Sidemount regulator choice post 2024 inflation

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When I went through this process a year ago, I ended up with the HOG package. It is based on the DIN D3 swivel primary (5 HP 2LP diaphram sealed etc) and the zenith secondary. I have about 150 dives on it and the only problems I have had is with my incessant tinkering (switching secondaries between sidemount and backmount during a trip and wanting to retune them as a pair) HOG has parts availability in the US, and is relatively easy to service.

Best part of it is the full kit with EVERYTHING is still $789 for regs, hoses, spg, extra swivels and great support from Randy at Piranha. It hasn't gone up for 2024!

HOG Premium Sidemount Regulator Package
 
I’ve got a couple of the sets that you are looking at. I have two sets of the DGX D6 regulators set up for sidemount. I also have the Apex sidemount set as well. I prefer the Apex as I have been using them the longest. The DGX regs are student regs and my students report liking them. I will note that there may be some quality control issues with them as I had to adjust the intermediate pressure when I first received them. It was only one of the first stages that was problematic. I’ve since rebuilt all of the regs and they work really well now.

Edit: spelling!
 
I work full time as a service tech and have been diving for 19 years, sidemount diving for the last 8 and CCR for the last 5.

I just finished my full cave in Mexico in March and found my and looking to get my last set of sidemount regs that are quite nice. My shop sells all major brands and is an authorized service center for many of the smaller ones, my only opinions on the matter of equipment is what works best for the application and what I've seen as common issues with equipment.

First and foremost when weighing my options for what to buy I decided any flow through piston was out of the running. Sure they breath great but the knife edge of the piston is highly susceptible to scratching and damage. If this knife edge starts to get wear you're going to see IP creep happen. IP creep on a reg that will sit unused underwater for any length of time is likely to eventually lead to a small leak from the second stage. This takes MK25's & Atomics out of the running.

This is kind of sad for me as I dive the ST1 for my recreational single tank backmount dives and absolutely love it. I also love that Atomic makes it in stainless steel as this has been an amazing reg for me and if you take even decent care of it, it will probably last a lifetime.

That means that only diaphragm regulators are options for me.

Of diaphragm regulators I decided they had to be environmentally sealed to help protect them from corrosion and turbidity in the water. They also had to have a turret on the first stage.

That leaves only a few options from the major manufactures and then the same design from the smaller manufacturers that do it at a fraction of the cost.

Aqualung is out because they don't have a sealed diaphragm design with a turret on the first stage (that's a shame because I love the ACD design)

Hollis DCX would work but I don't live the seat / knife edge design and I've seen an issue with a few of their seat / knife edges from the factory supplied service kits.

We're left with Apeks XTX50's & the smaller companies knockoff's of it.

I own DiveRite XT1's and they do a great job but recently after servicing mine I had a major issue with the body of the first stage splitting in half. Yes, the whole body physically was broken in 2 which was the first I had ever seen that on a reg (I have a picture of people are interested). Ultimately the reason a lot of these smaller / newer manufacturers can offer such lower prices is they sell directly to the end user and they source materials from lower quality.

Apeks has been doing this for a long time and has quality metal so that was what I went with for 1st stages, XTX50's. Also if you keep up with service / inspection records you can get service parts for life with these which at retail cost saves you about $100 every 1 - 2 years.

As for second stages any balanced second stage is going to give you pretty great performance with the biggest difference being the amount of spring tension you can adjust, some small manufacturer specific features and the material used.

I ended up going with the atomic ST1's for second stages (no swivel hose) for one specific feature, the seat saving washer. One of the parts of a reg that can cause them to need service will before they've gotten good use is the wear the 2nd stage orifice and seat get from just sitting. The seat saving washer will prolong the life of the seat and prevent you from needing to get the second stage serviced if it just has a groove worn in it from sitting unused for a few months.

Ultimately I wish the atomic 2nd stages had a bit more of a range on ability to adjust the spring tension but this is minor compared to having a small leak due to seat wear.

The only better combination I could think of would be an XTX50 clone made out of stainless steel.
 
I work full time as a service tech and have been diving for 19 years, sidemount diving for the last 8 and CCR for the last 5.

I just finished my full cave in Mexico in March and found my and looking to get my last set of sidemount regs that are quite nice. My shop sells all major brands and is an authorized service center for many of the smaller ones, my only opinions on the matter of equipment is what works best for the application and what I've seen as common issues with equipment.

First and foremost when weighing my options for what to buy I decided any flow through piston was out of the running. Sure they breath great but the knife edge of the piston is highly susceptible to scratching and damage. If this knife edge starts to get wear you're going to see IP creep happen. IP creep on a reg that will sit unused underwater for any length of time is likely to eventually lead to a small leak from the second stage. This takes MK25's & Atomics out of the running.

