Buying first regulator - Please help a noob decide...

[skelso]

Got OW certified last month and want to buy some equipment. Budget is pretty tight so I'm picking things up here and there as deals present themselves. Right now I'm looking at regulators and several deals have presented themselves. Now I can't decide...

1) LDS is going out of business. I can buy one of their rental setups (AL Titan w/ octo & console w/ depth and pressure on front, compass on back). They haven't given me a confirmed price yet but from talks I have had with them I'm guessing in the $250 - $300 range. The manager of the store is a very good friend of a friend. He claims he has done all the maintenance himself and can give me maintenance records for whichever one I buy.

2) I'm travelling for business right now and had some time to kill today so I checked out a dive shop in the town where I am working. They are not an AL dealer. From what I recall, they had Mares, Tusa, Aeris, and I think one other brand. The owner spent a bit of time talking with me about regs and said AL makes a decent reg that I would probably be happy with, he's just not a dealer. Then he started showing me the Mares regs he had and selling me on why they are better in his opinion. Some of the things he said made sense BUT, with my LDS closing the next closest shops are 75 - 90 miles away and neither are Mares dealers so service in my area is questionable. Unless someone here can give me some compelling reasons to choose Mares over AL, I think I'll stick to AL since I know I can get it serviced in my area.

3) While visiting this shop today I browsed their pile of used gear for sale. I found a Titan LX (first and second) in a box w/ original sales recipts, etc so I asked about it. The shop owner claims it was purchased at another shop in 2001 but never used and is now being sold here on consignment. I can buy it for $150. I'll then have to add an octo and console.

Now I can't decide what I want to do... Any advice?

Is there much difference between the Titan and Titan LX.

If I buy the rental setup I assume I'll need to get it inspected and serviced (even though I had no isses with it during class). If i buy the "new, never used since 2001" should I have it inspected and serviced? (wondering if diaphrams get stiff, etc over time even with no use). I'm trying to figure out what total investment would be for each option.

Thanks!!

 

[Fishpie]

The LX 2nd stage is balanced and does breathe more smoothly than the standard Titan 2nd and $150 is a good price. It should be bench tested but not necessarily automatically serviced.

If you buy the ex rental I would expect it to come fully serviced.

 

[Zung]

+1
The LX is good - The non-LX is just another "rental-class", non-descript piece of gear. And $150 NIB is a good price; just read couv's commandments, do what he said and you're good.

 

[skelso]

The LX 2nd stage is balanced and does breathe more smoothly than the standard Titan 2nd and $150 is a good price. It should be bench tested but not necessarily automatically serviced.

If you buy the ex rental I would expect it to come fully serviced.

I was hoping for this even if it meant I had to pay a bit more but they are using it for class / close out dives through this weekend. Shop's last day open is next Thursday. They said there is no way they could get them all serviced by then. They are selling them on first come first served basis so best I can hope for is to get there early enough to get one of the more recently serviced setups.

I read another thread on here from '01 that talked about a recall issue with the LX to upgrade the diaphragm so I'll have to look into if this one was manufactured before or after the recall. Any idea if there is significant changes from '01 model to current?

 

[Fishpie]

The current generation Titan has a different 1st stage.
The 2nd stage is still the same (it's also the same one used on the Legend)

 

[keyshunter]

The older Titan LX with the barrel first stage is an excellent, well proven design. The new style first stage with the right angle design has been on the market for only a couple of years, but it seems to be ok. I have one with about 100 dives on it, which so far has worked flawlessly. The LX second is well proven. I would buy the Titan LX. but would ask that he at least bench test it.

 

[skelso]

Thans for the replies. Figured I would post up to let y'all know what I decided to get. I found yet another deal and jumped on it. I got a 2011 Legend Supreme for $369. I bought it from an Aqualung dealer so it has full warranty, etc.

As a bonus, I picked up a brand new octo from my LDS who is shutting the doors tomorrow. With their closeout % off, I got it for $60.

Now I just have to decide what console to buy...

Thanks again for the help!

 

[bbarnett51]

Thans for the replies. Figured I would post up to let y'all know what I decided to get. I found yet another deal and jumped on it. I got a 2011 Legend Supreme for $369. I bought it from an Aqualung dealer so it has full warranty, etc.

As a bonus, I picked up a brand new octo from my LDS who is shutting the doors tomorrow. With their closeout % off, I got it for $60.

Now I just have to decide what console to buy...

Thanks again for the help!

Now that is a good deal! Congrats

 

[ToddMLewis]

Was going to make a suggestion.....but after the last post.....I concur.....$425 range for a legeond and octo is very fair and will be useable for years to come. Good grab