DST XTX50 vs MK25 G260

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Yamadaty

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Messages
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Location
Ukraine
# of dives
100 - 199
I need to pick myself a set for my side-mount rig, and I am struggling between DST XTX50 vs MK25 G260, and I know the basic difference between piston and diaphragm 1st stages. Currently, I have MK25, and I will keep it for backmount.
I have dived with both of these and, but I can't really say which one breathes better, maybe because I am still recreational diver and didn't dive below 40meters. Technical diving is the direction I will be going — Asia, this year and Mexico the next one.

Is there any advantage to go Apeks over Scubapro for tec?
Most sidemount divers that I met had DST because it's almost considered a no-brainer for tec diving, I am not sure if that's just apples vs oranges or an actual fact.

Besides that, I heard a lot of feedback of a quality drop about Apeks recently aka infamous Aqualung acquisition, like not fully drilled ports, etc.

I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.
 
both are great regs. breathing quality can often be more related to how well they have been serviced and set up by the repair tech. i am sure you would be happy with either.
you may consider how easy it is to get them serviced. do you have a scubapro or apeks dealer in your area ? how easy can you get parts ? do either of these provide free parts under a warranty program ? i have owned both (among others).
 
I can get parts and service equally easily for both of them and I do have dealers in my area, but I will be mainly diving in Asia this year. As far as I know Scubapro is better presented there.

@rick00001967 what are your thoughts on first stages? Is there any reason to go Apeks over SP?
 
Both great regulators, comes down to routing and your personal preference. I like Apeks, to me they are easier to rebuild and I rebuild my own regulators. And I did have MK25's for a time.
 
make sure you get DIN

the apeks "may" be slightly more compact than the mk25. it also is an environmentally sealed unit. as you know the mk25 is not.

the only thing i was not aware of when i bought the mk25EVO (i use the s600 second stages btw) was that when the turret swivels, the 5th port tuns with it. where as stages like the dst swivel without moving the 5th port.

not sure if any of those things would change your mind or not.
if it was me, the cost and serviceability would be my number one concerns.
i really like my sp regs. i use them in cold water. even been ice diving. never had any issues. i just make sure to rinse the hell out of them, especially after use in salt water.

you didn't ask but......the g260 is a great 2nd stage. very good in cold water. but if you are not diving in those conditions you may want to look at others. not that there is anything wrong with the g260. they are awesome. but i personally found them quite heavy compared to the s600 for example. i believe the new version is a s620TI ??

the a700 would be over kill for sure

the s560 is also a nice reg for warm water. i think it is even lighter. and less expensive. but i do no think you can buy the mk25 with an s560 as a package.
 
Apeks has been having a problem with hp seats blowing. Just do a search and it will turn up.
 
@rick00001967 DIN is the way to go for sure. That's an interesting observation about MK25 turret. I had S600, but my girlfriend, 2nd stage died, and I gave her mine. As for G260, I didn't find it to heavier in the water compared to S600, and I like the looks of it way more than S600.
I guess the remaining question is to decide how important environmental sealing is for my case.

@bamafan couldn't find it, is this a new issue?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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