Thanks everyone for their feedback. I did look into the HOG regulators as suggested, but I do not think it will work for me. I do not plan on doing my own regulator service and I do not have a LDS that would service one.
There ARE no LDSes yet that will service Edge/HOG regulators... There are no Edge/HOG distributors yet. The company is too new.
For annual service, you'd simply send them back to the manufacturer in Macon, GA. There, they'd be serviced, and sent back to you.
...Which is exactly what would happen at 90% of the dive shops out there, anyway, regardless of what brand/model reg you chose. Most shops don't do their own service, which is to say that they, too, simply ship them and then charge you for it.
Optionally, you could learn to service them yourself... Interesting because no other manufacturer encourages that like Edge/HOG does. I am not aware of any other manufacturer offering annual service classes and spare parts like Edge/HOG does.
...So if you've made your decision, then so be it... I'm not trying to talk you into anything else. I'm just mentioning that what you're perceiving to be a disadvantage isn't.
I am leaning more towards the Aqua Lung Titan LX. I am ok with only having 1 HP port. Since this is my first regulator purchase (my US Divers Aquarius I got 6 years ago for free...
), I may be a bit naive. So, are there any problems using my current backup octopus and HP gauges with newer equipment?
The only thing you'd have to worry about is whether or not all of the hoses fit the ports (in general, they do, and if they don't, then you can adapt) and if the intermmediate pressures are the same (in most cases, they are or can be adjusted to be the same by a good technician).
With regards to performance - this is something I hear very often, and is a very misunderstood concept. Here's the truth about performance:
Within reason, a good technician can pretty much adjust any regulator to breathe any way he/she wants. There are adjustments for cracking pressure (how hard you have to suck to get the air flow to begin) and breathing effort on most regulators... Making most WOB tests totally a moot point. There's also other adjustments, too, including an intermmediate pressure adjustment on the first stage, which does a variety of things.
Of course, it's natural to believe that adjustments should be set such that effort of breathing is zero and that cracking pressure be set super-sensitive. The problem with that is that this makes regs very prone to freeflow and have a "positive pressure" feeling that's unnatural, uncomfortable, and tends to increase a diver's gas consumption.
...So the technician's idea is to achieve a "happy medium" between a regulator that resists freeflow, feels natural to breathe on, and delivers as much gas as the diver needs - all equally well. Higher quality regulators will have a wider range of adjustment, and tend to keep that adjustment better than cheaper regs... That is, there is a larger range of "happy medium" available in better regs, and many times the "happy medium" can be fine-tuned by the diver during the dive. Cheaper regs don't have "on-the-fly" adjustments (require tools and disassembly to make adjustments) and tend not to keep their adjustments very well.
Most experienced divers will tend to "detune" regulators - that is, make them breathe much "tighter" than less experienced divers, so as to prevent freeflows and loss of gas as much as possible - within reason, of course. So, the idea that the beginning diver has that "high performance" means "low effort of breathing" isn't a complete synopsis of reality.
90% of what people feel in terms of differences from one regulator to another is based on that technician's personal adjustments... So it's rarely fair to do a side-by-side comparison and make a judgement call on that unless you're willing to attempt to "tune" the regs during testing. Ultimately, a technician could probably get most regs in the market to breathe exactly alike.
...Which shouldn't surprise anyone that's ever worked on their own regs. There aren't many different designs out there... That is, many regulators share parts, even across manufacturers labels or models. Why would any of them breathe any different from one to the other, except for the tuning aspect?
...So should it simply boil down to price? Absolutely not... Predictably, pricier regs have more features and more on-the-fly adjustments available, and are often made of different materials that each have their own advantages. Personally, I'm a fan of sealed first stages (diaphragm) because piston-type regulators have open chambers that expose grease within the first stage to the water... So if you're diving in a silty environment, piston-style regs probably aren't a very good choice. Diaphragm-style first stages also tend to be marketed as "cold water" regs, because of their ability to isolate temperatures in some places and exchange heat in others. Since there's no disadvantage to using a coldwater reg, I use one in all environments. People who use piston-driven first stages tend to believe that their regs perform better (and decades ago, that may have been the case), but today's soft silicone diaphragms rarely impede performance, and keep the goo out of your reg - making it more dependable and likely to work correctly when you need it to.
I'm also a fan of first stages that are solid, one-piece, chrome-over-brass first stages. Titanium regs, touted as being "lighter" (why you'd want "lighter" regs is anyone's guess - underwater, the heavier the better) can not be used in high oxygen environments... So if you're planning on using "nitrox" or "mixed gasses," avoid titanium, which is pricier anyway, and generally thought to not wear as well as brass. Chrome over brass has a long-standing reputation as being durable, corrosion-free, and attractive. Avoid painted, anodized, or "finished" regulators that will quickly show scuffs and scratches with age. Avoid regulators with odd or unusual hose routing (look at the regulator "geared up" and see where all of the hoses fall) that would get in the way and avoid first stages with unnecessary moving parts like turrets. Not only do these turrets require a high-pressure (3000 psi) O-ring that can fail, but always seem to be twisted in exactly the OPPOSITE direction that you want your hoses to go.
A much better design is a first stage that maintains comfortable hose routing permenantly... Like an Apeks XTX100 or DS4 first stage.
Oh, and please, avoid first stages that complicate an otherwise simple purpose in life with batteries or LCD screens. I'm sure that comment will start a flame war, but clearly, the person who designed that particular first stage was not a diver.
Second stage design doesn't vary much from manufacturer to manufacturer with the exception of the Poseidon regs mentioned above. Mostly, it's about looks and ergonomics, although I would encourage you to purchase a second stage that is round so that it can be disassembled underwater without using tools, in case it gets clogged with sand or silt. If it requires tools to fix the problem, your dive ends there. If it doesn't, you may be able to continue the dive if you can fix an issue.
While second stage design doesn't generally vary much in the scuba industry (and as I've said, most of them literally use the same parts), there are some material differences. Regs using stainless steel instead of plastic internal components are going to, predictably, be of higher quality and last longer. To truly compare regulators, ask the salesman to remove the faceplate so that you can see the quality (or lack thereof) of the materials used to make the regulator. Like a book, a regulator can not be judged by it's cover - you must look inside to know for sure whether or not what you're buying is a quality item.
If you're looking for a simple answer to your question - is the Aqualung XX regulator a good one - the answer is, "I would recommend a different brand." You didn't like that answer, however... So you asked the question again. Above is the long answer.
If, after reading the above you go and measure the item according to those standards and like the reg, then yeah, by all means... Get it.
