Atomic/SR1/Newer Maximus Owners

[ScubaSeaMonkey]

I just joined the forum, but I have been searching here for a while. I am recently certified and looking at buying my own equipment. I am trying to pick equipment that will serve me well as I gain experience and move into other areas. My primary interest will be recreational, wrecks, cavern, and possibly cave diving. I do not intend to dive anything colder than about 65 degrees.

I have narrowed down my reg choices to the Atomic B2/Sherwood SR1/Sherwood Maximus. My lds sells these brands and I want to buy from them. I would rather spend some extra money and have a good relationship with the lds, plus I am a believer in supporting local business as much as possible. So my main pieces of equipment, I want to stick with them for sales and service.

I like the featurs of the Atomic B2, but I have used the Atomic Z2 as a rental. I was told that the Atomics all breath about the same, just made from different materials. The complaint I have about the Atomic that I used was in trying to breathe slowly. I was trying to slow my breathing and make my air last longer, but I noticed that if I tried to breathe a slow, steady breath, it kept shutting off. I would have to put more effort into getting the air to flow. So I would either end up breathing harder than I wanted or take short choppy breaths. The guy at the lds said that it may need to be rebuilt. My question to you Atomic users is whether you have this problem with your Atomics.

My other complaint that I noticed with the Atomic and a Sherwood Brut was with the mouthpiece trying to twist sideways when I turned my head. I imagine that you can probably never get rid of that completely, but I would like to eliminate as much as possible. I was hoping the swivel on the second stage of the B1 or the angle of the underarm cabling of the Maximus would help with that.

The SR1 sounds like it should be an easy breather. I read the thread about the early problems they had, but it sounds like that has quieted down.

I like the underarm routing of the Maximus, but read reviews about it not being a great breather especially deep, but I think it has been redesigned in the last couple of years so I don't know if the reviews are up-to-date.

I have read a lot of reviews on all three, but any feedback on direct comparisons between these three would be appreciated.

 

[Akimbo]

… I was told that the Atomics all breath about the same, just made from different materials...

Based on all the breathing machine reports I have seen and that parts are interchangeable between models, I would characterize it as exactly the same.

… The complaint I have about the Atomic that I used was in trying to breathe slowly. I was trying to slow my breathing and make my air last longer, but I noticed that if I tried to breathe a slow, steady breath, it kept shutting off. I would have to put more effort into getting the air to flow. So I would either end up breathing harder than I wanted or take short choppy breaths. The guy at the lds said that it may need to be rebuilt. My question to you Atomic users is whether you have this problem with your Atomics...

Try breathing from a different Atomic regulator in the shop and see if they share the same tendency. Many high performance regulators “feel” like they want to power-inflate you. You will adjust to most any regulator you use regularly. I find that mine is comparable to other balanced and pilot valve second stage regulators, which also “over-breath” compared to unbalanced second stages.

 

[Broct]

I have had a SR1 for a yr now and have done over 60 dives on it. I really like how it breaths under water and how my mouth doesn't go dry with this reg. I just had my LDS check them out after one year, and they checked out ok.

I recently purchased a set of Halcyon regs for my doubles setup, and really like these too. I am amazed at the amount of air you get on each breath, but I noticed my mouth gets drier.

Maybe your LDS will let you try them out...

 

[a22shady]

I would say go with Atomic over the others I have tried out the sherwood SR1 in the pool it was a nice breathing reg but I prefered Both the MK17/G250V from SP, As well as the Atomic's. I hear they all breath the same but I tried out the the Atomic Z2 and didn't like it. It just didn't feel as nice as either of the Above. I also tried the Atomic M1 BIG difference breath's,felt much better. I have heard good things about the B2 also but never tried. So out of what your asking I would go with the Atomic as The sherwood have a feature that lets the 1st stage slowly leak air out (Very miniscale and wont make a differnce in your dive) They do this i believe to reduce the chances of a free flow just don't like that feature. But I guess either way is a quality Reg, But my preference would be Atomic