Atomic M1 or Apeks DST/XTX50

[insomnia]

Which would you recommend from these two for deep (up to 100m), dirty (dams, caves) and cold water (down to 2°C, under ice) diving ... and why?

 

[tbone1004]

You are really asking about sealed diaphragm vs. piston in this

Deep doesn't matter
Dirty, the dry sealed diaphragms are much better than the sealing used for pistons in nasty stuff
Cold, the dry sealing isn't necessarily better, but it is much cheaper in the long run since you have about a $50 usd upcharge to seal pistons during service.

The following questions aren't pertinent to piston vs. diaphragm, but are highly relevant to which regulators to choose once you narrow that down.
Location: parts and service support are different for certain brands
DIY Service: huge consideration when choosing a new regulator

Under those criteria, I would personally choose either a Poseidon Cyklon or Xstream, but I don't recommend them to people unless they have tried them first. I would choose sealed diaphragm every day over a piston for those circumstances though. Deep6 will be top of my list starting next week when Chris releases them officially, followed by Dive Rite XT, then Hog, then Apeks. This is due to cost/quality and Apeks is at the bottom due to lack of parts availability.


edit: please ask the mods to merge this with the other thread you created as I think it accidentally double posted

 

[insomnia]

I have Atomic M1 on my doubles (Apeks DS4/ATX40 on all deco/stage bottles) but the price of service and majority of my friends diving Apeks regs gets me to question if it is worth switching to Apeks DST/XTX50. Reason for DST instead of DS4 is nice routing on doubles and SM compatibility.

I have asked mods to merge threads, thanks.

 

[tbone1004]

where are you located?

 

[insomnia]

Central Europe

 

[tbone1004]

buy Apeks. Sell the Atomics if you can, and swap to DST/XTX50's. Sucks you have to change, but having regs better suited to your diving, those that match your team, and may have easier service should be worth it.

Keep in mind also that the ATX series have identical guts, identical first stages, to the XTX series. You lose a "sexier" case design and the reversible feature *not useful for anything except stage/deco bottles*, but they are good enough. You can probably find the ATX50/DST combo a lot cheaper used.

 

[insomnia]

I can buy all Apeks stuff at very low prices, so price difference between ATX and XTX is not significant .) but thank you for advice

 

[tbone1004]

then it sounds like a no brainer. Good luck

 

[CptTightPants21]

Agree with all of the advice posted in this thread.
I dive Apeks and recommend them to people who have the same requirements you listed above.

I have also tested out an Atomic M1 and apeks DST/xtx50 on the same dive (hooked the M1 to pony and dove that for ~15 min at depth)

While the M1 breathed fine, I liked my Apeks more.

Apeks provides very dry air when inhaled and this may have become my personal preference. Whenever I dive an M1 it feels very "wet" in comparison. Some people like the "wet" feeling, I don't care for it. I have dove multiple M1s and have experienced the wetness each time, so it isn't just one reg I am basing my opinion on.

When I dove an M1, I thought that it was a nice reg, but didn't live up to the higher price tag and hype that is generated online. It is an excellent reg, but there is a disconnect between reality and the mental image I had created in my dreams.

On the other hand, when I tried my first apeks reg...the heavens parted, I was at 100 feet and thought I was resting in a spring meadow. I still don't know if my current apeks breathe as well as the one I borrowed, but it certainly made me a convert.

 

[insomnia]

100 feet is something that I consider rather shallow than deep but I understand your point. Thanks