Best Reg for the Money?

[bbarnett51]

Ill elaborate a little more.

Locus If you go the LDS route I can tell you that the AL Titan is a nice regulator. It's a proven design and a good reg. Anything from the Titan line up will be good. I dove one for 2 years. The Titan LX is a balanced 1st and 2nd where the Titan is a balanced 1st only. Then the Titan LX Supreme is a sealed version of the LX. When you look at the price of those you will see why HOG/Edge and Dive Right are appealing. All of the features of the big names without the price tag.

It's also hard to go wrong with Atomic. However I don't have personal experience with them. The are pricey in the shops around here but they have a good reputation.

The Epic I recommended is a better breather but the Titan is fine. One nice thing about Aqualung is that just about anywhere you go can work on them.... same with Scuba Pro.

I don't know anything about Mares to help on that. Maybe someone will chime in on them.

 

[buddhasummer]

A member here has PM'd me regarding a deal on a Mares Carbon 42 first and second stage, new for $390. Does anyone have experience or a strong opinion on this particular reg? Is it a good deal at that price?

Mares Carbon Regulator - 2009

---------- Post added June 6th, 2013 at 12:41 AM ----------



Could you please elaborate on why you dislike HOG? I know that they're relatively new to the scene but that's about the extent of my knowledge about them.



I asked about this at my LDS, but the owner told me that they don't really rent out the new hotness. Seemed a little strange to me; what better way to sell the new stuff than to let people try it out?

I'm pretty sure it's tongue in cheek.

 

[Locus]

I'm pretty sure it's tongue in cheek.

Ah. I'm definitely too new to this forum to get any of the inside jokes, so I'm afraid that for the time being your sarcasm is wasted on me. Don't worry though, I'll get there.

So, there aren't any legitimate issues with HOG?

 

[Pullmyfinger]

It seemed tongue in cheek to me also.....and funny. ;-)

 

[buddhasummer]

Ah. I'm definitely too new to this forum to get any of the inside jokes, so I'm afraid that for the time being your sarcasm is wasted on me. Don't worry though, I'll get there.

So, there aren't any legitimate issues with HOG?

Yep it takes a while to get the feel of the board. 90% of members are very helpful and there are some extremely knowledgeable posters.

In answer to your question re HOG although have no personal experience with their regs there are countless positive reviews by experienced and knowledgable divers on this board so I don't think you will go wrong there. The customer service from this company, the owner is an active member of this board, is exemplary. I do own some HOG products, namely SPGs and have no complaints. To be honest most regs breathe similarly and most people, under normal diving conditions, could not tell models apart in a blind test.

HOG prices are great, service is great and many positive user reviews. If I were in the market for a new diaphragm reg they would be at the top of my list to consider.

 

[Locus]

I notice a lot of regs (HOG included) have knobs and switches for customizing the cracking pressure, etc. Are these really necessary? A divemaster once advised me to keep it simple, and that these features were just one more thing that would wear out and add to maintenance costs. My intuition is that this is the correct approach. What are your thoughts on this? Sorry to pepper the thread with questions, but there's just so much to learn before I lay my money down...

 

[buddhasummer]

I'm not sure about "a lot of knobs and switches" you have a Venturi control which is common to most regs and a cracking effort adjustment which some regs have and some don't but still very common. Do you need the cracking effort adjuster? No but it can come in handy for fine tuning or if you develop a slight second stage leak in between tunes/servicing. Regs without this adjustment can also be adjusted but it normally requires a hex key or the like so is harder to do on the fly. As for what your DM told you I'm calling BS.

---------- Post added June 6th, 2013 at 01:46 AM ----------

No need to apologise for your questions without them the board would be a pretty boring place and for most of us our significant others aren't interested in diving so we love the chance to discuss all things scuba whenever possible. Ask away...

 

[elan]

you can keep it simple until you want to get max performance from your reg in different environments.

venturi adjustment will help to have easier breathing underwater while eliminate freeflows on the surface.
Cranking effort helps to keem the reg working at its max in different situations minimizing freeflow risk. situation where it becomes handy are:
- when having the reg as a backup you can downtune the reg so it is not sensitive being cliped off
- you are heading into strong current
- while scootering
- having the knob you can tune the reg for a cranking pressure when its less stable while looking down while still stable in normal diving position then use the knob to downtune it when necessary
- having the knob can actually reduce your maintenance cost as you can set the reg to the lowers setting which will reduce the pressure on the seat and you might need to rebuilt the reg less often.

I notice a lot of regs (HOG included) have knobs and switches for customizing the cracking pressure, etc. Are these really necessary? A divemaster once advised me to keep it simple, and that these features were just one more thing that would wear out and add to maintenance costs. My intuition is that this is the correct approach. What are your thoughts on this? Sorry to pepper the thread with questions, but there's just so much to learn before I lay my money down...

 

[Fishpie]

The downside of a 2nd stage that needs knobs and levers to get max performance is that if left adjusted to the max on the surface, on the boat or out of the mouth the slightest touch of the purge will set of a continuous violent freeflow that will only stop when the mouthpiece is covered.....the last thing you want when diving in cold conditions.

This is why I previously suggested a simple unbalanced metal 2nd stage like the Mares MRII/III, Voltrex/Abyss that have excellent performance without the need for knobs and levers and don't accidently freeflow at the drop of a hat.

 

[chrpai]

The downside of a 2nd stage that needs knobs and levers to get max performance is that if left adjusted to the max on the surface, on the boat or out of the mouth the slightest touch of the purge will set of a continuous violent freeflow that will only stop when the mouthpiece is covered.....the last thing you want when diving in cold conditions.

This is why I previously suggested a simple unbalanced metal 2nd stage like the Mares MRII/III, Voltrex/Abyss that have excellent performance without the need for knobs and levers and don't accidently freeflow at the drop of a hat.

Is there an award for dramatic performance? If so, you win.

A balanced adjustable regulator is not some horrific free flow waiting to happen.