Apex v. Deep6 v. Atomic

[tbone1004]

Yeah they are really pricey unfortunately. I wonder why there is such a price discrepancy between the US and UK

import duties, distributor markup, etc.

@jaseUK666 the ATX40 is a second stage, but a ATX40 second stage with DST first is $500 in the US. The DS4/XTX50 package is $870 for a single tank setup in DIN with a yoke adapter. The Deep6 is $200 cheaper, and comes with the first service free which is easily worth $150. The second stages breathe a bit better, and the first stage is a bit more convenient with the MK25 offset for the inlet, and also includes the bottom port which Apeks charges $50 to upgrade for. They have simply priced themselves out of the market in this country IMO and really aren't worth bothering with at that price point. I have access to dealer pricing for them, and dealer pricing in the US is still higher than the UK prices....

@Johanan i have no issue with regulators going decades without change, I dive Poseidon's. My problem is the insane pricing and restrictions which IMO are critical to buying decisions. I couldn't afford to dive Apeks because I would have to pay for my 2-dozen reg sets to get serviced instead of doing them myself. Most cave divers feel the same way which is why they are very uncommon these days in Florida cave diving.

 

[grf88]

Nothing really stopping you from servicing the Apeks yourself except for the inconvenience of sourcing the kits.

 

[TheBeepBoop]

jump in here, Bill is looking at doing a west coast one if enough demand

Deep 6 Service Clinic at DEMA?

Thanks for pointing me over there!

 

[TheBeepBoop]

I would separate your rec and tech reg choices. The Z2 is an excellent breather for rec. I use Deep 6 for tech sidemount.

Both are very affordable.

Why separate? I plan on using the long hose setup for my rec set. I figure once I do go into tech it will be nice to save a small expense my already having the reg I want? I’m still new so I’m just trying to figure it all out haha

 

[Centrals]

I do not see any logical reason for having dedicated regs for either rec or tec dive.
The only difference is the routing of the hoses which should not be too difficult for anyone to change them over.

 

[tbone1004]

Nothing really stopping you from servicing the Apeks yourself except for the inconvenience of sourcing the kits.

obviously, but you also don't have access to the actual service manuals, access to training if you need or want it, and it voids the warranty. I have serviced many Apeks regs and can get parts whenever I want, but it's annoying and since there is literally nothing about the regulators that would make me go out of my way to buy them over other options available today, it's not a regulator that I recommend for people in the US.