Are Atomics worth the cash?

[drrich2]

Here's a human psychology aspect. If you know an Atomic Z2 or B2 breathes as well as the most pricey reg.s in their line, and that Atomics compare favorably (equal or in some cases better?) with other reputable brand name reg.s, then for non-cold water diving, you might presume (with some reasonableness) that your Z2 or B2 is 'just as good a breather' as other, more expensive reg.s you might hear of & wonder about (though they might be lighter &/or environmentally sealed for very cold water).

If you tend to suffer from 'envy & speculation' about whether another product would be 'better' than what you've got, then having an Atomic might give you peace of mind, in a sense.

I'm not scorning the 'envy & speculation' tendency in people. I have some myself. While it tends to evoke scorn in others, I believe it is very common in the human condition.

My main reg. is an Atomic B2; my redundant air source reg. is a Sherwood SR1. Both seem fine to me. For my primary, brand name & model reputation were important, and yes, knowing it should be 'just as good' as a more expensive reg. gives me peace...to worry about whether I'd like a LiquiVision Lynx better than my current 2 dive computers.

Human nature. It is what it is.

Richard.

 

[buddhasummer]

I bought a Z2 had an issue out of the box, couldn't get it serviced at my then location, had it fixed and sold it. Went back to Apeks. With all the glowing reviews I'm sure they are great regs. I travel dive a lot, for me the fact that I can service my Apeks regs, have the tools and an easy supply of service kits made it a logical choice for me. I bought the Z2 on a whim, if I wasn't already set up with Apeks I probably would have stuck with it. But as others have said I'm not sure for most the difference between an Atomic and a well tuned "X" brand reg would be noticeable, although I'm sure in some cases it might be. If you can get it serviced easily enough, are not happy with your current reg then go for it. Based on specs I think the Z2/3 is a lot of reg for the money, Atomic service is also very good should you need it. T3? not unless I won the Lotto, in which case I'd probably buy a rebreather... and a boat.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I dive the B2; great reg. Been everywhere with it and it's never let me down. True, they are an investment, but if you can afford it you'll know you're buying a quality piece of equipment.

 

[supergaijin]

Just a question: are there any sub-par Atomic Regs? Most companies bring out a lemon every so often that screams bling... but then is swept under the rug after it fails in the field. Thye then only concern the duped buyer and the overworked & underpaid tech.

When I look at Atomic's webpage, they show actors like Kevin Costner and Edward Norton promoting their gear...

That said the overwhelming majority of posters here are heavily in favour of their regulator. No real surprises there. Personally I dive with an Aqualung Legend and/or Titan. Too much reg for me for the type of dives that I do to be honest, but I also trust it to hold its own against the competition.

 

[rsingler]

Impressive thread! LOTS of pro-Atomic posts, which says they're doing the right thing, both from a manufacturing and a marketing standpoint.
Let's look at the facts (and I have both brass and full titanium versions of Atomics, and service all my gear, which includes Apeks and Scubapro, and Poseidon, etc., etc.).

It IS the tuning! If you get your rig adjusted for the cracking effort you expect, then most of the regs we are discussing will require less than 1" H2O inspiratory effort all the way to 12 SCFM of air.
It IS the tuning! Some may tend to "overbreathe" or freeflow at high effort or great depth - that's a venturi adjustment issue. But modern designs are uniformly impressive with few exceptions.

What is the Atomic advantage? To me, it's the huge flows of piston regs over some diaphragms (Poseidon excluded). On top of that, it's Atomic's retention of environmental sealing of their pistons for silty water (and sealing that even gives them significant cold water capability, especially among piston regs). The titanium deal is a corrosion issue: use your gear, forget about it, and if it's not crusted with salt, it'll work fine! It'll never turn green.
But if you don't have $1,600? Get a brass/zirconium one and rinse it. Performs the same. The seconds mostly use titanium and are very light in the mouth. But underwater, internal air buoyancy compensates for most of that anyway. Some reality, some bling factor. Yes, it IS less tiring than my old 109.

Then there's Atomic's responsiveness to the diver. Send 'em your gear if you don't fix it yourself and for reasonable costs they'll overhaul/upgrade it.

Yeah, Atomic is a pretty consistent top breather.
But there was ONE post that didn't quite sit right with me. The Atomic does not breathe the best in ALL positions of all regulators. It's not design. It's not maintenance. It's not tuning. It's case geometry.
I have tuned my 20 year old Scubapro D-350 and D-400's to crack at significantly less than 1". And in most all positions, the coaxial valves of the D-series have less susceptibility to position change than a "standard" looking second stage like the OP's Abyss or an Atomic. It's case geometry. Sorry, but my D-400 breathes better than my Atomic in some positions.

