Atomic Z2 Regs?? Worth the money?

[adamp69]

hey. i'm thinking of buying a halcyon BP/W package. it comes with Atomic Z2 regs. the package is a little pricey. 1900 taxes in for the package. here it is if anyones interested.

Halcyon Eclipse or Infinity MC BC, Atomic Z2 Regulator, SPG PKG Halcyon Eclipse MC System with Atomic Regulator Z2X, Z2 Octo, Halcyon Brass SPG Package [Halcyon/Atomic Z2 Package] - $1,904.00 : Dans Dive Shop, Online Store

 

[Scared Silly]

I would agree the package is nice but seems expensive to me. Here is my quick and direct search for the kit in USD.

Z2 $400 (MSRP)
Z2 Octo $280 (MSRP)
SPG $90
BCD $859 (Halcyon Infinity Buoyancy Compensator System for Single Tanks | Wreck Diver Supply)

$1639 total. USD ~= CAD

As package I would expect the shop to knock the price down by 10% so worst case I think it should be $1500 but if you shop around I think you could do much better for the exact same gear. Which H gear is good but expensive (look at DeepSeaSupply rigs) and Atomic regs are excellent regs many dive them myself included.

 

[xspect]

nice package but very pricey.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Unless they're offering a significant package discount off that price (say 25%), I would buy the Halcyon wing and SPG you want from the LDS, and SB or eBay for the plate, harness, STA and cam bands, and weight pockets. That's assuming you want local warranty service on the stuff that could go wrong and be tricky to buy used... I've had good luck with used H wings myself, but YMMV.

For the Atomic Z2s, which are indeed great regs, it depends on how much you care about warranty coverage and whether your LDS is worth trusting for the bi-annual service. Personally, I'd say buy em used, have em serviced, and go on your merry way. The only Atomic product I've ever needed warranty service on has been my Cobalt, and I have no doubt that I would get a fair shake paying for repair work on an out of warranty used reg if I ever needed it (probably wouldn't, though, hence the advice to skip the warranty). But if you want your regs covered, buy them new from the LDS if they'll offer a competitive price AND you trust them to service your regs. If not, buy them new from an online Atomic dealer and ship them back to Atomic or ScubaToys or whomever you do trust for service when needed.

All of this is assuming that the link you posted is related to a brick and mortar LDS you would use. If that just happens to be an online retailer you found, keep shopping because it's brutally overpriced. And the ABC pockets shown are a generation behind what H is offering now.

 

[Doubler]

For what it is worth I don' t trust my LDS to perform maintenance so I send my Z2's to Atomic for maintenance. They are very fast and I don't worry about the maintenance being done incorrectly.

 

[adamp69]

no this is not my LDS. there are no halcyon dealers east of quebec. as for the H gear, i'm not stuck on any one particular brand of gear. i just want to have good gear. I live in Newfoundland. My options are very limited. as far as i know, there are only Two dive shops within 500 miles. one deals HOG and Dive Rite. the other will get whatever, but is expensive as hell. Bottom line on the regs tho. I want Good regs. I can afford good regs. so i want something that i know i will be able to trust for a long time. I was looking into the HOG cold water setup. still am interested, but their still a fairly new brand, and i want something tested and proven in the dive community. So, that being said. What kind of regs should i be looking at? and what is the difference between a sealed and non-sealed ??

 

[eelnoraa]

Atomic makes great regulator. Z2 performs as good as top end Atomic, so it is the best bang for the buck regulator in Atomic line. One of the best bang for the buck amount all regulator. I would not hestitate to dive a it

 

[elan]

Shop around, the price does not make much sense. The price for a new Halcyon system is fairly ok in DDS , my friend bought one from them this spring. We were doing a research and it was not cheaper to bring it from the US. Although sometimes they pop on ebay for around 600-650 used he wanted a new set from a local dealer. But the price for the remaining bits is a bit high IMHO. DDS is known for pushing the Atomic regs , I know few people who were sold them but a couple of years later they were switching to Apeks.

If I were you I would pass on an Atomic reg, it is not the best reg for he cold north atlantic water you guys have in NL (to much monkey business with chrystolube to seal the reg). My choice would be either Scubapro MK17/G250V or Apeks XTX50/DST or DS4. Those are sealed diaphragms and do not require packing the chamber with a chrytolube (add about $50 in our local prices just for the lube itself for every service)

A shop here in TO - Aquarius , was selling DS4/XTX50 for under $500. They claim to beat the DDS prices so you can try to call them up. They also sell Halcyon.

 

[NCadiver]

It a good regulator worth the price but I did notice this package does not have a depth monitoring device which you do need (analog/digital or dive computer).

 

[adamp69]

Yeah I asked that question about the depth gauge as well. But yeah this is what I want to hear. I just want to know, hands down, which reg is going to perform best in the conditions I'm going to dive in the most. Which is the very cold, salt water of the north Atlantic ocean here in Newfoundland. As for the gear. It is over priced. I know that.