Another choose my first reg thread - Deep6 or XTX50?
- Thread starter JRCrab
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OP
JRCrab
Contributor
OK, I still owe a mini trip report and review.
Deep 6 Single Tank Regulator Package Review
Summary: I recommend them. Great product with incredible, ultra-responsive customer service. This new company might experience a couple minor bumps along the way, but they will bend over backwards to make the customer happy and (most importantly) get you diving ASAP. I'm the last person you want reviewing technical aspects of a regulator. Asking me about work of breathing is akin to asking a 5 year old to compare the acceleration of Ferrari with Lamborghini. Apparently Deep6 is to regulators what Lotus is to super cars - performance that punches WAY above it's weight class (price tag)...So as to the technical aspects of this review: 1) I had no problem sucking air out of my tank (once I got everything put together properly), 2) they look cool and 3) I know they are sealed diaphragm regs which should do well in cold dirty water...Sorry if you were hoping for more. This is my first regulator set. As for the company: these guys really put their heart into their diving and their gear. Expect to have a great buying experience. Also expect to learn a lot about your gear, especially if you're a total nOOb (like me).
Product Reviewed: Deep 6 single tank regulator package with DIN 1st stage, 40" primary/donate, 22" secondary/backup on a necklace, 22" high pressure hose with 2" brass and glass spg.
Product Ordered: Everything in the above but a Yoke 1st stage (more on that later).
Date Ordered: Sunday Nov 27th, received an immediate confirmation email. Confidence inspiring.
Date Shipped: Nov 28th - Top notch!
I threw two annoying customer curve balls at them 1) I asked them in the order comments to add a 90deg swivel on the primary 2nd stage. 2) I asked them in a follow up email to the order to give me chrome instead of black. They couldn't fulfill either request but assured me I'd love the black. They were right - I LOVE the black.
Date arrived (California): Monday Dec 5th - Great!
In the Package:
You can go backwards in this thread to see how they arrived. Everything was packaged with care in an awesome waterproof Deep6 pelican-type case and I got a T-shirt! I had to wrench the hoses into the regulators myself. I'm clueless when it comes to dive gear but even I figured this out.
This is the first very minor ding on Deep6 but also highlights their strengths: I ordered a Yoke, they send me a DIN. I sent an email and Landon called me back right away - it was 10pm his time! Try getting service like that from a big company!!
He was immediately apologetic and willing to cover the cost of any of the following options: 1) send me the parts to convert to Yoke (I could keep the DIN parts), 2) exchange the DIN for a Yoke first stage or 3) send me the DIN-Yoke adapter from their local shop. I chose option 3 and they said they would send it out right away. It was Monday and I had a dive trip that weekend. I was leaving Friday afternoon.
It's important to note that at this point I've also probably had over half a dozen emails with Doug and Landon and these guys are incredibly attentive. They were with me every step of the way to make sure I didn't do anything stupid (like order the wrong color, haha).
We had a few more chats on the phone about diving and regulators and somehow things didn't get into the mail until Friday. They had the package shipped overnight but I was going to need to rent DIN tanks for the weekend...that turned out to be no issue at all. On Monday, my package showed up with the DIN-Yoke adapter and I also had the shop throw in a ball-joint swivel and a 7' hose (I paid for those). Totally squared away.
But, between Friday and Monday, I went diving!
Saturday - 3 tank dive on the Raptor Dive Charter Anacapa Island (Channel Islands, California):
Issue #1: getting a little water in with every breath - this turned out to be my fault (read on)
Issue #2: O-ring falls out of the DIN every time I take it off the tank valve - this is a known issue they have posted on their facebook page (I dont really have anything more to say about this...it's an obvious minor nuisance they are fixing ASAP).
Now, a couple nights before I went diving I was getting a little over-excited after all these conversations with Landon and unscrewed the face plate from the second stage of the regulator to scope out the innards. Apparently, when I screwed it back down, I wrinkled the diaphragm a little bit. This meant that for my first 3 dives (yeah, sometimes I can be a little dense) I was sucking in a little water with every breath. It wasnt a ton of water but it was just enough to think that something must not be right. At the end of Saturday's diving I tried calling Landon but he wasn't available and then I emailed them explaining my experience.