This is kind of sad for me as I dive the ST1 for my recreational single tank backmount dives and absolutely love it. I also love that Atomic makes it in stainless steel as this has been an amazing reg for me and if you take even decent care of it, it will probably last a lifetime.

That means that only diaphragm regulators are options for me.

Of diaphragm regulators I decided they had to be environmentally sealed to help protect them from corrosion and turbidity in the water. They also had to have a turret on the first stage.

That leaves only a few options from the major manufactures and then the same design from the smaller manufacturers that do it at a fraction of the cost.

Aqualung is out because they don't have a sealed diaphragm design with a turret on the first stage (that's a shame because I love the ACD design)

Hollis DCX would work but I don't live the seat / knife edge design and I've seen an issue with a few of their seat / knife edges from the factory supplied service kits.

We're left with Apeks XTX50's & the smaller companies knockoff's of it.

I own DiveRite XT1's and they do a great job but recently after servicing mine I had a major issue with the body of the first stage splitting in half. Yes, the whole body physically was broken in 2 which was the first I had ever seen that on a reg (I have a picture of people are interested). Ultimately the reason a lot of these smaller / newer manufacturers can offer such lower prices is they sell directly to the end user and they source materials from lower quality.

Apeks has been doing this for a long time and has quality metal so that was what I went with for 1st stages, XTX50's. Also if you keep up with service / inspection records you can get service parts for life with these which at retail cost saves you about $100 every 1 - 2 years.

As for second stages any balanced second stage is going to give you pretty great performance with the biggest difference being the amount of spring tension you can adjust, some small manufacturer specific features and the material used.

I ended up going with the atomic ST1's for second stages (no swivel hose) for one specific feature, the seat saving washer. One of the parts of a reg that can cause them to need service will before they've gotten good use is the wear the 2nd stage orifice and seat get from just sitting. The seat saving washer will prolong the life of the seat and prevent you from needing to get the second stage serviced if it just has a groove worn in it from sitting unused for a few months.

Ultimately I wish the atomic 2nd stages had a bit more of a range on ability to adjust the spring tension but this is minor compared to having a small leak due to seat wear.

The only better combination I could think of would be an XTX50 clone made out of stainless steel.


What about the Scubapro mk19 first stage? Did you consider it?
 
What about the Scubapro mk19 first stage? Did you consider it?
Sorry, yes this was on my list to consider as well. I prefer the design of the Apeks XTX50's (DIN fitting is centered in-between the HP balance plug and the LP port turret) vs the MK19's design of being longer on the LP port turret side.

That a long with the parts for life deal (ScubaPro requires you to purchase a BCD, computer and reg from them to qualify for their parts for life program, which I'm not going to do) and a slightly lower cost made the XTX50's a tiny bit more preferable.

Also I haven't worked on many MK19's / they haven't been around long enough to know if there are / what are the reoccurring issues with them. That being said they're essentially MK'17's which themselves are great regs. It was a close choice between the two so I think I would have been happy either way
 
I would have to recommend the Deep6 signatures as they're performance and customer support is second to none. The slender and long design with the turret and 5th port means you're lp are free to swivel even with modular valves, and being able to run a 6 or 9in lpi to your inflator keeps everything nice and streamlined.
They also have s/m packages: Signature Sidemount Package
 
Also I haven't worked on many MK19's / they haven't been around long enough to know if there are / what are the reoccurring issues with them. That being said they're essentially MK'17's which themselves are great regs.
The MK17s which are essentially MK 11s?
 
The MK17s which are essentially MK 11s?

Essentially is the key word there, they made a big change with the MK19 spring which, to my knowledge, no other manufacturers have done before. I'm interested in how the springs hold up over years since they went with two springs stacked inside each other in order to cut down a little weight.

I would want to see how these springs hold up over years of diving. Other than that the orifice and seat are the same which have proven very reliable
 
Thank you for your replies.

“budget option is the dgx d6 and after that look at DR/D6…” if I extrapolate that to XTX50 and atomic M1/ Poseidon…

So the old adage of “ you get what you pay for” holds then?

I left the topic of used out of the question. If a compatible quality used set surfaces locally, that will be my choice indeed.
There are a million used regs on the market, you can work out in general good quality at a good price.
Honestly, I know people are gonna hate to hear this but most brands of regs will probably do a great job for you. So long as they have a turret, and are probably born in the last ~10 - 15 yrs, they will have more than likely support in terms of service kits, and a quick search online will tell you the reliability. Of course I would avoid "off-brand" and uncommon brands to ensure you can get them serviced. See what your LDS services then jump online and pick some up.

You already mentioned you're not planning on servicing at home, so you're not really going to save much money there buying new (maybe on "parts for life", but even still, you pay for the service labour).

I see good MK25/G250 sets on marketplaces all the time for decent prices.

If you buy them and decide to change, sell them at the end of their life with you. Someone will pick them up.

Just my 2c. 🤷‍♀️
 

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