Had a similar battle with a tractor manifold bolt last spring, pure misery.

Man, that's rough for your buddy, @adam_nguyen7. Makes you wonder if the constant sun exposure out there weakens the stitching over time.

My uncle's basement flooded last year and ruined a whole bucket of that green lid stuff.

Honestly, it's not really an either-or thing. Good procedure is what makes sure your hardware is actually checked right in the first place. A solid pre-dive plan is the system that catches the gear problem you might miss on a quick look.

My retinol purge was way worse than I ever told my clients.