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Even though they are flexible and rubber-like, the S550 and S600 have sturdy front covers that are bulletproof. The R380 and 500 series don't even noticeably scratch and age very nicely.
The metal trim plates on the S600 and S620ti don't age that gracefully though...
I do it at all remember what I payed back then. I’m ditching the alpha 8. The delta 4 I will get serviced and move that to my pony bottle.Not sure what your quoted service cost was vs the reg set you are comparing to, but make sure you're comparing similar "levels" of regulator. Pretty sure back in 2009ish the Delta4 with FDX10 1st stage (assuming you have same as me) was supposed to be a pretty mid range to maybe higher range setup - at least at the time, I believe it was the best Oceanic offered. Either way, 4 times the cost of a service every couple years for a new reg set starts to get expensive