Then I thought back to the regulator checklist in this forum and tried sucking in on the second stage with the whole system sealed up. Sure enough, I could suck in air. So, I unscrewed the face plate again, made sure the diaphragm was set flush and screwed it back down tight. Check again with a breath and ah ha! - sealed tight. Landon called back that night and I explained my silliness. He already knew exactly what the issue was. Chris called me back the next day and we talked at length about ways to improve my diving. I'm really proud to do business with people that are so knowledgeable about their sport, industry and product and also so willing to give nooby-me so much of their time!
When screwing down the face plate of your deep6 second stage, just make sure the diaphragm is seated properly and go slow. Afterwards, check the seal by drawing in a breath of air with the whole system sealed up. If you dont get a good seal, try screwing down the face plate again more gently or suck in on the second stage will you're tightening the face plate.
Issue #1 fixed!
Sunday- 3 tank dive on the Peace Dive Charter Anacapa Island (Channel Islands, California):
Now with a good seal, it was amazing to me how much more relaxed I was while diving. The almost constant dribble of water must have been causing me a lot of anxiety the previous day as my air consumption rate went way down (instead of finishing at the same pressure as my dad, I was finishing with 4-500 psi more).
Between the first and second dive, the dive master noticed my O-ring issue and swapped me out for a slightly smaller O-ring. This worked great for the rest of the day.
Issue #2 almost fixed. When I put the DIN-Yoke adapter on to check with my Yoke tank at home, the O-ring came out again.
Prior to this day of diving, I also made some adjustments to my backplate harness to make the tank ride lower on my back. The previous day I was still hitting my head on the first stage with the DIN configuration. So, I removed the padding on the shoulder straps of my halcyon traveler pro, lengthened the shoulder straps about 0.75". It was an improvement but not perfect, yet. Looking at the photos of me standing, the 1st stage is nowhere near my head, so I think it must be riding up in the water. Next time I'm going to tighten down the crotch strap more aggressively.
I will say that while I have zero experience comparing regulators, I think this was the most relaxed breathing I've experienced under water. I've also been working hard on my buoyancy and trim and focusing on remaining as still as possible under water. All around these were by far the 3 best dives I've ever had. How much of that is due to the regulator vs me working hard to get my buoyancy, trim and gear configuration dialed? Who knows...and who cares!? What a fun day and what a great regulator set!! I have absolutely no regrets and am happy I decided to pull the trigger. I'd make the same decision again!
Deep 6 Single Tank Regulator Package Review
Summary: I recommend them. Great product with incredible, ultra-responsive customer service. This new company might experience a couple minor bumps along the way, but they will bend over backwards to make the customer happy and (most importantly) get you diving ASAP. I'm the last person you want reviewing technical aspects of a regulator. Asking me about work of breathing is akin to asking a 5 year old to compare the acceleration of Ferrari with Lamborghini. Apparently Deep6 is to regulators what Lotus is to super cars - performance that punches WAY above it's weight class (price tag)...So as to the technical aspects of this review: 1) I had no problem sucking air out of my tank (once I got everything put together properly), 2) they look cool and 3) I know they are sealed diaphragm regs which should do well in cold dirty water...Sorry if you were hoping for more. This is my first regulator set. As for the company: these guys really put their heart into their diving and their gear. Expect to have a great buying experience. Also expect to learn a lot about your gear, especially if you're a total nOOb (like me).
Product Reviewed: Deep 6 single tank regulator package with DIN 1st stage, 40" primary/donate, 22" secondary/backup on a necklace, 22" high pressure hose with 2" brass and glass spg.
Product Ordered: Everything in the above but a Yoke 1st stage (more on that later).
Date Ordered: Sunday Nov 27th, received an immediate confirmation email. Confidence inspiring.
Date Shipped: Nov 28th - Top notch!
I threw two annoying customer curve balls at them 1) I asked them in the order comments to add a 90deg swivel on the primary 2nd stage. 2) I asked them in a follow up email to the order to give me chrome instead of black. They couldn't fulfill either request but assured me I'd love the black. They were right - I LOVE the black.
Date arrived (California): Monday Dec 5th - Great!
In the Package:
You can go backwards in this thread to see how they arrived. Everything was packaged with care in an awesome waterproof Deep6 pelican-type case and I got a T-shirt! I had to wrench the hoses into the regulators myself. I'm clueless when it comes to dive gear but even I figured this out.
This is the first very minor ding on Deep6 but also highlights their strengths: I ordered a Yoke, they send me a DIN. I sent an email and Landon called me back right away - it was 10pm his time! Try getting service like that from a big company!!
