Cressi Vs. Scubapro please advise

[Psyonide]

I'm about to purchase my first reg set.
I'm an advanced open water diver with about 70 dives or so, 20-30 dives per year.
I don't plan on crossing over to technical diving in the near future.
I'm trying to decide between two sets of approx. same cost:

1. Cressi Sub Ellipse Titanium / Mc7 Regulator + Cressi Sub Octopus Xs
2. Scubapro MK2 Plus / R295 Regulator + Scubapro R190 Octopus

Based on your experience I'd appreciate your suggestions and insights which is better.

 

[Nick Fazah]

The Mk2 plus is a great little piston first stage. The R295 second stage is light breathing and a good performer. The R190 is the predecessor to the R295 and although a little bigger is still light weight and has pretty solid performance. The other benefit to the Scubapro is free parts for life if you pick it up from a dealer. I don't have any experience diving the cressi but if your advanced and planning on doing any sort of nitrox diving I would stay away from Titanium as it's not compatable with O2.

 

[Psyonide]

Fascinating. I didn't know titanium had Nitrox problems... I do dive Nitrox occasionally. I always assumed titanium was high-end in diving gear.
Is the Scubapro reg travel friendly?

 

[BlueFrog]

Actually, the Cressi reg isn't really titanium. The titanium is cosmetic only and not in contact with the breathing air. Its one thing that I really dislike about the Cressi, they don't advertise that the first stage or even second stage isn't completely titanium. Truth in advertising doesn't seem to apply to them. That said, it is a light weight reg that breathes and functions well. I did demo the titanium version at my LDS when they had a "Cressi Demo Day" but I didn't think is was as rugged as the Scubapros or Aqua Lungs so it didn't fit my need.

For the record, titanium isn't a factor until you get over 40% O2. Normal Nitrox mixes of 32% or 38% are not going to be a problem at all and the metal is super lightweight. Scubapro and Atomic make great, very lightweight titanium regs but are very, very expensive. The metal doesn't change the reg's breathing so factor that into your decision.

Overall, in my opinion, Scubapro makes better regs than Cressi if you can afford them.

 

[arkstorm]

I've had wonderful experience with the Ellipse Titanium / MC7 (I own two of them). It breathes great at depth, is super light in the mouth and is very reliable. Notwithstanding the fact that not all the metal parts of the Ellipse "Titanium" are titanium and this rubs some people the wrong way, you should figure that the Cressi is a top of the line balanced diaphragm reg and the SP is entry level -- yet both are about the same price. It would be a no brainer for me to go with the Cressi. For an additional $20 I would go with the Ellipse Octo though since it has a dive/pre-dive lever which is worth it.

 

[nikwho]

Im glad you started this thread. Im looking at the scubapro Mk2 and Mk11. Im thinking that i will get away with the mk2 because im running an air source so i will not need the extra ports. I would like to hear more about the mk2, though.