Affiliate Disclosure
ScubaSetup earns commission through affiliate links, principally the Amazon Associates programme. Buying through a link costs you nothing extra, because the commission comes out of the retailer's margin. Commission rates are set by category rather than by product, so there is no incentive to recommend a more expensive item.
ScubaSetup.com participates in affiliate programmes, principally the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product link on this site and buy something, the retailer pays us a commission at no additional cost to you, and that commission is what funds the research, the writing and the hosting.
That statement appears in the footer of every page and under every product grid. This page explains what it means in practice, and what it does and does not change about what you read here.
What does an affiliate link actually do?
It is an ordinary link to a retailer with a tracking tag attached. When you follow it, the retailer records that you arrived from this site, and if you buy something within their tracking window they pay a percentage of the sale to us. The mechanism is the same one that funds most independent product research on the internet.
Three practical consequences worth knowing:
- Your price is unchanged. The commission comes out of the retailer's margin. Nothing is added at checkout and no code needs to be applied.
- It is not limited to the product you clicked. On most programmes, anything you buy in that session counts. This is worth knowing rather than hidden, because it means the site can earn from a purchase entirely unrelated to diving.
- It is machine readable. Every commercial link here carries rel="nofollow noopener sponsored", which is the standard way of declaring a paid relationship to search engines and browsers.
Does the commission decide the picks?
No, and it is worth explaining why rather than simply asserting it, because "we are impartial" is what every site says.
| Concern | What is actually true here |
|---|---|
| Higher price means higher commission | Rates are set by product category rather than by product, so a $1,295 computer and a $225 one pay the same percentage. There is no rate advantage in pushing the expensive one |
| Only linkable products get recommended | Several picks on this site are dealer-only and carry a scoped search rather than a product listing. We name them anyway because they are the right answer |
| Every page tries to sell you something | Multiple pages tell readers to buy less: keep renting cylinders, skip the compass, skip the light, buy the intermediate kit instead of the expert one |
| Sponsored placements are hidden as editorial | We do not sell placements at all. No brand has paid for a position, a rating or a conclusion on this site |
| Negative information is suppressed | Every roundup carries a "who should not buy this" section, and the expert tier of every build states plainly who it is wrong for |
The clearest test of this is the expert setup page, which is the most expensive page on the site and which opens by telling most readers not to buy it. If commission drove the editorial, that section would not exist.
Why do some products link to a search rather than a listing?
Because a great deal of serious dive gear is dealer-only by design. Regulators, BCDs and most technical computers are sold through dive centres specifically so that the buyer gets a fit check and enters a service relationship, and several of the best options in the niche are simply not available on a marketplace.
Faced with that, a site has three options: invent a product listing, recommend a worse product that happens to be easy to link, or say plainly that this one is sold through shops and offer a scoped search. We take the third. It earns less and it is the honest answer, and in this niche it is also the answer that gets the reader a properly fitted piece of equipment.
What about prices and availability?
Every price on this site was accurate when the page was compiled and is labelled as checked rather than as current. Dive gear pricing moves with dealer promotions, model-year changeovers and stock, sometimes substantially. Always confirm the price on the retailer page before you order. Where a computer's price is quoted as a band rather than a figure, that is deliberate: a single number would be wrong within weeks while the band stays true.
If a price here is badly out of date, tell us through the contact form and we will update it.
What this disclosure does not change
Nothing about the safety position. Commercial links do not alter the fact that no calculator output on this site is a dive plan, that gear never substitutes for training, and that we will not publish technical diving procedures however many products such a page might sell. The safety disclaimer is not affected by any commercial relationship, and the editorial limits described on the about page apply regardless of what a page could earn.
Legal statements
ScubaSetup.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided "as is" and is subject to change or removal at any time.
All other trademarks, brand names and product names referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners. Their use here is for identification and comparison only and does not imply endorsement of this site by those owners.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
Does buying through your links cost me more?
No. The price you pay is identical whether you reach the retailer through a link here or by typing the address yourself. The commission comes out of the retailer's margin, not out of your total, and it is not added at checkout. If a price on this site differs from the price you see at the retailer, the retailer is right: prices change constantly and we cannot update them in real time.
Do affiliate commissions change which products you recommend?
No, and the structure of the programme is part of why. Amazon commission rates are set by product category rather than by product, so there is no meaningful incentive to push one regulator over another. More to the point, several pages on this site actively tell readers to buy less: to keep renting cylinders, to skip the compass, and in one case to buy a cheaper kit instead of the expensive one.
Why do some links go to an Amazon search instead of a product page?
Because a great deal of serious dive gear is sold through dive centres by design, so the buyer gets a fit check and an annual service relationship. Several of the best regulators, BCDs and technical computers in the niche are not sold on a marketplace at all. Rather than fabricate a product listing or recommend a worse product because it is easier to link, those entries carry a scoped search link.
Do you accept payment for a position in a roundup?
No. We do not sell placements, we do not accept payment for a favourable conclusion, and we do not publish sponsored posts dressed as editorial. Manufacturers are welcome to send corrections about their own published specifications, and those are treated exactly like any reader correction: verified against the documentation and then fixed, with no consideration of any commercial relationship.
Is every link on this site an affiliate link?
No. Internal links between pages, links to training agency materials, links to manufacturer documentation and links to medical resources are all plain links that earn nothing. Affiliate links carry a tracking tag in the address and are marked in the page code with rel="nofollow noopener sponsored", which is the standard machine-readable disclosure that search engines and browsers read.
How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, published training agency standards, and verified owner reviews across retailers. We do not test gear in person, and every depth rating, cylinder capacity and algorithm name quoted here is the manufacturer's published figure unless we say otherwise, so confirm it on the current spec sheet before you buy. Nothing here is dive instruction, and no calculator output on this site is a dive plan. Scuba diving carries a real risk of decompression sickness, oxygen toxicity, barotrauma and drowning. Dive within the limits of your certification, verify every plan with your own computer, and buy the training before the gear that assumes it.
Logging your own SAC rate and gas plans? The Dive Kit & Air Planning Workbook is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.