He was immediately apologetic and willing to cover the cost of any of the following options: 1) send me the parts to convert to Yoke (I could keep the DIN parts), 2) exchange the DIN for a Yoke first stage or 3) send me the DIN-Yoke adapter from their local shop. I chose option 3 and they said they would send it out right away. It was Monday and I had a dive trip that weekend. I was leaving Friday afternoon.
It's important to note that at this point I've also probably had over half a dozen emails with Doug and Landon and these guys are incredibly attentive. They were with me every step of the way to make sure I didn't do anything stupid (like order the wrong color, haha).
We had a few more chats on the phone about diving and regulators and somehow things didn't get into the mail until Friday. They had the package shipped overnight but I was going to need to rent DIN tanks for the weekend...that turned out to be no issue at all. On Monday, my package showed up with the DIN-Yoke adapter and I also had the shop throw in a ball-joint swivel and a 7' hose (I paid for those). Totally squared away.
But, between Friday and Monday, I went diving!
Saturday - 3 tank dive on the Raptor Dive Charter Anacapa Island (Channel Islands, California):
Issue #1: getting a little water in with every breath - this turned out to be my fault (read on)
Issue #2: O-ring falls out of the DIN every time I take it off the tank valve - this is a known issue they have posted on their facebook page (I dont really have anything more to say about this...it's an obvious minor nuisance they are fixing ASAP).
Now, a couple nights before I went diving I was getting a little over-excited after all these conversations with Landon and unscrewed the face plate from the second stage of the regulator to scope out the innards. Apparently, when I screwed it back down, I wrinkled the diaphragm a little bit. This meant that for my first 3 dives (yeah, sometimes I can be a little dense) I was sucking in a little water with every breath. It wasnt a ton of water but it was just enough to think that something must not be right. At the end of Saturday's diving I tried calling Landon but he wasn't available and then I emailed them explaining my experience.
Then I thought back to the regulator checklist in this forum and tried sucking in on the second stage with the whole system sealed up. Sure enough, I could suck in air. So, I unscrewed the face plate again, made sure the diaphragm was set flush and screwed it back down tight. Check again with a breath and ah ha! - sealed tight. Landon called back that night and I explained my silliness. He already knew exactly what the issue was. Chris called me back the next day and we talked at length about ways to improve my diving. I'm really proud to do business with people that are so knowledgeable about their sport, industry and product and also so willing to give nooby-me so much of their time!
When screwing down the face plate of your deep6 second stage, just make sure the diaphragm is seated properly and go slow. Afterwards, check the seal by drawing in a breath of air with the whole system sealed up. If you dont get a good seal, try screwing down the face plate again more gently or suck in on the second stage will you're tightening the face plate.
Issue #1 fixed!
Sunday- 3 tank dive on the Peace Dive Charter Anacapa Island (Channel Islands, California):
Now with a good seal, it was amazing to me how much more relaxed I was while diving. The almost constant dribble of water must have been causing me a lot of anxiety the previous day as my air consumption rate went way down (instead of finishing at the same pressure as my dad, I was finishing with 4-500 psi more).
Between the first and second dive, the dive master noticed my O-ring issue and swapped me out for a slightly smaller O-ring. This worked great for the rest of the day.
Issue #2 almost fixed. When I put the DIN-Yoke adapter on to check with my Yoke tank at home, the O-ring came out again.
Prior to this day of diving, I also made some adjustments to my backplate harness to make the tank ride lower on my back. The previous day I was still hitting my head on the first stage with the DIN configuration. So, I removed the padding on the shoulder straps of my halcyon traveler pro, lengthened the shoulder straps about 0.75". It was an improvement but not perfect, yet. Looking at the photos of me standing, the 1st stage is nowhere near my head, so I think it must be riding up in the water. Next time I'm going to tighten down the crotch strap more aggressively.
I will say that while I have zero experience comparing regulators, I think this was the most relaxed breathing I've experienced under water. I've also been working hard on my buoyancy and trim and focusing on remaining as still as possible under water. All around these were by far the 3 best dives I've ever had. How much of that is due to the regulator vs me working hard to get my buoyancy, trim and gear configuration dialed? Who knows...and who cares!? What a fun day and what a great regulator set!! I have absolutely no regrets and am happy I decided to pull the trigger. I'd make the same decision again!
