Back from DEMA - What I love, what I don't love about DEMA

[Mo2vation]

I'm always torn with DEMA. There are things I love about it, and things I really don't love about it. Mostly I love it. Here's my short list in no real order.

• I LOVE meeting people I've talked with for years and years online. Its always satisfying to check another one off my list of "must meets." There were several this year. More than ever before. Margaret and Eric from Liquivision. Marci. Laura James for goodness sake. Ross Hemmingway, Johnny VPLanner himself. The list goes on and on.

• I LOVE the DSS booth. Tobin's booth is the Kool-Aid house, without the sticky sugar drink stuff. Dude brings a small over-stuffed leather sofa and stashes it in the corner of the booth. That sofa is ground zero from about 3:45 PM to the end of the show each day. The parade of celebrities that roll in to crash on that thing is a show within a show. DSS is my DEMA Oasis.

• I LOVE it when DEMA is in Vegas.

• I DO NOT LOVE it when DEMA is in Orlando.

• I LOVE that DEMA gives nice people the chance to do nice things. Pete ("NetDoc") from ScubaBoard gave a bunch of us a ride to the Riviera to the Naui Party. Very sweet. Beats taking a cab. Thanks, Pete.

• I DO NOT LOVE a lot of the gear that I see there. Its like going to a fishing show, where you know most of the gear is designed to catch fisherman and not fish. There is a lot of good stuff at DEMA, but there is also a lot of unworthy stuff.

• I LOVE seeing good ideas. There were a few this year. Seeing products improved upon by people taking a step back and saying,
  "now what if we...." There is so little true innovation and so much marketing crapola. I saw a few new ideas. I like that alot.

• I LOVE learning about Adaptive Divers, and all that's associated with Divers with Disabilities. The certification agencies, the organizations taking the certifications into the marketplace, meeting many of the deeply committed people behind all of the above. Mel Pasley, you are a hero twice over, my friend. My dive world got a lot bigger this week because of you. Thanks, buddy.

• I LOVE that at the end of October, Lynne, Ms Seattle 2009 has a better tan than I do. OK - that one is sort of both an I LOVE and an I DON'T LOVE.

• I LOVE that the trade show doesn't open until 10:00 AM every day. In addition to being the time when every day in Las Vegas should begin, it gives you a chance to meet in the AM with people, or get enough sleep so you don't walk into the hall a bleary, drooling mess.

• I DO NOT LOVE the show being in the South Hall. The North Hall has better meeting rooms and is a few hundred yards from my hotel room at the Hilton.

• I LOVE that the show was in the South Hall. There was another show in the same hall - this meant twice the shuttle buses and half the wait time. Of the 5 shuttles I grabbed to and from the hotel to the hall and vice versa, only one was the DEMA shuttle. Brilliant!

• I LOVED the DMX Las Vegas Dive In Event.

• I DO NOT LOVE all the stuff that passes for Scuba Art. You can't judge art - I mean its all very subjective and personal. But dayem...

• I LOVE that probably 1/3 of the stuff you see at DEMA is dedicated to the schlep category (carts, bags, boxes, wheels, straps, backpacks, wheeled backpacks, boxes with straps, and all other combinations herein.) That's not the thing. The thing is this: easily another 2/3 of that stuff is trying to make schlepping an AL80 easier. An Al80? I'm just sayin...

• I DO NOT LOVE all the pink gear I was seeing.

• I LOVE that Salvo had a prototype of a 200 Watt Video Light (OMG, what a Saturn V that thing was) because I know its just a matter of time until Sounder puts a real reflector on that thing and makes it his primary light, and sells me his 35. (<- he has a 50w. Pardon the slight on his UW Manhood)

• I DO NOT LOVE that even though the day is long (10:00 AM to 6:00 PM every day), it goes by so fast. When I planned my show visit a couple of months ago, there was no doubt I would get everything done I set out to get done in 3 full days at the show. Now I'm totally wishing I was there on Saturday to knock a few more items off of my list.

• I LOVE getting the deal of the decade on a 12oz bottle of PSI 500 de-fog. I don't have super spit... I need chemical assistance.

• I DO NOT LOVE buying a huge bottle of PSI 500 de-fog on Thursday morning, only to realize Thursday night at 5:40 PM that there is no way TSA will let me slide with all this goo in my carry-on and now I have to check a bag. 'doh.

• I LOVE being only one of 20 people on my Thursday flight back. My checked bag beat me to the carousel. Hundreds of flights, millions of miles, that is a first.

• I LOVE being home.

How was your DEMA???


---
Ken

[John_B]

I can't get into NAMM and I can't get into DEMA. Two of the minor injustices in my life. :shrug:

[LCF]

I loved the networking. I met SO many people, and reconnected with a bunch more. Sitting at dinner with Andrew Ainslie and Ross Hemingway was very, very cool. I managed to find everybody who was on my "I really want face time with this person" list, plus I got a couple of unexpected treats.

I loved wandering the travel areas. So many places to dive -- some I never even thought about. I've got some ideas in my head about organizing dive trips, with standards

I loved getting to see some equipment I'd read about. I looked at lights, and knives, and undergarments, and saw the red tech skin for the Fusion (it's gorgeous!)

I loved wearing my Liquivision shirt around, and having people stop me and ask me about it.

I didn't love wandering witlessly into the Oxycheq booth (to look at lights) with a Deep Sea Supply tag on. Ooops.

I loved the DMX party, except there were too many people I wanted to talk to, and I couldn't talk to all of them at once. And being able to hear yourself think would have been nice, too.

I didn't love the absurd prices for food and drink, or the fact that we didn't have a coffee service in the hotel room.

