Differences in regulators

[Nemrod]

NO ARGUMENT, almost 350 people read this and no my reg is better than your reg!!!!!

The good side is that it seems like it is hard to go wrong with name brand reg, the bad news is that this discussion has not helped to determine if any brand is higher quality then another (also good I guess). I had been wondering this looking through prior discussions everyone said good things about the regs they where currently using but nothing about prior use making it hard to compare quality between them. I was actually kinda hoping that some one who had experience with several brands would be able to make an honest non-baised comparision of the quality, since no one has been able to say that brand X mid-high end is better than brand Y I quess it is really a matter what feels better to that person.

Thanks again for the responses so far that are honest and not my reg is better than yours.

Oceanic, Atomic, Apeks, AL, Scuba Pro and I am sure a few others I failed to mention make excellent stuff (if you like plastic crap, some people do I guess). The real question is parts availability, price and perhaps sometimes it is nice to dive the same equipment as your best buddies, that way y'all can mix, match, share and horde parts.

N

 

[Fishpie]

If you are looking for recommendations for specific brands and model that are towards the bottom end of a manufacturers line but have a similar performance to their top shelf models here's three for you:
AquaLung LX
Zeagle Envoy
Apeks US4 XTX20
All have balanced diaphragm 1st stages and balanced 2nds.

 

[firstdive2005]

You can buy a Bentley, you can buy a Mercedes Benz. To the discerned driver the Bent wins. Why? Well, it is constructed differently and has some very dialed up technology, you pay for that. Now the Benz has some pretty high end tech also. But if you can afford the Bent buy it because it's better as far a being incredibly picky with your butt being just a smidge more comfy. But to someone who has only ever been in a Dodge Neon well there wont be one bit of difference in performance.(not bashing neons here) When I got certified the lds that I did my cert at sold some good product. I was confused as to what to buy. All I ever heard was, 'What kind of diving do you want to do?' How the h@ll do I know. What kinds of diving do you go to and when do you know what type you are ready for? They would say' One day you will probably want to use Nitrox. You will probably want to go deeper than 130'. You will likely dive ice. Most definately you will go out to Vancouver Island and dive. Well I wanted to know how do you evolve to that. They gave me sage advice, just go diving, alot ya dumby. I thought about renting for my first couple of years but all the horror stories persuaded my otherwise. So I bought a set of really cheap regs as the owner of the lds would not lend me his high end ones to test on my first time out. They worked, I dove with them at Coz. It was like sucking air through a straw at depth. I assumed thats how it was suppose to be. Well across the road from my first lds is a shop that sells different regs etc. I went over there to see what the dark side was like. I talked to the owner he did not rip the regs I own he just said, 'When you go away again borrow mine and check to difference out. These cost 600$ at the time. Well when I was at 100fsw I was blown away at how easy it was to breathe. I made a decision to buy these the moment I got back. My whole dive experience was incredible because of these regs. I wish I had known that some dealers will lend or rent high end stuff for my trips. No one ever lets me test drive tools for my company so I assumed the same for this stuff. For me now, My Zeagle V1 regs are the cats meow.You know what, I dive with nitrox, I dive on the cold cost, and I ice dive. Go figure I didnt need to buy new regs to do all that stuff. The reg set I have is good enough for all that. They are environmentaly sealed, I think Canadian divers need to consider that. I have had oppurtunity to use other guys regs that cost the same. They breathed the same. Repairing and service was the same. I am soon going to more technical diving. My experience now is guiding me towards the type of reg that will suit the diving I am going to be doing. This was just my experience at finding my regs. So that being said, mine are better than yours, na na na na na na na. just kidding. no one said that yet. Believe me please this is not an advertisement for Zeagle if I had of walked into the Oceanic shop and the owner had lent me his high end regs, they would be on my shelf at home as I type. good diving to you. kevin

 

[John_B]

I was actually kinda hoping that some one who had experience with several brands would be able to make an honest non-baised comparision of the quality, since no one has been able to say that brand X mid-high end is better than brand Y I quess it is really a matter what feels better to that person.

Depending on what diving you do and where you plan to dive; different designs, brands, and models are certainly better than others.

Some brands have a great reputation for reliability. Some are reliable only in certain conditions.

Some have a better track record than others for supplying service kits (parts, o-rings, etc.) for older models. Will you still be able to get parts 5 or 10 years from now?

There are brands (even the better ones) that try to differentiate themselves by adding unnecessary gimmickry to some models.

No matter what brand you finally do go with, make sure that you can get them serviced, adjusted, etc. (and all at the same place).