OP
JRCrab
Contributor
OP
JRCrab
Contributor
And since there doesn't seem to be a good place to post photos from Anacapa, here are a few to enjoy:
We pretty much saw the same stuff on every dive - you'll see the photos below...
Day 1 at Anacapa on the Raptor. All dives were pretty shallow with avg depth at or above 20ft.
Motored out in ~30mins. This boat isn't big but it moves! Great crew, great chili. Three steel tanks with switchable DIN/Yoke valves comes with your $130 reservation.
Dive 1: pelican preserve. 25ft Vz, temps in the mid 50's. Seas were calm, wind was calm, current was calm. Cloudy.
Dive 2: Goldfish bowl. Vz around 20ft, current, wind and seas all picked up.
Dive 3: Cat Rock. Sunny and warm over here. Calm seas, current and wind.
Motored back in cloudy, misty, 5ft swell.
overnighted on the Peace.
Day 2 at Anacapa on the Peace. Again, pretty shallow dives with average depth above 30ft.
Motored out in ~1h40mins. Several dolphins along the way. Crew is also great. This boat is very comfortable and the food is hot, fresh and plentiful! Only food and air is included in your $140 reservation, but you only need to bring one tank as they fill between dives on board. 3 Nitrox fills is only $20!
Dive 1: pelican preserve. 25ft Vz, temps in the mid 50's. Seas were calm, wind was calm, current was calm. Cloudy.
Dive 2: Goldfish bowl. Vz around 20ft, current picked up a little everything else was still pretty calm.
Dive 3: Goldfish bowl again. Same, same.
Motored back in cloudy, misty, 5ft swell.
We pretty much saw the same stuff on every dive - you'll see the photos below...
Day 1 at Anacapa on the Raptor. All dives were pretty shallow with avg depth at or above 20ft.
Motored out in ~30mins. This boat isn't big but it moves! Great crew, great chili. Three steel tanks with switchable DIN/Yoke valves comes with your $130 reservation.
Dive 1: pelican preserve. 25ft Vz, temps in the mid 50's. Seas were calm, wind was calm, current was calm. Cloudy.
Dive 2: Goldfish bowl. Vz around 20ft, current, wind and seas all picked up.
Dive 3: Cat Rock. Sunny and warm over here. Calm seas, current and wind.
Motored back in cloudy, misty, 5ft swell.
overnighted on the Peace.
Day 2 at Anacapa on the Peace. Again, pretty shallow dives with average depth above 30ft.
Motored out in ~1h40mins. Several dolphins along the way. Crew is also great. This boat is very comfortable and the food is hot, fresh and plentiful! Only food and air is included in your $140 reservation, but you only need to bring one tank as they fill between dives on board. 3 Nitrox fills is only $20!
Dive 1: pelican preserve. 25ft Vz, temps in the mid 50's. Seas were calm, wind was calm, current was calm. Cloudy.
Dive 2: Goldfish bowl. Vz around 20ft, current picked up a little everything else was still pretty calm.
Dive 3: Goldfish bowl again. Same, same.
Motored back in cloudy, misty, 5ft swell.
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OP
JRCrab
Contributor
I keep mine pretty snug, actually. If it's loose, it can't do its job.
- Messages
- 17,476
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- Location
- Somewhere between here and there
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
Yeah, mines pretty snug too, if not as my shoulder straps are pretty loose it'll flop around. Have had the occasional uncomfortable dive, usually when diving dry so try hard to ensure "all" is in place before descent.
Deep6_Official
Registered
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- 61
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- 109
- # of dives
- I'm a Fish!
Thanks for such a thorough and honest review! We really appreciate it and it looks like you had great conditions out there! I love diving the Channel Islands and I think the Peace is my favorite charter - so many great memories with dear friends on that boat.
Thank you for the support. We're building this brand by building a community and we'll do our absolute best to answer customer service questions as quickly as we can. Our whole business model is based on providing the best quality gear available at the best value we can offer it, all while delivering industry-leading customer service. When we make an error, we own it and fix it - to that end, the new DIN fittings will be headed out in the mail soon and we'll be sending a little something extra with them.
Safe diving!
-Doug
Thank you for the support. We're building this brand by building a community and we'll do our absolute best to answer customer service questions as quickly as we can. Our whole business model is based on providing the best quality gear available at the best value we can offer it, all while delivering industry-leading customer service. When we make an error, we own it and fix it - to that end, the new DIN fittings will be headed out in the mail soon and we'll be sending a little something extra with them.
Safe diving!
-Doug
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