Choosing an Octo

[cstreu1026]

I need to by an octo now that I am abondoning my Air Source on my Raider because of my B?/Wing purchase. I have a Scuba Pro Mk25/S600 and was thinking about the R380. I know tahts a good choice, but might I be able to get off a little cheaper. I dive mostly quarries at this point so my primary concern is compatibility with cold water. The owner of the LDS that I bought my reg from likes the Aqua Lung LPO, but I worry that it won't work well in colder water.

 

[ckharlan66]

I had a LPO. I hated it. It breaths hard and I found it hard to stow. It didn't like to stay in the keepers.

I have the R380 but I am interested in what recommendations you get.

Chad

 

[Hallmac]

We sell alot of them here is what I notice.

The body will loose its pigmentation and the slot that holds the control valve warps after several rebuilds.
There is no direction flow problems so it can be used and cleared in any position.
To get maximum breathing without free flow problems the control lever lock nut should be tightened fully and backed off 1/2 turn. It can then be adjusted to breath really light. If it is set up like the book calls for the spring that controls the lever is too light and you will end up with the condition ckharan66 had.

You are right to worry about it in cold water not what it was designed for.

In the aqualung line the "Octo" or "LX" would make a much better choice.

Hallmac

 

[sailnj]

I know there is a Scuba Pro and Apex bias on this site but I like the Mares Axis Octo I have. It breathes easy - it's easy to purge and nice and big. Plus I think I only paid around $60 or 70 for it from Leisure Pro

 

[detroit diver]

The freeflow adjustments on the Apeks line are really nice. I use the TX50 with a necklaced bungee.

 

[ElectricZombie]

The R380 is a great reg, that is what I use.

Breathes very, very well...especially for a non-balanced reg. (Exactly what you need for your BP/DIR setup) I'll switch to it at depth sometimes just to test it out and it always breathes great.

The R380 is easy to adjust, simple and reliable.

 

[SeaJay]

ElectricZombie once bubbled...
The R380 is a great reg, that is what I use.

The R380 is easy to adjust, simple and reliable.

I'll second that.

My purchase is going to be the Mk16/S550 with an R380 secondary, necklaced. The S550 will be on a 7' hose, Hogarthian style, as per DIR.

I like this setup because of the diaphragms everywhere instead of pistons. (And even a sealed first stage.) My experience is that they simply do better for mud, black water, and salt water, where I will be spending most of my time. I like the simpler design of the Mk16 over the Mk25, too, due to it's lack of the additional swivel, which IMHO is another failure point with no real benefit.

I also am a fan of LESS controls on a reg. I'd personally rather see a reg set up right from the LDS and have LESS controls on it. I'm not a fan of a "cracking pressure" adjustment. I know that sounds strange, but I'd rather have it set right and then left right, rather than make it adjustable.

The S550 and the R380 are the balanced and nonbalanced versions of the same reg. I like that idea. They're both getting lots of great reviews, cost considerably less than the Apeks competitor, and don't use funny hoses like the Apeks does. Oh yeah... At least around here, there's a lot more places that are qualified to work on Scubapro than Apeks, so there's a bit of an advantage to that, too.

So Yeah, I'm a fan of the 380. Simple, inexpensive, dependable, great performance, low price, and overall a great reg.

...And it's dry upside-down, too... An important characteristic to ask for when you make money scraping boats (upside-down).