Buying a regulator - Atomic Z2/B2

[Adrian_london]

Hi all

I will be doing my first dive early next year in Hawaii.

I have been advised to buy some of my own gear. I wear glasses and have been told to buy my own mask and have also been told to buy my own regulator.

I went into a diving shop in Central London and the man who works there advised me of the same.

The regulator he suggested was the ATOMIC Z2. I have looked at a few posts on here and from what I can tell, there isn't much diference between the Z2 and the B2. The man in the shop recommended the Z2 as it can also be used with Nitrox.

Is this such a big deal for someone who has yet to dive once let alone 20 or 30 dives?

I have no idea whether I will enjoy diving (although I'm sure I will) but I will want to dive at least 15-20 times while I'm in Hawaii as i'll be there for 4 weeks.

Any recommendations please.

 

[Laustimus]

If you don't know that you are going to get into that much diving or diving at all I don't think it would be wise to dump that much money into a reg, at least a new one or the pricey line of Atomic at that. But if you were to get into it I would highly suggest Atomic then.

I think it would be best to rent until you know if you are going to really get into the activity.

 

[Couv]

Hello Adrian,

Welcome to Scuba Board and the world of diving. I agree that it is a good idea to own your own personal gear, i.e. mask, fins & snorkel....a regulator can be an expensive investment and Atomic is one of the most expensive. Atomics are top quality, but before you invest in one, I would advise you to at least finish your lessons before shelling out big bucks (quid in your case) on the "best that money can buy." One of the things you do not know at this point is what sort of diving you will be doing, so buying a regulator at this point may very well be wasteful. Below, I will post my standard cut and paste advice:

Shortly, you will be swamped with advise about buying a regulator, mostly by people who own a brand and are very fond of it. One thing to keep in mind about regulators is that most are great at what they do. So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? That won't be easy, but it will be fun and entertaining. Soon you will find out there are quite a few gurus on this board in each section. It's helpful to pick out a few of them and read lots of their post and you will be off to a very good start. In the regulator section I can highly recommend the post of (in no particular order) Awap, DA Aquamaster, Captain, Pescador775 and Luis H …there are lots of others but that will keep you busy for a while.

At any rate, you want a regulator brand that has a good track record for keeping parts available for each model. Of course unless you intend to DIY, you also want a regulator that can be serviced by your local dive shop and lots of locations in the world. The two best companies in both regards are Aqualung and Scubapro.

My recommendation for the average recreational diver, i.e. not freezing water, 150 feet or less, is a simple non balanced piston 1st stage such as the Scuba Pro MK 2 (or Aqualung Calypso, Mares R2, Sherwood Brut and a few others.) This simple design is usually inexpensive, nearly bullet proof, easy to get parts for and easy and inexpensive to service. It is also easy to DIY because it requires only a few o-rings and a seat. Yes, the unbalanced design will increase the breathing effort at low tank pressure, but I view this as a good thing especially for new or inexperienced divers. See this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/87374-scuba-pro-r190-2.html

Additionally, if/when one wants to start more advanced diving where high concentrations of oxygen will be used this type regulator can be moved to that application.

For a second stage I like an adjustable and balanced unit. This provides the ability to have the regulator tuned to minimum inhalation resistance with the option of the diver increasing the resistance it if he/she finds the need to. Having said that, a straight forward classic downstream design with a simple to replace set of o-rings and button soft seat can be highly recommended as it is a tried and true design, parts are usually available and almost anyone can service them.

It is a good idea to have the same manufactures 1st and 2nd stage to make getting service less complicated.
For more demanding diving and high end/higher performance (higher price) regulators see the following link for DA's excellent advice.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/181745-advice-regulators.html

Good luck,


couv

 

[halocline]

Don't buy a regulator until after you learn to dive. You might not like diving that much; most people that get certified never dive after their course.

BTW, both the B2 and Z2 are nitrox ready, even the T2 is sold as nitrox ready to 40% despite the concerns about titanium and O2. So there's one reason to not buy something right away; you're already getting wrong info from a dive shop. That didn't take long!

If you feel like you need to buy something in preparation for your trip other than mask/fins/snorkle, get a wetsuit that fits you.

 

[TheAlmightyHubbard]

Just thought I'd throw out a +1 for the B2. Those swivels are amazing I hardly notice the thing is in my mouth since it breathes so well and is lightweight.