Another "which regulator" thread

[ppatin]

Sorry to ask something that has been asked so many times before, but I'm looking for advice on purchasing my first regulator. My needs are pretty simple since as long as it can handle recreational nitrox (are there any modern regs which can't?), no cold water diving or anything like that. What matters the most is simplicity/reliability and the ability to get it serviced easily. I've always used low-end rentals so I don't know much about what features to look for.

Whatever I buy I plan on purchasing it new, I'm not interested in anything from eBay. Part of the reason I'm buying my own reg is because I had a bad experience with a rental and I don't want to gamble on someone else's prior maintenance habits.

 

[chrpai]

You say "no cold water" but I see you live in the Mid-Atlantic. Do you plan on only diving on vacations or would you like to explore local lake, quarry and ocean wreck diving?

Also, do you want/need a computer or do you already have one? (Wrist mount perhaps.) If you have a wrist mount, would you be happy with just a basic SPG instead of a SPG/Depth console?

 

[elan]

Might be hard to beat a reg like Aqualung Titan LX, or Scubapro MK2 , think you can service them even on the Moon, they are nearly non-destructable and design is proven by decades

 

[Kunundrum]

For ultimate confort I would look for a Ballanced First and second stage. for simplicity it's had to beat a Diaphragm 1st stage, and for the little extra when buying ne it makes sense to have a sealed 1 stage, even if you don't do cold water diving.
my top recomendation would be an Aqualung Titan LX. the new 2012 version has 2 HP an 4 LP. the ACD prevents water and contaminents from entering the 1st stage. ballanced and sealed 1st stage, easy to get servicing worldwide, the 2nd stage is ballanced air barrel, very reliable and easy breathing.

 

[SnorkelLA]

Can't beat a HOG reg with a Yoke adapter. Effortless breathing and damn near indestructible, and you can service your own stuff!


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[ppatin]

You say "no cold water" but I see you live in the Mid-Atlantic. Do you plan on only diving on vacations or would you like to explore local lake, quarry and ocean wreck diving?

Also, do you want/need a computer or do you already have one? (Wrist mount perhaps.) If you have a wrist mount, would you be happy with just a basic SPG instead of a SPG/Depth console?

Thanks to everyone who's responded so far.

I live in Maryland but have no real desire to go diving locally. The coldest water I'd realistically consider diving in would be off of North Carolina. Quarries in MD and PA have no appeal to me at all.

I've got a wrist mounted computer. In the past I thought about getting an air integrated console computer but discovered that I really preferred having a depth gauge on my wrist. I'd be ok with just a basic SPG, but all else being equal I'd prefer a depth gauge on the console as well for the sake of redundancy.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Well, the good news is that all the top brands are excellent these days. You can't tell much in breathing performance without hooking them up to testing equipment. Personally I like to support those brands that at least try to manufacture in house and not outsource to China. Any of these are excellent regs in no particular order:

Apeks (still manufactured in Blackburn?)
Aqualung (France)
Scubapro / Halcyon (Italy?)
Poseidon (Sweden)
Atomic (?)
Hollis (AUP in USA)

Obviously some parts will be manufactured in China, but I like in house manufacturers and design teams that control as much as is financially viable as opposed to those that contact a Chinese manufacturer and say "here, please make me one of these" (which usually ends up being a rip off of someone else's regs)

Support local small businesses too, that seems to be gaining momentum here in the US.

As for gauges - depth, time and deco is great worn on the wrist with an SPG as a backup clipped tidily on your rig.

 

[diversteve]

Atomic (?)

Southern California - Atomic Aquatics Research Development and Manufacturing

---------- Post Merged at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:42 PM ----------

I'd prefer a depth gauge on the console as well for the sake of redundancy.

Tusa sells a mini-2 gauge. http://www.leisurepro.com/prod/TBTSCA230.html?ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=TBTSCA230



Scubapro used to - I have one - not sure if they do any longer.

Buy something you can have serviced locally. Although I doubt that's much of an issue in Baltimore.

I'm personally on my 2nd Atomic Aquatics but I also seriously considered Scubapro also. Atomic has a 2 year service interval and all their models breathe the same, the difference is in the materials used. If you believe them, they all breathe the best also. I'm pretty convinced that's the case, mine are effortless. I occasionally swap regs with others for comparison, the 2nd best I've ever used was my buddy's Poseidon Jetstream. But you may not find Poseidon's dealer network to be as extensive - same with HOG - good product but as mentioned one of their strengths is self-repair - after you take their class - need to have a tech certification to do so.

I'm less of a Scubapro fan since they changed their parts for life program this year. Now to qualify you have to buy a complete set of gear at the same time afaik.

Otoh, if you do a lot of warm water dive travel, you might look at ScubaPro or Aqualung as they have the most extensive dealer network - maybe Mares also.

 

[chrpai]

@ppatin- How does $325 sound to you?

Aeris A1 Package - Deal Of The Year discounts on sale Aeris

 

[ppatin]

@ppatin- How does $325 sound to you?

Aeris A1 Package - Deal Of The Year discounts on sale Aeris

I was actually considering that package. The price seems really solid. Is there anything I should be wary of with Aeris?

Edit: Does anyone know if it breathes dry if you're upside down? I've had some regs where a bit of water gets in if they aren't right side up.