Best travel-friendly reg set (inc pressure gauge) under £600 ($800)?

[GDMP]

Thanks everyone, very helpful!

@tursiops, to me it means light, small, and robust. Not cheap — would rather buy as infrequently as possible.

@OTF, I'm not sure who'd be servicing it tbh, but I guess an advantage of brands like ScubaPro is their ubiquity, and by all accounts their customer service is good.

@boqurant, what do you think makes it superior?

 

[elmo]

While the “best” first stage paired with the “best” second stages should provide the best possible performance, if the first stage is balanced (such as the Mk11, which is one of my favourites), then the benefit of a balanced compared to unbalanced second is marginal. Similarly, if you do have a good balanced second stage (e.g. C370) then the benefit of pairing it with a balanced, as opposed to unbalanced, first is marginal.
I don’t know what local prices are for you, but if the Mk11 with C370 is pushing your budget, but want to stick with Scubapro (a good choice, especially if you’re in Europe) I would be looking at either:
- Mk11 paired with R195 (unbalanced, simple and reliable design, with venturi switch), or
- Mk2+ (simplest unbalanced unsealed piston design and very reliable) with C370 or other balanced second stage
The Mk11, while not sealed, is a diaphragm reg so the moving parts (except for the diaphragm spring spring) are all effectively sealed. There’s just a spring and screw sitting in the unsealed chamber. That gives it the edge over the Mk2+. But the Mk2+ is very easily rinsed and serviced, with fewer and cheaper service parts.

Ed: I should add that the downside of pairing an unbalanced first with unbalanced second is that the breathing becomes harder as the cylinder pressure reduces throughout a dive. Balancing either (or both) the first or second overcomes this.
Also, Scubapro aren’t the only ones making good regulators. They’re just the ones I’m most familiar with and like best out of my collection.
I serviced an 18yo Mk11 last week that I bought second hand. It’s still in great condition despite being unsealed.

 

[lowwall]

Hi everyone,

I'm a tit, and I just left my regular set on a plane. First time I've not had it in my main luggage, and I do that. Someone stole it (now nobody can find it, and I know exactly where it was), and insurance would barely cover any of it, making that route not worth the faff. So, I'm gonna have to get a new set. Ball ache.

Anyway.

I had a ScubaPro MK17Evo2, C370 first stage, and R105 octopus. Was very happy with it for all dives I used it for (~ 220 over about 16 months), but I didn't have it long enough to know about it in the long term. I'd default to getting the same setup, but the price is slightly painful (very top of my range), and I don't know much about this stuff at all — I just know all the reviews about it were very positive, and it served me well.

For people who, unlike me, know their gear well, do you have any suggestions about best options?

I'm a warm water diver (had my coldest dive ever this year, at 16 C), and do most of my diving in the tropics. I'm open to doing some cold water diving, but that would only ever be a small minority of my diving, I think. Want a DIN first stage. A setup that travels well. Nothing superfluous. Ideally looking to keep the total cost of the whole set to < £600, which might mean some Black Friday bargain hunting. Pretty brand agnostic, but it's still nice having stuff I like the look of.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

£295 - https://www.maremossoforzasette.it/en/erogatore-mares-rover-15x-din-300-con-octopus.html

£359 - https://www.maremossoforzasette.it/en/erogatore-mares-dual-adj-62x-din-300-con-octopus.html

Plus another £50ish for a SPG and hose.

I'd probably spend the extra few quid for the 62X, but the 15X works great. My son uses the same setup except the octo is also a Rover.