Does anybody know anything about the cheap regulators from Hong Kong on eBay?

[timakempton]

Does anybody know anything about the cheap regulators from Hong Kong on eBay?

Scuba Snorkeling respirator level 2 pressure reducing valve /breathing regulator | eBay

Level 2 regulator Scuba Snorkeling reducers dive equipment respirator | eBay

Level 1 regulator pressure reducing valve Scuba Snorkeling silver-white color | eBay

Scuba Snorkeling breathing regulator level 1/2 adjustor corrosion resistance | eBay

Are they any good are they clones of something else curious for any info...

 

[GillScales]

Don't know anything about those regs in particular, but I'd bet you can't get parts or service from your local shop. You can still save lots of money buying a lightly used reg from a major manufacturer.
Currently on eBay, I'm seeing more zeagles than I normally do,likely due to their reworking of the lower end of their product line,a good bunch of zeagle users are upgrading to the new all black look. The older ones seem to use the same parts kits as the new, so you might want to look at zeagle if you're shopping eBay this year. I do have a zeagle envoy btw, it breathes nice and smooth at any depth,and would highly recommend one to anyone looking at used regs.

 

[chrpai]

I've ordered electronics and dive lights from Honk Kong without any problems but for regulators, I'd stick with things I've actually heard of and have had great reviews. Hogs are very well vetted and not much more money then the eBay links you provided.

 

[Tortuga68]

On principal I would refrain from buying a regulator from anyone who includes snorkeling in the product description

 

[timakempton]

I don't intend buying them but I have a friend that was suggesting he might his argument is that they are cheaper than a service of his current regs. My comment was that when you are relying on them for your very life you want to be really sure they won't let you down.
However I have bought camera gear from China and Hong Kong before that was identical to name brand products and had clearly come from the same factory that makes the name brand that was just as good so I am curious if this stuff is coming from a supplier to one of the name brands.

I also noticed that Tommy D Sports in Florida is selling them, they get mixed reviews on the forums some swear by them some sat they are cheap crap....

 

[Diver0001]

I don't intend buying them but I have a friend that was suggesting he might his argument is that they are cheaper than a service of his current regs.

So he's thinking about using them as disposable regs?

My comment was that when you are relying on them for your very life you want to be really sure they won't let you down.
However I have bought camera gear from China and Hong Kong before that was identical to name brand products and had clearly come from the same factory that makes the name brand that was just as good so I am curious if this stuff is coming from a supplier to one of the name brands.

I also noticed that Tommy D Sports in Florida is selling them, they get mixed reviews on the forums some swear by them some sat they are cheap crap....

Well.... they're cheap crap. I could have told you that by the title of your thread alone. You can visually see that they are unbalance piston 1st stages and (mostly likely) unbalanced downstream second stages with no cracking or venturi adjustment. Even without trying them I can tell you that breathing off of them, especially at depth, is going to be like sucking farts out of a whale's ass.

R..

 

[Scared Silly]

However I have bought camera gear from China and Hong Kong before that was identical to name brand products and had clearly come from the same factory that makes the name brand that was just as good so I am curious if this stuff is coming from a supplier to one of the name brands.

What you are buying is called counterfeit ... and while may look the same it is probably not and selling such items is illegal in most countries.

 

[chrpai]

I think you can certainly make an argument of buy, dive for 3-4 years and then sell for Hog regs. They are a known brand and will have a resale value. Calculate the Cap-Ex vs Op-Ex costs and it might make sense for your friend. It certainly makes sense for me.

As for a no-name Hong Kong reg... they don't claim to be any certain brand so it's not counterfeit and it may or may not be crap... no one here can fairly make that claim since no one here has actually took enough of these apart to get the data needed to claim that.

But one thing you can say is that they will have ZERO resale value for the same reasons above. So the buy, dive dive dive, sale argument is very, very risky. There's no way I'd do it.

---------- Post Merged at 10:53 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:47 AM ----------

One last thing. The pictures didn't load for me the other day but now they do. It's clear just by looking at the 1st stage that it's an unbalanced piston. Nothing wrong with that per say or certain diving but at $115 it's not competitive for what it is. I can get a Highland/XS Scuba unbalanced piston (DIN) from LeisurePro for $85. I can get an Aeries unbalanced piston with 2nd stage for $150 on LP. I can get a Sherwood Brute for $185. For what it is, the sherwood is wonderful and is used in rental fleets all over the world. Spend a little more and you are into balananced diagphram territory with adjustable second stages. (like the Hog)

I just see no reason at all to buy these regs off eBay.

 

[Slater]

Wait for Black Friday & buy some HOG regs, that way you will have some support if something goes wrong or need service...
Hogs wont be that much more & you will have peace of mind, far more superior than that crap youre looking at..
But then again, I hate ebay & will never make an ebay purchase let alone some inexpensive off-brand reg that supplies you air while in the water that you need to live...

 

[redacted]

It looks like buying them and then throwing them away would be the best plan. The only remaining unknown is how long the time between those steps will be. And the price is really not that good.