Choosing between Aqua Lung Helix and SP MK25/S620Ti

[zhengfu23]

Hello everyone, newbie to diving and this forum here so I apologize in advance if I sound like a complete noob!

I am trying to purchase my first ever regulator after newly certified in Cozumel. I was initially trying to get the ScubaPro MK25 + S620Ti + R105 Octo, which comes to be around 1050 USD, but last night I saw the Aqua Lung Helix + Octo on sale for 299 USD. I live in Washington state so the sales tax is 10.25%, making them around 1150 USD and 330 USD respectively.

I am someone who somehow care deeply about price performance ratio thus making it hard for me to spring almost 4 times the price for something that I do not know is worth that much more.

For context, my girlfriend and I are most likely vacation divers only diving in warm-ish waters (Caribbean, Hawaii, South East Asia, etc), she's already decided on getting the MK25 + S620Ti due to ScubaPro's decades of great reputation, so not sure if getting the same regulator as her is an advantage in terms of future maintainability, etc. We plan to continue diving for the foreseeable future and hope the regulators we purchase will last a long time into our diving journey.

Please help me decide whether I should just bite the bullet on getting the more expensive set or am I not missing much with the Aqua Lung set while saving a health chunk of money thanks in advance!

 

[BlackLagoon]

We love our Scubapro regulators. Between my wife and myself we've got 2 mk25's, 2 S600's, 2 R105's, 4 mk19's and 4 D420's.

For warm-water travel diving buy the Aqualung set, save some serious money, and never look back.

 

[Nemrod]

I would not at this time purchase any Aqua Lung (or Apeks regulators).

Scubapro is here to stay another 60 years. I hope. Nothing is for certain. Scubapro regulators are just more robust IMO compared to AL. I have a Core (now Helix), it is a fine regulator, just not the same material quality or robustness of design (second stage in particular).

A C370 and a Mark 11 are all either of you need. The Helix would do as well for your stated purpose as well if you get an exceptional deal.

 

[Zef]

There is nothing new in the Helix....it is just a rebadged Core, which is basically an iteration of the Titan LX. Read post #2 at this link.

While the recent past has been tumultuous for Aqualung, and their future as an aquisition by Head is currently uncertain, Aqaulung has a well enough established presence that even if the brand is discontinued, after-market service kit support is expected to continue. But this might require one to adopt a DIY approach to regulator service.

If DIY is not appealing, then I would suggest looking to other brands such as Mares, Scubapro, etc.

-Z

 

[Nemrod]

There is nothing new in the Helix....it is just a rebadged Core, which is basically an iteration of the Titan LX. Read post #2 at this link.

While the recent past has been tumultuous for Aqualung, and their future as an aquisition by Head is currently uncertain, Aqaulung has a well enough established presence that even if the brand is discontinued, after-market service kit support is expected to continue. But this might require one to adopt a DIY approach to regulator service.

If DIY is not appealing, then I would suggest looking to other brands such as Mares, Scubapro, etc.

-Z

And in the blink of an eye all that was Dacor was gone and forgotten when Mares took them. I would not count on aftermarket parts support, in particular the second stages. The first stage is the same old, same old, diaphragm design that AL has been rebadging and redecorating since sometime around 1966. Parts are everywhere.

 

[zhengfu23]

Thanks everyone so much for chiming in!

I am relatively handy and certainly enjoy DIY. Although we don't plan on getting air tanks ourselves since we don't plan on diving near our home. Would that pose any issue for DIY-ability since that means I would have no way of testing those myself?

I have indeed read about the financial woes AL is facing, but I also thought that them being one of the OGs would mean they should survive somehow and still have decent reputation regarding their product.

I have a Core (now Helix), it is a fine regulator, just not the same material quality or robustness of design (second stage in particular).

Regarding this, could you elaborate a bit on the "robustness" factor? I am generally someone who's gentle with things and takes good care of them, wonder if that helps? I can certainly appreciate the build quality of Apple vs other electronics manufacturer, I'm wondering if that's the analogy here? Would it mean that ScubaPro units tend to last much longer due to having better material/build quality?

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks everyone so much for chiming in!

I am relatively handy and certainly enjoy DIY. Although we don't plan on getting air tanks ourselves since we don't plan on diving near our home. Would that pose any issue for DIY-ability since that means I would have no way of testing those myself?

I have indeed read about the financial woes AL is facing, but I also thought that them being one of the OGs would mean they should survive somehow and still have decent reputation regarding their product.


Regarding this, could you elaborate a bit on the "robustness" factor? I am generally someone who's gentle with things and takes good care of them, wonder if that helps? I can certainly appreciate the build quality of Apple vs other electronics manufacturer, I'm wondering if that's the analogy here? Would it mean that ScubaPro units tend to last much longer due to having better material/build quality?

Scubapro regulators are relatively overbuilt. Sometimes overly heavy too, especially some of their first stages (Mark 19/25). The C370 and G260 and other Scubapro second stage composite cases are 30% glass reinforced polyamide. The cases (for my G260) are more substantial than my Titan LX/Core/Legend or the "new" Helix. The Core/Helix is not fiber reinforced, just ABS plastic, very few competitors are. Scubapro regulators are known to be rugged. BTW, the Halycon are rebadged Scubapro regs and their top second stage is the former Scubapro G250.

My old Titan LX Supreme is still one of my favorite all time regulators.

 

[Zef]

And in the blink of an eye all that was Dacor was gone and forgotten when Mares took them. I would not count on aftermarket parts support, in particular the second stages. The first stage is the same old, same old, diaphragm design that AL has been rebadging and redecorating since sometime around 1966. Parts are everywhere.

Indeed. Your point about Dacor is spot on. Although I did not specify, my post was primarily refering to Aqualung's 1st stages.

In my mind, the issue with Dacor not having the aftermarket support after Mares killed off the brand was that they were well over engineered and more complex than they needed to be, again refering to their 1st stages....while Dacor's robust designs had a following, I believe most folks leaned towards the reliability and simplicity of less complicated designs that gave adequate performance.

Perhaps there was more to why they did not maintain aftermarket support once the brand was closeted.

-Z

 

[Mobulai]

Would that pose any issue for DIY-ability since that means I would have no way of testing those myself?

You guessed exactly right — but not entirely impossible
You can rent a (full) tank for the weekend and use it to service and check; that’s how I started with DIY, later I got myself 10L and a 2L tanks (to test at 200 and 50bar)

On the matter of choice, given the price I’d for sure get the AL if these are my only 2 options (ok I wouldn’t buy SP from new, esp with their US price)
they kinda are not comparable to be fair; the mk11(17)/s270 is closer to the Helix(supreme)
If you can try before you buy do that, you might find the swivel turret worth the huge price difference (or not)
That said, I statistically prefer SP, I have one Core supreme vs a mountain of SPs