 

[Hank658]

Local availability and service are very important. A Lamborghini might be a great car, but if the nearest shop that can tune it is 300 miles away then, well, you get the idea.

Ok, some specifics from personal experience. I have used mostly three brands for most of my diving, Mares, Oceanic, ScubaPro. So here's some thoughts on each, and please remember these are my observations and opinions only!!!.

Mares: solid construction. If I had to use a first stage to drive nails, an older Mares would do the trick. More metal in most of the second stages (not so much plastic, Nemrod!!) Not the easiest breather I have used and no external adjustments. Ease of breathing must be set by a tech, usually when serviced. Parts availability has been up and down over the years. Sometimes regs get stacked up waiting for kits to get back in stock with the distributor.

Oceanic: great customer service in addressing any issues. Solid performers. Most second stages feel a bit 'plasticky' to me. I currently have a Delta 4/FDX 10 combo. It's DIN, so I do not have the DVT. I like it fine and I know NOAA certified it for cold water. Usually no issues on parts kits. Also use an Alpha 8/SP5 on my deco bottle. Simple first stage. Second stage is ok, don't know if I'd want it for my primary, although I know people who use it as such and have no complaints.

ScubaPro: Solid, reliable performers. SP has moved back to including a metal barrel on the G250V. A bit more robust than plastic. Breathing performance is fantastic. I have to tune down my X650, full open it sometimes feels if it is giving me too much air, if that is possible! Service requires a bit more paperwork and you have a three month window (11th til 13th month) to keep the warranty in effect. The free parts for life is a significant savings. Especially if you end up owning multiple regs.

Please keep in mind that these are only my opinions. I have worked on other regs and have some thoughts on how they perform during a service or how well they hold up over time, but these are regs I have not personally used so they would just be observations. Put this info together with other responses you get ad make your own decisions. What I use should not dictate what is right for you.

Hope this helps a bit formernuke,

Hank

 

[Nemrod]

Regulators do not compare to cars but if they did the comparison would be more like GM. GM puts the same crap in all of their cars and then just sticks a decal on the side that says Buick or Oldsmobility or whatever. The same with most of these regs, look inside them and you see the same parts, so much so that it is often possible to convert the "top" model into the "lower" mode and vice versa, in fact, a lot of this crap comes out of the same factory where if the workers don't hustle the wind up in an "Our Bodies" display and their organs are harvested.

N

 

[Thalassamania]

Er ... I believe Oceanic regulators are made in a factory in San Leandro, CA. At least that's what I once observed when I went to their plant to pick up some submersible parts that were being made for Deep Ocean Engineering in the Oceanic machine shop.

 

[Thalassamania]

Regulators do not compare to cars but if they did the comparison would be more like GM. GM puts the same crap in all of their cars and then just sticks a decal on the side that says Buick or Oldsmobility or whatever. The same with most of these regs, look inside them and you see the same parts, so much so that it is often possible to convert the "top" model into the "lower" mode and vice versa, in fact, a lot of this crap comes out of the same factory where if the workers don't hustle the wind up in an "Our Bodies" display and their organs are harvested.

N

Er ... I believe Oceanic regulators are made in a factory in San Leandro, CA. At least that's what I once observed when I went to their plant to pick up some submersible parts that were being made for Deep Ocean Engineering in the Oceanic machine shop.

 

[Hank658]

Regulators do not compare to cars but if they did the comparison would be more like GM. GM puts the same crap in all of their cars and then just sticks a decal on the side that says Buick or Oldsmobility or whatever. The same with most of these regs, look inside them and you see the same parts, so much so that it is often possible to convert the "top" model into the "lower" mode and vice versa, in fact, a lot of this crap comes out of the same factory where if the workers don't hustle the wind up in an "Our Bodies" display and their organs are harvested.

N

Wasn't really trying to compare regulators to cars. My only point is that getting anything exotic, whether a car, appliance, computer or whatever might become a pain in the rear if it is not able to be serviced/fixed without going to the other side of the state.
And yes, I have seen many of the same parts in various regulators, not that different from GM.

 

[solowgregg]

In July of '07 Scubalab conducted a test in which they tried out regs made by Apeks, Aqualung, Mares, Scuba pro, and Atomic.

In the under $500 mark the Mare Proton 12 Metal took first with pretty impressive stats. I personally dive an Atomic and I love it. Breathes great and works well for everything I used it for. They also come with a 2year/300 service interval so you don't have to have it serviced annually, just inspected.