D1 Hog vs other regulators

[diversteve]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sc...ris-richardson-leaves-post-edge-hog-gear.html

 

[ChickenFried]

Hmmm, interesting. I had not seen that bit of news either. I sure hope that HOG continues to provide good quality gear at an affordable price. I have several of their products and I could not be happier with their quality and service so far.

 

[rhwestfall]

no, it wasn't sold to a bigger company, Jack is running the show now and everything is still moving forward, so 99% of the customers won't notice any difference, but you'll see in some of his new postings his new avatar, and on facebook he no longer has the title

I did see the different avatar, the lack of "equipment manufacturer" designation, and no logos when he posted, but somehow I didn't put it together.....

I hope his next venture has as positive impact as this one. I have liked the HOG products I own. In all honesty, it is the dealers too that have made the difference (Lapenta, in my case). I hope those continuing to carry the HOG flag will keep this style of operations going....

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'm going to do my part to see that happen from a dealer standpoint. Been in talks with Jack regarding that and some new items going forward. I personally am excited about what's coming.

 

[Hostage]

The Titan LX and the Hog D1 are perfect examples of completely conflicting and different philosophies.

On one hand, you have the Aqualung model. They take out full page ads every month in every dive publication, they pay people to use their equipment on photo shoots and spend an inordinate amount of money trying to ensure that their equipment is perceived as "high end". All of that cost is combined with R&D and then layered into a model where they only sell to shops via sales people. So on top of the marketing and R&D costs they also have to pay salaries and commissions. They tightly control how much the end shop sells their equipment for to help keep up the perception of the "high end" brand. I'm guessing that your LDS sold you this regulator after or through the course of an initial training? This is part of the LDS model.

On the other hand, Chris @ HOG takes known design concepts that are established and have been in use for a very long time by divers who are doing very big dives (far, far beyond those of the average vacation diver finishing up an open water course) and he's having them manufactured overseas to that spec. The R&D is minimal because there's no need for bells and whistles, just rock solid performance based on tried and true design concepts. Then he doesn't advertise. Go look for a HOG ad in SCUBA magazine (don't look hard, you won't find one). Further he sells direct to the shop/instructor/dealer who has to deal with the customer so there's no salaries or middlemen to mark things up. There's some emphasis on "value" but I'd say there's more emphasis on "reliability". I've breathed my HOG D1 at over 400 feet (bailed out, not breathing calmly). That's why I trust it and that's why I recommend it to my friends and my students.

Most people at the LDS can't discuss performance at extreme ends of the spectrum, much less confidently talk about their experience with the regulator you've got in hand there. So instead they tell you the pretty story about the "state of the art" that they're fed in brochures and marketing copy from the manufacturers (that all drive up the $$$ without delivering anything of value).

Ultimately you got a good regulator that will likely serve you well for years to come. To my mind you paid too much for it; but that's what you were designed to do. That's how Aqualung makes their money and how the shops stay in business. Maybe you'll love it enough to support them and pay it all over again next time, maybe you won't. There are a lot of variables that come into play in diving and cost is only one of them (I'd argue that it should be quite far down the list of priorities).

For me, I love HOG products because of the philosophy, the simple design, the fact that I can fix a problem on my own no matter where I am in the world and the price point just means I can own more of them - which has a whole slew of other practical applications for my personal situation (and doesn't just serve as a reason/method to spend less).

Thank you that explains a lot. I do not really like to go with the "pomp and circumstance". I do like helping the little guy out and the cost of servicing my regulator current can could pay for that in 2 years lol. I would be very interested in learning how to service my own gear. It seems to me that the "big LDS" in town does follow the model of high prices, more advertising, and getting the new divers. The other 2 shops tend to take most in the people who stick with diving. If I ever get into tech diving, would an Aqualung Titan LX be an okay reg for a stage bottle or one reg for a dual manifold setup? I have 3 regs right now.

 

[mathauck0814]

If I ever get into tech diving, would an Aqualung Titan LX be an okay reg for a stage bottle or one reg for a dual manifold setup? I have 3 regs right now.

Unfortunately the answer is, "it depends". From a performance perspective, for most tech diving being done (less than 200 feet, one or two deco gases, etc) it's probably fine assuming that the regulator itself meets some basic criteria. Is your Titan LX a yoke or a DIN regulator? Without turning this into a din vs. yoke argument, many instructors (myself included) feel that yoke is unacceptable for technical diver training on account of the (fragile) manner in which it mates to the tank. And while you're more than welcome to use whatever you'd like on a dive of your own; you'd need appropriate DIN regs for training.

If you start to push deeper depths, you're going to have the knowledge necessary to make an educated decision as to whether or not it's a good reg for you. You'll also have more instructors' opinions worth of data to incorporate and likely a dive team that you'll be equipment matching (or at least bouncing ideas off of) with.

All in all, I wouldn't worry about it. You have a regulator which presumably works well. Just go diving. There's always more equipment out there. Buying equipment now for something you might do later is foolish. By the time you get there, there'll be more new and better gear to acquire. Your profile says you're at 50-99 dives. You're still a relative baby. It's good that you're thinking and asking questions, but honestly: just go diving.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Agree, if nothing else the Titan could always be a back up or warm water singles reg when you go on vacation. If you do go down the tech road three regs will just about barely get you started. 4-6 is a more realistic number to have. At a minimum. So being able to service your own soon becomes very attractive.

 

[Six Feet Under]

Strongly considering the HOG D1 doubles package from DRIS right now, with the plan to eventually replace the first stages with MK25's (I'll try both first, no worries).

I'd rather pay $560 in two weeks and be able to use the doubles I just got than wait over a month or two and piece together two MK25's plus D1 second stages and all necessary hoses...

 

[tbone1004]

why do you want to go to the mk25's? Hose routing will be the same and you go to a nonsealed first stage..... Pistons are nice, but you then also go to a reg that you can't service yourself. If you really want to go to a balanced piston first stage, call DRiS and ask if they can work a deal on a BP2 package instead of the D1. BP2's are based off of the MK25 design and look quite similar. The D3 Zenith first stages actually have a similar form factor with the real small turret but are diaphragm based, so a bit easier to work on.

 

[Six Feet Under]

True... I'll look into that as well.