I actually did love the hamburgers in the snack bar in the exhibit hall. They weren't half bad (although also ridiculously expensive).

Ken's right, too: The DSS booth was a social center. It was funny what a group of people just kept gravitating there.

I loved watching limeyx's videos on the wide screen at the Dive Xtras booth, and seeing Ken's gorgeous photographs there, too.

I didn't love having all the indoor spaces air conditioned to the point where I wore a jacket indoors when it was 80 degrees outside!

There was way more to love than not to love, but I'll never understand why so many businesses think lining different colored snorkels up next to each other in long rows makes an effective or enticing display . . .

[limeyx]

I loved watching limeyx's videos on the wide screen at the Dive Xtras booth, and seeing Ken's gorgeous photographs there, too.

Heh, thx Lynne -- still trying to find better ways to make the HD available but unless everyone buys a Playstation 3 or possibly an XBox, it's tough.

Tobins couch was definitely the star of the show, and the food/lack of coffee -- well, more like not. What kind of starbucks has the temerity to close at 11am ???

[SparticleBrane]

I didn't love wandering witlessly into the Oxycheq booth (to look at lights) with a Deep Sea Supply tag on. Ooops.

Bet that went over real well...

[Stryker1775]

I love that ya'll went and just had a BLAST and came away with great memories and such!

I love that ya'll are so great sharing your stories and updates on people, gear, and info.

I do not love that I wasn't able to attend. :(

[Sounder]

I love that when I get home I can write a longer post to share all about my experience.

I also love that Ken thinks I have a 35w HID... that is SO last year!! Dude, I sold my 35w a long time ago for the 50w. I did, however, talk with Barry about the possibility of putting a goodman handle on that 200w.

I love that I can surf DMX while sitting on Alaska Air flight #619 waiting to push back from the gate.

I will write a much more complete post from Seattle.

Posted using a wireless device: BlackBerry8330/4.3.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105

[ppo2_diver]

I love the fact that I was actually diving while you folks were walking around a trade show.

[blondie]

I always find it interesting that so many non-professionals want to attend a trade show.

[John_B]

I always find it interesting that so many non-professionals want to attend a trade show.

Its a matter of having a chance to see gear up-close-and-personal, and all in one place instead of having to traipse all over creation trying to find a dealer who, for whatever reason, may or may not actually stock it.

In my case this applies equally to music equipment as it does to scuba gear. The price to be paid for living in flyover country, I suppose.

[breals]

I always find it interesting that so many non-professionals want to attend a trade show.

That's because it's like being in the best dive shop in the world that has Indonesian dancers.

[David P]

there was a lot of eye candy, and some nice dive gear too.

I loved how they had all (or at least most) of the photo gear together in one area.
I didn't love how they had the travel, cheap asian import gear, and unrelated crap (shoe inserts) all scattered in with the good stuff. If the floor plan was more laid out, I could have been in and out in 2 hours!

I love some of the cool little doodads (I picked up a pretty spiffy pencil for my wetnotes)

didn't love the lack of attendees. What happened to Dive Rite, Halcyon, Scuba Pro (wasn't expecting to see the last two) AL didn't even seem to have Apeks on display. Didn't see John or Ritchie(I guess Joel with his bleach blond hair will have to do), didn't see Elvis singing "DEMAaaaaa Las Vegas" , didn't see any mermaids (that asian chick dressed up like a manta ray floating around was pretty freaky) It seemed to be a very low key show. But I had fun and picked up a couple good deals.

[LCF]

Yes, those are really nice pencils, aren't they?

John and Ritchie were both there, and were signing copies of their new book. (Which is a good read, BTW.)

Rumor has it a lot of eastern companies don't feel it's worth the cost to ship goods for a booth across the country.

[College Diver]

I loved the deal that Barry and Corey set me up with to get me into my BEAUTIFUL NEW 10a - 21w primary...
and the fact that my purchase was considered the opening order for the shop I manage - there is a now Salvo dealer in Bakersfield??? SWEET!!!

I loved meeting the DMX'ers who made it for the Group Therapy party at Tempo on Thursday night and the great conversations I had that night...

I loved the fact that even after walking the floor all day, from Wednesday to Saturday, I was still finding booths with cool stuff to look at (it was there, it was just hidden with a bunch of flashy gimmickry)...

I did not love the Oceanic regulator class I had to attend on Thursday - they need to sit in on an SP clinic...

The jury is still out on the manta and hammerhead girls - they were a little weird - but there was enough beauties there to keep a guy's eyes focused elsewhere (almost ran into [booths, pillars, golf-carts, other attendees] numerous times :-) ...

Did not love that it was in Vegas - all that gear and no good place to dive? Shoulda been in Long Beach...

Loved the fact I got to meet my future tech instructor and talk about the classes face-to-face before hand. I definitely feel I am fortunate to be working with her.

Loved that the owner of the shop I manage got to meet Tobin - I think Don (the owner) now realizes that there are many more people in the world who utilize the DIR configuration (that weird long-hose stuff) than just myself and a couple of my friends...

Most of all, I loved the fact that I got to be a part of it all, see some cool stuff and meet some great people (yeah, John and Richie were there, at the TDI area up at the front - got them to sign the book and my Dive Portal 1 DVD :-) Now its time to go get wet and fire up that light!!!

[limeyx]

I loved the deal that Barry and Corey set me up with to get me into my BEAUTIFUL NEW 10a - 21w primary...

Bah! I guess you were avoiding me somehow!
I seem to have met less people than I intended to (although showing up at 3pm on friday did not help I suppose)

Oh well, next time I guess