But that ONE comment aside, the unanimity of the pro-Atomic crowd is right. These guys are on a roll. They have good quality control. They are responsive. They have value (Z-series), and they have maintenance free bling (Titanium). You can go either way and get great breathing. And a sealed big-bore piston? The best thing since sliced bread.

But you can also end up with crap, even with an Atomic if your tech can't adjust properly or you 1) don't rinse your gear and 2) don't ever get it serviced. But then, that's true of every brand.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

On top of that, it's Atomic's retention of environmental sealing of their pistons for silty water (and sealing that even gives them significant cold water capability, especially among piston regs).

How significant is their cold water capability over sealed diaphrams? A rubber seal filled with christolube sounds quick fix solution to cold water diving. No?

 

[scubafanatic]

Impressive thread! LOTS of pro-Atomic posts, which says they're doing the right thing, both from a manufacturing and a marketing standpoint.
Let's look at the facts (and I have both brass and full titanium versions of Atomics, and service all my gear, which includes Apeks and Scubapro, and Poseidon, etc., etc.).

It IS the tuning! If you get your rig adjusted for the cracking effort you expect, then most of the regs we are discussing will require less than 1" H2O inspiratory effort all the way to 12 SCFM of air.
It IS the tuning! Some may tend to "overbreathe" or freeflow at high effort or great depth - that's a venturi adjustment issue. But modern designs are uniformly impressive with few exceptions.

What is the Atomic advantage? To me, it's the huge flows of piston regs over some diaphragms (Poseidon excluded). On top of that, it's Atomic's retention of environmental sealing of their pistons for silty water (and sealing that even gives them significant cold water capability, especially among piston regs). The titanium deal is a corrosion issue: use your gear, forget about it, and if it's not crusted with salt, it'll work fine! It'll never turn green.
But if you don't have $1,600? Get a brass/zirconium one and rinse it. Performs the same. The seconds mostly use titanium and are very light in the mouth. But underwater, internal air buoyancy compensates for most of that anyway. Some reality, some bling factor. Yes, it IS less tiring than my old 109.

Then there's Atomic's responsiveness to the diver. Send 'em your gear if you don't fix it yourself and for reasonable costs they'll overhaul/upgrade it.

Yeah, Atomic is a pretty consistent top breather.
But there was ONE post that didn't quite sit right with me. The Atomic does not breathe the best in ALL positions of all regulators. It's not design. It's not maintenance. It's not tuning. It's case geometry.
I have tuned my 20 year old Scubapro D-350 and D-400's to crack at significantly less than 1". And in most all positions, the coaxial valves of the D-series have less susceptibility to position change than a "standard" looking second stage like the OP's Abyss or an Atomic. It's case geometry. Sorry, but my D-400 breathes better than my Atomic in some positions.

But that ONE comment aside, the unanimity of the pro-Atomic crowd is right. These guys are on a roll. They have good quality control. They are responsive. They have value (Z-series), and they have maintenance free bling (Titanium). You can go either way and get great breathing. And a sealed big-bore piston? The best thing since sliced bread.

But you can also end up with crap, even with an Atomic if your tech can't adjust properly or you 1) don't rinse your gear and 2) don't ever get it serviced. But then, that's true of every brand.

...but I'll bet your Scubapros don't have the vanilla-scented air injection system!

 

[rsingler]

...but I'll bet your Scubapros don't have the vanilla-scented air injection system!

I know!!!!! And that just kills me. SP is just so... old fashioned.
I mean, really! A reg that looks like Darth Vader?
That's what? Like, the 20th century? Hellllooooo! It's 2013!

---------- Post added August 29th, 2013 at 10:35 AM ----------

How significant is their cold water capability over sealed diaphrams? A rubber seal filled with christolube sounds quick fix solution to cold water diving. No?

You and I will never bring the piston-diaphragm debate to an end.
Yeah, you have a point. But somehow, I like things with 6 big parts instead of 16 little ones.
I'm scared of 1mm of stiff, cold, hard rubber flexing away just 1/4" away from my air supply at 100ft.

But don't tell my Apeks reg. You'll hurt his feelings.

 

[Fishpie]

"Yeah, you have a point. But somehow, I like things with 6 big parts instead of 16 little ones."



It may have been true 20 years ago that piston regs were simpler to service and had fewer moving parts than diaphragm regs but this really isn't the case today.

Current balanced piston 1st stages like the Atomic and MK25 have more than doubled the amount of bits and pieces in their service kits compared to the original MK5 or 10.

 

[rsingler]

Current balanced piston 1st stages like the Atomic and MK25 have more than doubled the amount of bits and pieces in their service kits compared to the original MK5 or 10.

Lol! Spoken like a true diaphragm man! Told you we'd never end the debate.
Whatever. They're both good.