Regulator Suggestions for the Wife

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You have already experienced how crappy rental regs can destroy the experience. I would not let my kids dive any regs that I am not 100% comfortable diving to the edge of my typical dive profile. ..for their safety, and my piece of mind.

Honesty, there are plenty of regs that perform really well. There is really not a huge performance advantage in most of the regs that cost 3x the average.

There is also a huge advantage in building conformity into your total gear assortment. That makes keeping spares on hand much more cost effective in the long run.
 
Hmmm. I would not call other options inferior just because they cost less. As I understand it, the average diver will not tell much difference in WOB between most modern well tuned regulators. Is there a reason you personally need that particular regulator? Will she then also need it for the same diving?

My guess is probably not. If you like Scubapro, go with a lower cost MK25 and maybe the 600. It will depend on availability and local prices.

Personally I could dive any regulator I wanted but I love my Aqualung Mikrons. We own 4 currently. They are light, travel well. We also own/owned Legends and Scubapro’s but the Mikron’s are our primary regulators.

Since any choice besides rental is likely to breathe better, what other features are important to her.
 
The price difference between say a MK25 EVO + G260 Setup vs a MK 25 EVO + S620Ti, isn't much. If I play my cards right, I might get the A700 for myself and give my reg to my wife, else get her the S620Ti itself.

You have already experienced how crappy rental regs can destroy the experience. I would not let my kids dive any regs that I am not 100% comfortable diving to the edge of my typical dive profile. ..for their safety, and my piece of mind.

Honesty, there are plenty of regs that perform really well. There is really not a huge performance advantage in most of the regs that cost 3x the average.

There is also a huge advantage in building conformity into your total gear assortment. That makes keeping spares on hand much more cost effective in the long run.
 
Huh? MK25 is one of the most expensive First Stages in the Scubapro lineup. the 600 series is also in the upper end. These are not the "Lower cost" options.

Hmmm. I would not call other options inferior just because they cost less. As I understand it, the average diver will not tell much difference in WOB between most modern well tuned regulators. Is there a reason you personally need that particular regulator? Will she then also need it for the same diving?

My guess is probably not. If you like Scubapro, go with a lower cost MK25 and maybe the 600. It will depend on availability and local prices.

Personally I could dive any regulator I wanted but I love my Aqualung Mikrons. We own 4 currently. They are light, travel well. We also own/owned Legends and Scubapro’s but the Mikron’s are our primary regulators.

Since any choice besides rental is likely to breathe better, what other features are important to her.
 
Huh? MK25 is one of the most expensive First Stages in the Scubapro lineup. the 600 series is also in the upper end. These are not the "Lower cost" options.
I guess I misunderstood your original post. I thought you dove the Titanium version. Here the stardard mk25/600’s cost considerably less than the titanium versions.

What first stage are you pairing the second stage with?
 
I prefer my ScubaPro Mk17Evo/G260 over my Mikron...but the Mikron still felt better than what I used during my OW course.
 
I've got lots of regulators including MK25/S600, MK25/A700, Apeks XTX50s, and Aqualung Legend LX. My go to regulator set when I am diving a single tank for fun? Hog D1, the least expensive set I own by far. They breathe great, service is less expensive and they are sealed for cold water. The best breather I own is the Aqualung Legend LX. I occasionally allow one of my students to use it and then apologize because they will never use a better breather until they buy their own.
 
All my regs are either AL legends (mainly lux) or Apex XTX50. They all get worked hard and used frequently beyond rec depths

Honestly my prime choice of brand would be what I can get serviced locally. Important because of your location

Often rental regs are detuned to avoid free flows etc. Whereas I have mine set on the edge. Personal choice. Pros and cons for each

Even at the bottom end of the range all well known regs are fine

If you want light ones to travel with or wish to dive cold water etc are all considerations. I wouldn’t buy anyone anything I wouldn’t dive myself
 
I have a reg set that is ScubaPro Mk 25 EVO + 2 x S620Ti. And I have a set that is Mk 25 EVO + 2 x G260. And a number of other regs as well.

To ME (well, and to others who have tried them), the S620Ti doesn't really breathe any better than any of my other regs. And it is a noisy breather, too. The only reg I have that stands out as being nicer to breathe than all the rest is the G260s. The G260 also breathes noticeably more quietly (under water) than the S620Ti.

Also, I would not discount any reg just because you rented one and it was a crappy breather. Just about any reg can be tuned to breathe crappy - or to breathe pretty darn well. If it was a rental reg, it was probably tuned slightly on the stiff side, just to cut down on customers who brought it back complaining that it freeflowed.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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