ATX 200, Legend or MK 25/S600

[pyrite]

I'm nearing the end of my reg research and about ready to figure out what bank I'll rob to pay for it. (just kidding) I live in Wisconsin, USA so cold water diving is part of my big picture. I don't want to limit my diving choices with the wrong reg and I can't afford multiple regs. I'm close to the Great Lakes so Wreck diving is something I look foreward to doing. Here is what I found out.

ATX 200

Plusses: Great reg overall, but cold water diving is strong point.

Minuses: Could be hard to get serviced if trouble occurs away from local shop. I don't plan on buying a backup so this is important for me.

MK25/S600

Plusses: Great reg overall, service available anywhere.

Minuses: Not a cold water reg

Legend LX

Plusses: Great reg overall. service available anywhere, cold water performer, cheaper than other two

Minuses: I'm always scared away by large companies with expensive ad campaigns. I'm aware that Aqualung owns Apeks and the regs often come out of the same plant.

Please give me your input, is my information accurate? did I miss anything?

P.S. I'm new to diving and buying my 1st reg, if you couldn't tell

 

[BigDiversDaddy]

First of all, you can't make a wrong choice with the regs. your looking at. My son, BigDiver and I only own Apeks, we like these and have never had any problems, they have always worked very good on our Great Lakes Wreck dives. We do keep a close eye on the IP and do our own maintenance. Which ever reg you choose, you will want to make sure its always in top condition and how to do at least the basic maintenance .

 

[Kronos13]

I have Apeks and a buddy has the Legend LX. Both breathe very nice.
According to the info from this link , the Legend series regs use "Apeks Technogy". While I haven't opened up my buddy's reg to check, the second stages seem to be using the same barrel poppet setup.

 

[melfox26]

I dive the Aqualung Legend LX Supreme and have a LX Octo. It's a great reg that breathes great at surface and at depth. If you haven't already, check out Rodale's Reg Review. I think it was last month's issue. The Legend LX scored very high, among the best as I recall. You won't have servicing issues with Aqualung products as well.

Mel

 

[ElectricZombie]

Mk25/S600 - Works fine in cold water. Excellent reg too.

 

[Rob Meddes]

Have 2 sets of Apeks ATX 200 (1 set on my twins & 1 on my single) & find them both fantastic regs. Used them up to 60m & they breath fantastic. Bought both of mine from St Andrews divers in Xlendi bay Gozo for £270 for the stage 3 set (ATX200 with ATX40 octo). Don't know how much your looking at but it might be cheaper to ship them from there.
Good diving
Rob

 

[smotrs]

This is a great reg whether it's cold or warm water. I've been very happy with mine.

 

[ScubaDon]

Several places on the internet are now offering the MK25AF S600 setup that is ideal for cold water. The AF of course stands for "anti freeze".

 

[Tekkie]

Hey ScubaDon,
Do you know if you can get "AF" added on to a Mk25 without it? Or is "AF" just another term for Scubapro's TIS (Thermal Insulation System)?

Thankz
Tekkie

 

[ScubaDon]

From what I understand AF is the new thing for 2003 and is currently only available in Europe. The first stage looks totally different than the MK25. You can see it in the new 2003 Scubapro catalog.

A friend and I just purchased one from a dealer in Austria that does business on Ebay. We checked him out pretty good and talked to a couple of past customers. Warranty was an issue and Scubapro said they would honor the warranty but not the lifetime parts, no big deal. Haven't gotten the reg yet but expect it sometime before Christmas. I will let you know more about it when we get a chance to dive with it.