Dive Rite Sidemount Packages any good?

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Hi friends,

I'm shopping for a complete sidemount regulator package and came across what seems to be a good deal on Dive Rite brand equipment! Anyone familiar with the two first setups listed on the site below by Dive Rite are they any good? It would be mostly for wreck diving air/nitrox. I'm just not very familiar with Dive Rite regulators... I like the price $549 or the $649. I had a nice set of Apeks regulators but they got destroyed in a fire last fall so I have to get a new set but can't afford the $1500 tag....

Here's the link: https://www.divegearexpress.com/sidemount/regs.shtml

Thank you for your help!

{Peter

 

[Colliam7]

I'm shopping for a complete sidemount regulator package and came across what seems to be a good deal on Dive Rite brand equipment! Anyone familiar with the two first setups listed on the site below by Dive Rite are they any good?

It is a reasonable package. I have used (but do not own) a set of the DR regulators on several deep (~160 ft) dives, and found that they performed well - easy breathing, etc. I had no complaints.

The DR package is good for SM - turret first stages with 5th port option. For the price, a pretty good deal.

 

[victorzamora]

That's a pretty good deal on those, and they're very good regs. One thing I'll mention is that the turrets are a little wonky and won't allow the hoses on them to rotate past them while diving SM. Hog has fixed that and extended the turret a bit, and they work great. If I were you, I'd buy these regs instead. Dive Rite and Hog are practically identical (along with Hollis, they're all made by the same guys) in all appreciable ways. One difference is you can get Hog replacement parts as a diver without being affiliated with a shop as a certified technician. This was SUPER important to me as well. The "Coldwater" upgrade is worth it, to me, because it seals the first stage from water intrusion....which is worth its weight in gold to me.

 

[tbone1004]

The XT series has the option of reversing your second stages similar to the XTX series from Apeks.

Hog may also be worth considering. Probably worth a call to the sidemount guru's in Marianna and see what specials they are running on a full package. Edd and the rest of them down there are great to work with and definitely at the forefront of what is going on. They are also running some insane package deals if you haven't gotten a rig yet. Right around $1k for regs and bc....

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

The XT series has the option of reversing your second stages similar to the XTX series from Apeks.

Hog may also be worth considering. Probably worth a call to the sidemount guru's in Marianna and see what specials they are running on a full package. Edd and the rest of them down there are great to work with and definitely at the forefront of what is going on. They are also running some insane package deals if you haven't gotten a rig yet. Right around $1k for regs and bc....

Do you know what their website is??

 

[tbone1004]

good brother Victor linked one of them, but here's a few others

Regulator only packages
Cave Adventurers - Sidemount Regulator Packages - Regulators - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!

Reg and Rig packages
Cave Adventurers - Sidemount Complete Packages - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!

They had one with the SMS75 but it's not on the site, I'm sure if you called the shop they'd tell you what it is. Tell them Victor sent you, may help grease the wheels a bit.

 

[rhwestfall]

Cave Adventurers - Home page - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!

---------- Post added January 5th, 2015 at 04:38 PM ----------

I'd also check with Lapenta here on SB (HOG) if you want to explore that brand.

---------- Post added January 5th, 2015 at 04:39 PM ----------

Welcome to UDM Aquatic Services - Scuba Training in Washington County Pa though I'd suggest calling him directly.

 

[Patoux01]

I dive the dive rite XT package from DGX, and have to say they're nice for the price. However:
- As stated, once the hoses are in place, the turret wont swivel completely if there are 2 hoses on it (eg single tank SM), which leads you to stupid things such as "Oh ****, I put my short hose downwards" and then you have to take the 1st stage off, turn the turret (and it will bump against the handwheel as well), and put the 1st stage on again. Easy when you think of it, but god do you feel stupid.
- The anodization (not sure that's the english word, but the black color ) goes off VERY easily. Mine have less than 30 dives and are completely scratched. Same goes for the handwheel that ends up not being as smooth to put on a tank as my Apeks set.
- The WOB is clearly higher on my DR kit that on my Apeks, I tried it a few days ago and damn, that FST + xtx100 did breathe like a charm. Both haven't been serviced and have roughly same amount of dives (bought new, 15 dives on apeks, 25 on DR)
- Depending where you are located, servicing might be a pain in the *** and HOG might be the way to go then.

From what I've been told, DR is a fair step higher than Tecline in terms of performance, and I use to think of HOG as "the american Tecline". Might be worth trying both out.
I have read somewhere here that the RG3 2nd stage isn't as good as the XT. However, it has the perk of being available for service easily (if I understood this page correctly).

Hope this helps. I haven't tried HOG nor Tecline, this is only what I've heard/read.

 

[tbone1004]

quite a bit of misinformation in that above post.

1. correct, Hog D3/Zenith is the only diaphragm turret I'm aware of that has this feature. Not sure about the Scubapro MK25 turret, but I wouldn't dive an unsealed Piston, and isn't in this discussion

2. anodizing is used for aluminum, the black on these is part of the trivalent chroming process. Hog has done this very well and actually has a superior chroming process to Apeks.

3. that is because they haven't been tuned correctly. Has nothing to do with the Apeks being higher quality or not, simply the Dive Rites may or may not have been tuned properly and matched to the first stages prior to being sold. Not a big deal, a crescent wrench and flathead screw driver and a bit of finesse can fix that

4. Dive Rite will be generally be easier to get serviced than Hog due to their wider dealer network, though service kits are available for both regulators. Hog service techs are becoming more widespread, so it is less of an issue. Not sure of availability of XT parts kits, I get them straight from Dive Rite, but apparently they aren't easily available to consumers, so if that's important, then get the Hogs

Tecline is likely buying their regulators from ODS, which is the same company that makes Hog, Hollis, DiveRite, and quite a few other regulators on the market. Quality is all about the same, and performance differences if tuned properly can't be detected by humans.

The upgrade to the XT is comparable to when Apeks released the XTX, slightly better performance, but not really noticeable, and really just an aesthetic change, while an improvement, it is not worth upgrading to the XT if you already have RG3's. For this, I'd take the XT's even at the price bump, mainly because the first stage is a bit better, and the regs are reversible which while you may or may not use it, better to have and not need, than need and not have.

Best to call Cave Adventurers since they stock and sell both the Hog and Dive Rite regs, though don't be surprised when you end up pulling the trigger on a D3/Zenith set

 

[str8dum]

I have both the hollis and DR sidemount sets. Both breathe great. Like others have mentioned you have 360 the turret with 2 hoses attached (single tank), but thats easy enough to orientate properly.