Apeks v. Atomic v. Scubapro

[guyharrisonphoto]

Hi,

I will be in the market for a regulator soon. From a lot of reading, it looks like the following three are front-runners: Apeks XTX 200; Atomic M1, Scubapro Mk 17/G250. Can people who have actually used any combo of these give some feedback on how they breathe and other factors that I should look for?

I dive mainly in Florida or California, but will often travel abroad for diving (just back from Bali).

My diving is cool to warm water (no ice), and depths to 60m/180ft. Lots of wrecks so I am often in current/hard work situations. I want a lot of air on demand.

I have heard that the Atomics design might let water run up into the first stage if it is soaked without being attached to the tank and pressurized? Is there anything to this? It seems like a real disadvantage compared to just soaking in a bowl! What is the point of a sealed first stage if this can happen? Or, is this just an overblown problem that is not a "real world" issue.

On the advantage side, the Atomics claims that its venturi adjustment automatically maintains the same work of breathing thoughtout the dive as opposed to re-adjusting at different depths. Do the others have a similar feature? How does this actually work in real-world diving?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Guy

 

[hypertech]

Its tough to go wrong with a XTX200. But, if you are just diving warm water, the XTX50 or even 40 will be all you need. The second stages are all exactly the same (except the 40 is short an adjustment lever but otherwise identical). The differences are in the first stage and any of those will be fine for you. I use a XTX200 on my main cylinder and a DS4 (XTX50) on my pony. Hose routing is a little nicer on the XTX200 first stage but performance is almost the same. The XTX50 is available without a rotating turret (DS4) and with a rotating turret (don't remember the number).

Not too long ago, there was a XTX50 on the used forum for about $240 or so. Add an octo and your golden.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

My diving is cool to warm water (no ice), and depths to 60m/180ft. Lots of wrecks so I am often in current/hard work situations. I want a lot of air on demand.

If tuned properly, pretty much any reg on the market will provide "a lot of air on demand." You may want to consider getting an environmentally sealed first stage for colder water temps or super-silty conditions.

I have heard that the Atomics design might let water run up into the first stage if it is soaked without being attached to the tank and pressurized? Is there anything to this? It seems like a real disadvantage compared to just soaking in a bowl! What is the point of a sealed first stage if this can happen? Or, is this just an overblown problem that is not a "real world" issue.

Some reg manufacturers offer first stages with a "new" feature that prevents water from entering the first stage if it is soaked without being attached to the tank and pressurized. Aqualung has the ACD (automatic closure device), and Oceanic offers the DVT (dry regulator technology). None of my regs (Apeks and older Aqualung) have this feature. If you exercise a modest amount of care during post-dive rinsing, flooding the first stage shouldn't be an issue at all. For individual consumers, I think the ACD and DVT features provide very little value. For rental regs, the ACD and DVT features might be more useful. Divers in basic OW class might not know how to rinse regs properly, and they might forget to install the water-tight dust cap prior to soaking.

On the advantage side, the Atomics claims that its venturi adjustment automatically maintains the same work of breathing thoughtout the dive as opposed to re-adjusting at different depths. Do the others have a similar feature? How does this actually work in real-world diving?

I think you're paying too much attention to the marketing folks working for the reg manufacturers. Atomic regs breathe great. So do Apeks and Scubapro regs. The regs you are considering buying all perform very well. Try each of them out on dives (rent from a shop or borrow from dive buddy). As long as the regs are all tuned properly, I'd be surprised if you could detect any differences among them at depth.

Compare the prices of the regs. Pay attention to cost of servicing and recommended service interval. Buy a reg that can be serviced locally by a trustworthy reg tech.

 

[a22shady]

I own Both the Atomic M1 and the ScubaPro MK17/G250V. Both are awesome regs. They pretty much have just about same breathability. My girlfriend also dives the MK17/G250V so I did a comparison underwater on the platform alternating both regs and playing with them seeing which one was better and untimatly they were pretty even. I felt as if the Atomic did deliver slightly more air then Scubapro but as far as ease of breathing and delivery they were really close.

Both Regs are sealed the Atomic is a sealed Piston (Which to me is Semi-sealed) It is sealed by packing the chamber with tribo-lube I believe to stop the parts from freezing. The MK17 is a true sealed Diaphram. I dive in the northeast so its typically colder waters all the time. I have used both regs in various water temps as high 70F to 38F with no issues. If i were to go out and do Ice diving I would probably feel more comfortable with the Scubapro's since they are true sealed but as I said up to this point no issues with either. In all honesty you can go wrong with either Reg. They are both great Regs and breath Awesome. The Hose routing is good on Both, The scubapro has parts warranty if bought new, but the Atomic recomend service every other year. Either way comes to be the same. 1Plus is Atomic Customer service is great. If you call them you speak to live actual person who will try to help you. I have not yet contacted scubapro so cant comment either way.

 

[Scott L]

Atomic all the way. Designed and manufactured to only require servicing every two years. ScubaPro performs great but the annual service requirement is a racket to generate revenue for them and their LDS network.

The XTX200 performs great but the barrel shaped first stage has hoses sticking out all over the place...

 

[Kern]

Atomic all the way. Designed and manufactured to only require servicing every two years. ScubaPro performs great but the annual service requirement is a racket to generate revenue for them and their LDS network.

The XTX200 performs great but the barrel shaped first stage has hoses sticking out all over the place...

The hoses on an FSR 1st stage (XTX 200), are mounted on flat surfaces. The LP ports, are on surfaces that are parallel & opposite each other. The HP ports are on a flat surface below the LP ports & on slight angle to them, but in the same plane. They most definitely, do not stick out all over the place.

PS. After my lousy description, a picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.apeks.co.uk/products/pro...Lan=ENG&Product=XTX FSR&Category=First Stages

 

[Scott L]

The hoses on an FSR 1st stage (XTX 200), are mounted on flat surfaces. The LP ports, are on surfaces that are parallel & opposite each other. The HP ports are on a flat surface below the LP ports & on slight angle to them. They most definitely, do not stick out all over the place.

PS. After my lousy description, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Apeks Products

Chris Brown (Silent World) is a Apex dealer and offers roughly the same words...

The Deco Stop

 

[Kern]

Chris Brown (Silent World) is a Apex dealer and offers roughly the same words...

The Deco Stop

Didn't see any mention of the FSR/XTX 200 1st stage I'm afraid.

Stick with what you know, rather than repeating what you think someone else has said.

As you obviously don't know, click the link in my post & see for yourself.

PS. If Chris Brown did actually say that an FSR was a barrel, & the hoses stick out all over the place, I wouldn't care what he sold or if he was god itself, he'd be wrong. Look at the picture in the link.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I love my xtx200 tungston. It is the smoothest reg I've ever breathed. No wet breath on an invert, always smooth and solid. I can't give input on the Atomics, as I have not used it, but the Scubapro was nice.
My favorite is my xtx. I also really like the ports and positioning.

 

[buddhasummer]

Chris Brown (Silent World) is a Apex dealer and offers roughly the same words...

The Deco Stop

...then he too is mistaken, I too own an XTX 200 (FSR) and it is not barrel shaped at all, perhaps you are thinking of the DS4? anyhow I find the hose routing for single tank diving great with the FSR, only kind of complaint is the angle of the HP port, its a little sharp...