I looked through the previous posts to see if anyone mentioned this, (I did not see it and if mistaken please forgive my redundancy), but I am a reletively new diver who bought equipment last December. When I purchased regulators I talked to a professional service tech who is a friend of the family. He persuaded me against the Mares regulator I was considering and instead recomended a HOG classic 1st and 2nd stage set up ( yoke mount). I have to say I love it. It's very tough, rugged, and breaths quite easily. You have full adjustment for inhalation and breathing control and they come standard with the light flexible hoses which help lighten the load in your dive bag. One feature of HOG regs is that the company offers a class you can take to teach you how to service your own regs. While the class is not inexpensive, the service kits themselves are around $30. So, for some up front cost you could effectively free yourself from the need to have a service shop where you dive to look after your regs. I realize this is not for everyone but for the DYI individual or someone who truly wants to understand their equipment this is a great feature and, I think, an excellent bit of knowledge edge to have. You could simply carry a couple of kits in your dry box along with a few tools and break your regs down whenever and wherever you needed.
