Buying First Reg

[lamacchia]

Hi all,

First-time post from a new member here with about 5 years and 35 dives under my belt. All I've done so far on trips (exclusively Caribbean/warm water) is rent equipment, and now it's getting time for a purchase. I've only ever used what rental equipment is available on trips, and want to do enough research before making a purchase. I've heard many good things about Dive Rite through friends who dive, but am not sold on them yet. That said, pretty sure I want to stay within the balanced diaphragm realm, but am willing to consider something else if reason presents itself.

Looking for any and all input on the topic. As far as budget, a wise man once told me "find the Lexus, find the Yugo, then buy the middle."

Thanks very much!

 

[Marie13]

Which brands do shops in your area sell? That will make getting service much easier.

 

[tbone1004]

Begin with the end in mind, and buy once cry once.

Look at total cost of ownership of your regulators. Local service is not something I would prioritize as most dive shops do not service enough regulators to truly be proficient at it. Unless you are near a fairly big shop that has a dedicated service department *as in has an employee who's full time job is repairing regulators, then send it off to someone that does*.

The end in mind is important though because you don't say what your ultimate diving aspirations are as that may drive you to a specific brand if you ever intend on going down the professional route with a local dive center.

The one specific piece of advice that I would say is to buy a doubles kit when you buy your regulators. It does 2 things for you. First is it puts you in a primary donate paradigm which has all of your hoses much more streamlined and in control with no danglies and is an overall superior configuration to the golden triangle. The second thing it does is give you a spare first stage. The first stages are usually the ones that have problems and no matter whatever anyone else tells you about "buy Scubapro or Aqualung because it has global service", that's a load of BS. Sure just about any dive shop in the world can service them, but you are going to be renting a regulator for the rest of the day you had the failure and at least the day after and you'll also be paying out the nose for a one day turnaround. That whole concept is nothing short of ridiculous. Carry the spare first stage and if one fails then you will lose the dive that it failed on, but with an adjustable wrench and 90 seconds you move all the hoses over and you're good to go. The cost of the extra first stage up front will likely be cheaper than that last minute rush job trying to get your regs rebuilt.

 

[Centrals]

I have never carried an extra 1st or 2nd stage over last 24yrs in overseas rec/tec diving.

 

[tbone1004]

I have never carried an extra 1st or 2nd stage over last 24yrs in overseas rec/tec diving.

what's your plan in event of a failure? get it rebuilt or use a rental? If it's use a rental, leave the spare at home, but I have seen people while travelling try to get their reg rebuilt last minute and the sticker shock is scary

 

[Cheizz]

For single tank recreational diving in the foreseeable future, I wouldn't go all tech just yet (unless you want to get into that quickly). For most divers, 90% of them - my estimate, there are many great options out there and great deals on complete ready-to-dive sets as well. Sure, major brands are easier to get service and maintenance on.
Long hose configuration is a possibility, but even for that, I think only 10% of recreational divers have even heard of it.

Dive Rite make well-designed products. But so do at least 10 other brands.

@lamacchia what kind of dives are you planning to do mostly? And where? Water temperature and stuff like that could make a difference...

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

what's your plan in event of a failure? get it rebuilt or use a rental? If it's use a rental, leave the spare at home, but I have seen people while travelling try to get their reg rebuilt last minute and the sticker shock is scary

I have been one of those and the hassle I went through was more than the sticker shock. Instead of purchasing one Ferrari, I now believe in owning two Toyotas.

 

[Nemrod]

Well, then, the Toyota is the Aqualung Core (Supreme). Toyotas are not inexpensive, some are quite pricey, but what you get is reliability. Car analogies suck so I will leave that there. But the Core is a very reliable regulator that can be serviced now or in twenty years just about anywhere and it is rated Superior on the ANSTI WOB tests only slightly behind the Legend which tied if I recall with the XTX200 for the top slot.

James

 

[davehicks]

There is another thread from someone selling 3 ScubaPro Mk17 1st stages. Buy one of those (suggest about $200 which is ebay price) and pair it with a couple of SP G260, G250v, or S600 seconds. Done.

 

[formernuke]

Let's be realistic about the times we live in. Look at the features you want and buy whatever you can actually get.