Level with me...how much do I REALLY need to spend on a reg and BCD?

[ktownhero]

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I'm trying to get into diving in my area (NJ/NY), and I'm dumbfounded by the amount of money that I'm being recommended to spend on equipment. But to make it worse, renting gear around here seems absurdly expensive as well ($70/day + tanks), so I feel like I'm trapped. I either throw a bunch of money out the window on rental gear, or I buy stuff that I'm somewhat unfamiliar with and hope for the best. Honestly, for the amount of money I'm being told to spend on gear I could just spend a month somewhere in Central/South America or Southeast Asia and dive on rental gear.

Since I'm likely to be diving in colder water, I've been made paranoid about buying the wrong reg that may freeze up. Can anybody offer advice on good economical regulator that would be reliable under colder conditions?

I just want to get myself started in this hobby, and it feels so daunting...

 

[herman]

Bingo. With an unbalanced 1st stage, you'll notice an increase in breathing resistance as the tank gets low. This is not necessarily a bad thing for a new diver.

The unbalanced pistons are simple, bullet-proof regs (ScubaPro Mk-II, Mares Rebel are examples). If you are on a tight budget, they are just fine. If you have a little more money to play with, then look at the mid-range offerings.

Best wishes.

To be totally accurate, only piston regs increase in breathing resistance as the tank gets low, unbalanced diaphram regs actually get easier....now there has not been an unbalanced diaphram stage single hose reg made since the early 60s but they were made in the early days. (The DA Aquamaster double hose reg was an unbalanced diaphram reg up to the last day they were made- around 1972.) Increased breathing resistance also assumes the unbalanced first stage is used with an unbalanced second stage, otherwise the balancing of the second stage will mask the effects of the IP changes (the reason the breathing resistance increases) of the piston reg.

OP, sorry for the reg lessons. There are plenty of older but perfectly good regs that can be had for a great price. Don't pay any attention to the "it must be new or you will die" bull. Any of the quality regs made since the late 70's by Scuba Pro, US Divers (now know as Aqualung) or Sherwood are just as good today as they were new. I would stick to these brands, others like Dacor made good regs but parts are nearly impossible to find these days, SP, USD (AL) and SW still make parts for the old regs. Many breath as good as mid to low end new regs if you find a good tech to service them. The Scuba Pro MK-2s, MK-5s, MK-10s, any of the Sherwoods and USD's Conshelfs are easily serviced and are rock solid. I have picked up some of these regs for less than $20. While they will not perform like a top of the line new reg, most rec and esp new divers will not notice the difference. Good Hunting.

 

[fnfalman]

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I'm trying to get into diving in my area (NJ/NY), and I'm dumbfounded by the amount of money that I'm being recommended to spend on equipment. But to make it worse, renting gear around here seems absurdly expensive as well ($70/day + tanks), so I feel like I'm trapped. I either throw a bunch of money out the window on rental gear, or I buy stuff that I'm somewhat unfamiliar with and hope for the best. Honestly, for the amount of money I'm being told to spend on gear I could just spend a month somewhere in Central/South America or Southeast Asia and dive on rental gear.

Since I'm likely to be diving in colder water, I've been made paranoid about buying the wrong reg that may freeze up. Can anybody offer advice on good economical regulator that would be reliable under colder conditions?

I just want to get myself started in this hobby, and it feels so daunting...

If you're going to do dives often then you're best off buying your gears because then you can set it up any which way you want and be familiar with your gears instead of trying to figure out every time you rent a set of gears.

Secondly, buy used if money is an issue. Just be smart about it, that's all. Buy used regulators from a trustworthy shop and save yourself a lot of money. Since that it's from a local shop, then you'd know that it's already set up for cold diving.

Dive Rite regs are reasonably priced and of good quality. They're made for tech diving so the cold water issue should not be a problem.

 

[Matt S.]

Dive Rite regs are reasonably priced and of good quality. They're made for tech diving so the cold water issue should not be a problem.

By default even DR regs aren't made for cold water. You still need to make sure the reg has the enviro kit installed. Perhaps the new ones are different, but my RG2500 definitely came in a plain and "ice" version.

 

[fnfalman]

By default even DR regs aren't made for cold water. You still need to make sure the reg has the enviro kit installed. Perhaps the new ones are different, but my RG2500 definitely came in a plain and "ice" version.

The ice version isn't really that much more expensive than the regular vanilla version. My main point is that DR regulators are pretty reasonably priced and either are rigged for or can be rigged for cold water dives.

 

[Matt S.]

Yes, the enviro kit is only about $40 I think. I agree, DR is good for the money. It's also one of the brands that you can buy online and keep the manufacturer's warranty.