Hi all,
anyone here with personal experience with this reg ? Considering of buying it but the weight of the second stage keeps me hesitating so I would appreciate some real experience and feedback. Thanks
I am in the process of getting SSI Open Water cert right now, and yesterday before my first pool test, the shop sold me my very first BCD and regulator set. Got a Mares Tactical Green Single Backmount Set, and the Atlas ADJ 62X you were asking about. I am probably not the most qualified to give much feedback on it, since I've only used it once. A few things I can comment on though, is I did my very first scuba dive in Mexico a few weeks ago. I was approached by a company at the resort I was staying at, and they wanted to know if I wanted to try scuba diving. Long story short, I passed the pool test, and next day I went diving between Cancun and Isla Mujares with their rental equipment (can't remember the brands). However, I noticed that while breathing through their regulator, if felt like someone's hand was ever so slightly over my mouth when I tried to inhale, and felt like I could not take a deep enough breath. It wasn't so bad to cause me to panic or cancel the dive, and I forced myself to get used to it for the 40 minute drift dive 35 feet below.
With this new Atlas ADJ 62X, I do not have that problem and I can breath normally. It also does not hurt my jaw as much, because it doesn't pull down on my jaw as bad as the cheap rental regulator did. I honestly don't know if it's because this second stage is lighter in weight, or if the hose is more flexible. But I am more comfortable in it overall. I am still trying to break the bad habit of clenching and biting down really hard on the mouthpiece. I have to admit that, there may have been some adjustment knob I could have turned on my rental regulator to make breathing easier, but I received no instruction on how to operate it, I was clueless. They did not even let us operate our own BCD's, a girl hovering above the divers did it for us. I just learned how to operate a BCD for the first time yesterday!
One feature that is missing from this regulator is the "twin power" technology. With a twist of the hose, you can adjust the delivery rate of gas. Has VAD and VAD+ setting and the shop was originally going to sell me a reg with that, but they did not have it in stock, so I ended up with the ADJ 62X. It has me wondering if it's a feature I wish that I had??? I don't know how it would effect me with or without it, so I'll never know unless I rent or try one. It does have an adjustment knob called "Dynamic Flow Control", that claims it "minimizes intermediate pressure drop during inhalation thus maximizing gas delivery, especially under extreme conditions." I tried adjusting it briefly under the water, and things did feel different while turning the knob, but I still don't know what it really does and it was hard to tell which position I liked it in. I'll have to play with it more and see.
