Chinese generic regulators - fit-for-purpose or not?

[Scared Silly]

But, but wait. That second stage comes with a barb fitting. How else is one going to hook it up to their garden hose????

 

[WarrenZ]

I assume that you would use the barb fitting to attach it to a small air compressor for surface supplied air diving.

 

[diversteve]

As suggested - since you live in the UK - can't you get a good price on Apeks gear? Or their parent company Aqualung - who also has one of the largest worldwide service networks if you travel.

Not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

IDK if it's the same there but we get good deals on Cressi products here - they've been making dive gear since the 50's.

 

[stepfen]

Does anyone know a place that does either custom wing covers or makes reliable ones that come in multicam?

There is this company (Tecline) that makes quality tec oriented products including camo wings. I think they offer their whole range in camo. Here is just an example:
Donut 13 Camo (13kg/29lbs) for mono tank, built in mono adaptor | Katalog Tecline
The company is based in Poland and is quite popular with tec divers in this side of the pond.
I own a BPW set (not camo though) and I am very happy with it. The owner of the local dive store (ab)uses them for years now without any complains.
I don't know though if you can get their products over there.

 

[JasmineNeedsGills]

As suggested - since you live in the UK - can't you get a good price on Apeks gear? Or their parent company Aqualung - who also has one of the largest worldwide service networks if you travel.

Not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

IDK if it's the same there but we get good deals on Cressi products here - they've been making dive gear since the 50's.

Apeks / Aqua-Lung, Cressi and Mares do feature fairly strongly in the shops here (oddly, Scubapro too makes a jump accross the Atlantic quite often), so will def check them out. I used to have a lot of Mares equipment in the past that I really liked, so I've always had a soft spot for them.

 

[BoltSnap]

(oddly, Scubapro too makes a jump accross the Atlantic quite often),

Scubapro has its Europe, Africa and Middle East HQ in France actually. Most of SP's regulators are made in Italy/France.

 

[almostDIR]

Yep those crazy cheap Chinese second stages are probably meant for DIY hookah applications where the whole point is being as cheap as possible no matter how unhealthy and dangerous.

Making a second stage is very easy though if it does not need to be very high performance or reliable... I am sure one would at least get some air out of the chinese ones no problem. It may not even blow up in use XD
The biggest problem would maybe be the dangerous plastic additives like phtalates etc which most likely are not up to western standards might cause some health problems I suspect.

I would never ever ever go diving with a cheap-o Chinese first stage though. It is much more scary with this type of high pressure stuff than it ever would be with a second stage... Kinda like having a shotgun barrell against the back of your head all the time when diving and always having a change for it to blow up

 

[JasmineNeedsGills]

I would never ever ever go diving with a cheap-o Chinese first stage though. It is much more scary with this type of high pressure stuff than it ever would be with a second stage... Kinda like having a shotgun barrell against the back of your head all the time when diving and always having a change for it to blow up

Yep, this was actually my primary concern! I'm too young and beautiful to die, dontchaknow

Thanks everyone

 

[almostDIR]

I would rather make the whole regulator by myself out of scratch in my garage than trust a Chinese knockoff high pressure time bomb but that is just me and my Chinese metalworking machinery

anyway, the ATX40 with either a DS4 or DST first stage is a great reg and should be reasonably priced in the UK.
I personally have been very happy with my ATX40+DS4 set and it works even in very cold water unlike any Chinese stuff (personally used my regs in 2 Celcius water without any problems and know other persons who regularly dive with them under ice)

 

[ams511]

When I look at the following wings, they all look the same.
Scuba Dive Donut Wing Single Tank 30lb/13.3kg Dive BCD Buoyancy Compensator | eBay
Donut 13 Camo (13kg/29lbs) for mono tank, built in mono adaptor | Katalog Tecline
Deep 6 Gear 13.5kg/30lb Single Tank Wing

With the eBay wing actually looking to have a heavier shell. Most scuba equipment is made in a limited number of factories. So the above wings can all be made in the same factory.

If you want a camo wing, Oxycheq makes one. The list price is $400.