Yeah I saw a similar post on a different forum where someone was talking about fake SPG boot covers that looked legit but would crack in cold water after a few dives. It's wild how good these knockoffs look sometimes. The thing that gets me is that with scuba gear, a tiny defect like wrong threading or a bad o-ring can literally kill you underwater if it fails. That's not like buying a fake Rolex where the worst thing that happens is it stops working. I've heard stories of counterfeit DIN to yoke adapters snapping off at depth before. Have you run into any fakes yourself or heard of specific shops that are bad about this?

garcia.cameron12d ago

A two millimeter thread difference could kill you, that's terrifying.