Deep 6 Signature Regulator Review

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First, I think scubalab measurement isn't entirely objective.

We were unable to recreate their results when we tried on our ANSTI machine. That being said I don't think ScubaLab was being duplicitous. At times it may seem like advertising dollars hold sway with Scuba Magazine, but that is of course their business model.

What people need to realize is the breathing rates they utilized are far beyond what anyone can realistically sustain while diving, let alone two people.

The rate limiting component on most dive regulators today is actually the tank valve. Most can handle flow rates higher than this bottleneck allows.

For what it is worth, I dive our regs beyond 200ft and know divers who go beyond 300ft with them and they work great. I tie into wrecks in this range, so they get a bit of heavy breathing while doing so.

keep in mind that the ANSTI has the regulator in a position with the diaphragm vertical instead of horizontal as it would be in normal diving conditions. This changes the WoB more on some regulators than it does for others. It is especially nasty for the exhalation effort.

Of other importance
It scored 5/5 in WoB under exaggerated normal conditions which is total WoB less than 1.05j/l at 37.5. That is something you can maintain for maybe 5 minutes if you're in good shape. At 75, you're going to pass out if you can even get there. Having the second stage handle that and purchasing a regulator based on that is a bit ridiculous imo.
Scubapro has obviously figured out how to do it with the S600, but in real world diving, you won't notice a difference and I think that may have something to do with the first stage more than the second stage as Poseidon wasn't able to get 5/5 on all of theirs though they do come detuned a bit from the factory and are capable of getting under 1.05j/l on the ansti if you tune it to beat the test. Question is more on whether the test is reasonable or excessive.

For me, the Deep6 gets great marks on the slightly exaggerated real world test and whether it fails on the unrealistic ones or not is not something that I personally care about or that anyone should really worry about when purchasing a regulator
 
Over 250 dives in 2 years. Still performing great, the black plastic of the body is showing scratch and cosmetic wear. The black chrome is still looking good.

I had comments from a shop that internals of the 1st stage were heavily corroded at service. Not sure if i trust the shop because in my opinion they were bashing a brand they dont sell.
 
I'm pushing about a year and a half with mine, right at 150 dives with most of my dives being close to the 120-150' range and I am very happy with them.

Out of the box I had one that breathed a little better than the other, bench test showed IP was a little low and cracking pressure was pretty high (roughly +3.5)

Once corrected to D6 recommendations of where to set the IP and a cracking pressure of +1.1 I have found them to be extremely smooth and pleasant regs. I've played with Atomic, DR, Apex, and a few rental oceanic regs at depths just to see how they compare and always found mine to breath the best, however none of the others were adjusted to make it a "fair" non biased, scientific test. More of just a 1 off anecdotal test. The only thing I have noticed is the venturing lever and breathing resistance knob have stiffened up somewhat compared to new and do require a tad more force to rotate. I originally thought salt build up may have been the issue but upon inspection I couldnt find any salt build up that would cause it.

Like @Goingforsound said I have found the plastic to show some signs of scratches and slight color fade on the 2nd stages, even though I treat them very well and never let them drag or fall.

The swivel on the 1st stage is probably the smoothest I have experienced with the least amount of effort to rotate, for me that is a plus. My buddies prefer the almost stuck, stiff, rotation of the apex 1st stages. My only real "gripe" with the 1st stage is length. I do wish it was a tad shorter.

For the price, and customer service from Deep6, I would highly recommend these regs to everybody. Even with the price increase here recently I don't think the quality and performance can be beat for the price.
 

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. The only thing I have noticed is the venturing lever and breathing resistance knob have stiffened up somewhat compared to new and do require a tad more force to rotate. I originally thought salt build up may have been the issue but upon inspection I couldnt find any salt build up that would cause it.

Soak then in warm water for a while. Mine came back as new. They were in a state were i tought the lever might break.

JC
 
Over 250 dives in 2 years. Still performing great, the black plastic of the body is showing scratch and cosmetic wear. The black chrome is still looking good.

I had comments from a shop that internals of the 1st stage were heavily corroded at service. Not sure if i trust the shop because in my opinion they were bashing a brand they dont sell.
Did they return the replaced o rings / parts? How did they appear? Assuming you are careful about removing your first stage and replacing the boot, I wonder why there is salt corrosion present inside the environmentally sealed first stage.
 
Did they return the replaced o rings / parts? How did they appear? Assuming you are careful about removing your first stage and replacing the boot, I wonder why there is salt corrosion present inside the environmentally sealed first stage.

I learned the hard way that the DM on tropical boats are not that careful with salt water. Nobody touch my tank/regs anymore. They basicaly floated full tanks in sea water and didnt blow them before putting the 1stage and opening the tank.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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