Atomic B2 or AL Legend LX Opinions???

[master_diver_UJ]

Which would you choose.... Atomic B2 or Aqualung Legend LX w/ACD???

My lds is close on pricing, I'm struggling with the choice. Performance-wise, these two units are very close. Features wise:

Atomic B2: I like the corrosion resistance of the titanium 2nd stage, swiveling (sp??) 1st stage, articulating joint on the hose, and the low weight of the package. Why do these guys have the only piston first stage while everybody else use a diaphragm? Is this feature catching on in the dive community?

Legend LX w/acd: I like the acd feature and the two-point adjustability of the second stage, but the first stage is heavy & the airlines are getting tighter on weight restrictions. I can always screw an articulating hose on this one.....

Thoughts on serviceability and what works & doesn't in the real world???

Decisions, decisions, decisions......

Thanks !

 

[mike_s]

Thoughts on serviceability and what works & doesn't in the real world???

Both are excellent regulators, but since asked about serviceability, you'll find many more Aqualung dealers than you will Atomics dealers if you ever need parts while on a dive vacation. Just something to think about. (Of course you can always purchase a 1st stage and 2nd stage kit ot keep in your save a dive kit for parts).

The ACD option is also offered on other regulators now such as Oceanic, but they just use a different marketing name for it.

Also, in the real world how often are you going to put that regulator in a bag that is weight limited checked-luggage on a plane? Most folks are going to put that in carry on where they don't hassle you as much about weight.

 

[SpiderSense]

just got back from my Bonaire trip. my wife and i just got the Atomic B2 before the trip. it did NOT breathe as well as i thought. we're new divers and don't have much to compare against, but i was expecting something else. what i noticed was:
-it freeflowed ALOT. i didn't notice anyone on our trip having this problem with their regs.
-swimming horizontally and looking up or down, it felt harder to breathe.
-i noticed both me and my wife adjusting the valve alot. at different depths or positions or something, but it felt like it was giving too much or too little.
-i'm sure the swivels helped alot. it was a comfortable reg (we used Sea Cure).
-on inhale, i can feel the reg have two phases to it. something like mid breath, it clicks or something. definitely not one smooth operation.

again, we're new divers and very paranoid/alert to everything still.

anywho, i don't know if i like the ACD thingy. could it plug the first stage? i'd rather not have it i think.

 

[Jarrett]

Spider, you should take your B2 in for servicing as that doesn't sound correct at all.

I'm new to diving, but have had the chance to try a few regs like Tusa, Oceanic, ScubaPro, Mares and Atomic. Really there doesn't seem to be a big difference in those that I found, but I am glad I ended up with my Atomic B2.

There are just subtle differences in the B2 that shows that someone was thinking when they came up with that design. I've had to 115 feet now and didn't notice any change in ease of breathing. Others I dived with at that depth said there was a noticeable change in ease of breathing on their regs at that depth.

 

[SpiderSense]

looks like i'll give Atomic and/or the LDS a call. in the horizontal position, it was easy to breathe at any depth (even too easy?), but there is that 2-step feeling.

the free flowing was somewhat embarrassing. any purging on the surface resulted in freeflowing. we just had to keep a finger over the opening. i kept a finger over the opening in the water at the surface as well. tightening the adjustment helped, and at 60fsw, i'd notice the difference enough to remind me to reopen it if i had forgot. i'm not too worried about freeflowing, just annoying.

looking up/down definitely felt different. but my wife didnt notice anything there. but she didn't 'test' the gear like i did. felt like a hose got kinked when looking up/down, but highly doubt that happened.

i breathed from my Oceanic Alpha 8 in the pool before the trip. HUGE difference. it was like breathing from 10 ft drinking straw compared to the B2. so i'm happy with the B2, just didnt meet everything i had expected.. maybe it needs servicing (they are brand new). thanks.

 

[master_diver_UJ]

Hey Spider:

Thanks for the honest feedback; sorry about your experience with the B2. You hit my biggest fear right on the head; that I'll drop a bunch of money on a reg & it will disappoint. I believe Jarrett's experience is more representative of what we should be able to expect from the brand.

I like the idea of the acd - I'm nervous about water getting in the 1st stage - potentially ruining a dive vacation & facilitating a rebuild. The acd is supposed to disengage when the 1st stage is yoked to the tank valve & engage when it 1st stage is loosened from the tank. My thinking is that if the acd was to become stuck, it would stick open rather than closed.

Did you buy your regs from a lds? Did they allow you jump in their pool with your new regs? If so, I assume it worked ok in the pool & the freeflowing & clicking started when you & your wife dove on vacation.

Btw, what did you buy for an oct?

Peace,
UJ

 

[master_diver_UJ]

Thanks for the feedback, Mike.

Everywhere I've dove, I've seen Aqualung dealers in town. I've only seen 1 Atomic dealer.

The weight thing is not a big deal for me - just trying to list out some delta / plus on both units.

Peace,
UJ

 

[SharkDZ]

I vote for the B2! Very easy to breathe out of. Since I've had it most of my dives were in the 60-100' range. My Sherwood Magnum, although robust did not perform as well. Besides that, the are made in SoCal; local for me.

 

[Jarrett]

Everywhere I've dove, I've seen Aqualung dealers in town. I've only seen 1 Atomic dealer.

That's a big thing, imo. I don't know of a store local to me that carries Apex or Aqualung, but on the otherhand, I can think of 4 right off the bat that sells and services Atomic. If that were reversed, I might be using Apex/Aqualung.

When I am looking at gear, I look for as many of these attributes in a company/product as possible:

Performance
Customer Support
LDS Support
Based the US

That formula has worked fairly well for me so far with companies like Atomic, Oceanic, Zeagle and Dive Rite. Good luck on your search.

 

[SpiderSense]

UJ,

it seemed like i was the only one on Bonaire Island to be anal with gear. after each dive, i dunked the first stage while holding the second stages high, and vice versa. after doing that for a while, i would stick the regs back onto the tank to blow it all dry. everyone else just threw the regs into the dunk tank (mostly salt water by mid day) and probably thought i was nutso. i'd blow it dry even if i had the ACD feature. hmmm. i am nutso!

we did try the B2 in the pool and they free flowed at the surface. on my trip, i would leave them in my mouth as much as i could, instead of using my snorkel, but breathing them dry had the loud gargling sound.

whatever, next dive vacation, i'll just dive them and not think about it and it'll be fine i'm sure. this last trip involved 2-6 dives a day including AOW training. everything i used was new - DSS torus rig, wetsuit, Atomic regs, VT3 computers, everything. I paid alot of attention and played with the gear alot to get used to them/know them. and i have the same type of feedback for each piece of gear.

oh, my octo is the Oceanic Alpha 8. almost everything was bought from several different LDS except the DSS rig.

can't wait to dive again. hopefully i won't be super paranoid with the gear and actually see a fish or two!