Best Inherently Sealed Regulator for Cold/Warm Diving

Best Reg?


  • Total voters
    38

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Atomic is the best piston regulator out there followed by Scubapros.

I can't tell the difference between any of them. I had an Oceanic Omega (balanced piston) and intentionally didn't service it for 27 years, beyond good fresh water soakings when I could. The IP started to creep so I called the experiment successful. The first stage was used for recreational and commercial diving on a bailout bottle.
 
I've just picked up apeks regs and only done a few dives with them but so far so good. I didn't need them since I don't do any cold water diving but I got a great price on them during the last Christmas sales so I picked them up. One thing to note is that they are very heavy compared to other first stages. Not that it matters underwater but it is something to keep in mind if you travel a lot. Definitely not travel friendly.
 
Poseidon Xstream - best cold water regulator ever
 
Apeks DS4/XTX 50, assuming your LDS sells and services them. I use mine in MUCH colder water and never had an issue. I have a bucket of them... Although I use XTX 40s on stages.
 
So the signature is nicer than the DGX?

@LoadedScuba That is one way to state it I guess. The products are really in different categories with different target markets. The signature integrates a lot of our new innovations and provides a few additional benefits such as the first service being free on us. It is our premium.... or 'Signature' offering. The DGX is a time tested standard regulator design in value priced packages. The Signature will perform better in testing, and has additional features, but that being said, most recreational divers, if blindfolded, would be unable to pick up the difference between many of the regs being discussed here while breathing on them. The more noticeable differences are in the details, at least from a beginning diver perspective.

Some more detail on the difference between our two offerings is at the bottom of the page here: Deep Six Regulators | Regs - SPGs - Hoses | Dive Gear Express®
 
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My sidemount setup is Deep 6. I can't see I've been horribly deep on them at this point (130 feet only), but sidemount is my long term tec configuration. At that depth, they breath really nicely, better than my MK25 Evo/S600 setup. I haven't taken my Atomic M1's all that deep yet.

Edit: I forgot to add. Equivalent to my Apex XTX50s

Any thoughts on how the Deep6 compares to a Mk25 EVO/G260?

So the signature is nicer than the DGX?

LandonL works for Deep6, so he wants to be a bit PC. The simple answer is yes. :D If you search around here (or maybe the DGX site) you can find more details on the differences between the Sig and the DGX regs.

Any/all of the regs mentioned will work fine for the things you said you want to do. 40F water is not a problem for any of them. 40F, dirty water is not going to be a problem for any of them. An unsealed, piston 1st stage may need the cap replaced every many years due to internal wear from the piston rubbing crud against the sidewalls. Mk25 EVO caps are cheap. If you give them a decent soak, particularly after diving in salt water, they shouldn't need anything but normal servicing for years and years.

If I wasn't attached to a shop, I would be ordering a pile of Deep6 Signature regs for myself right about now. As I am attached to a shop (which sells Atomic, ScubaPro, Aqualung, Apeks, Oceanic, Dive Rite, etc.), want to dive what the shop sells, and can get anything I want at VERY good prices, I am about to buy some sets of ScubaPro Mk25 EVO/G260.

BUT, one reason I would buy the Deep6 regs is because I would service them myself. Before you buy those, I would suggest to just pause for a moment and think about how you plan to get them serviced. If you will learn to service them yourself, then good to go. If you're comfortable with mailing them off for service, and confident you'll plan ahead well enough on that, then good to go.

Otherwise, you need to figure out if someone local to you will service them. Your local shop(s) may or may not be willing to work on them. If they don't have a technician that is trained on Deep6, then they may not be willing to work on them, just to protect themselves and their liability insurance. For that matter, they may not be willing to work on them just as a matter of principle, because they want you to buy regs from them, or at least buy a brand that they sell.

If you can't service them or get them serviced locally and you don't want to mail them back and forth, then Deep6 may not be the best choice for you.
 
I've just picked up apeks regs and only done a few dives with them but so far so good. I didn't need them since I don't do any cold water diving but I got a great price on them during the last Christmas sales so I picked them up

I have a bucket of them...

Agreed! Wife and I have 11 between us in our reg collection ...
Is this Scubahoarders.com?
 

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