First Reg Choice Apeks XL4+ vs Deep6 Signature

[Marie13]

Others have mentioned the service thing already so it's up to you self service (deep 6), local ( apeks) mail in (either one) unlikely when traveling you can get kits for deep 6 but chance destination shop won't touch them.

If going apeks I'd go for the xtx 50 with dst first. Very tried and true reg.

Yes, absolutely on XTX50 with DST first.

 

[Tournesol2000]

I own D6 regs. I am happy with them and their performance. I agree that LDS may not want to fix them if needed, but D6 have great customer service and care. When I asked Landon to clean and tune my regs (after owning them for 4 years) he went out of his way to help. I don’t like having to be forced to have my regs serviced every year with few dives done each year. It’s throwing money out the window. Also keep in mind that more and more people in Canada are owning D6 regs and know how to service them, so you can always get it done here as well. There is even a YouTube video out there.
Bottom line for me is that with cost being the same, go D6 and save money on annual serving, unless you dive very frequently.

 

[Bald Wookie]

The signature are PVD over chrome and hold up better than chrome only. Not sure how you connected that with second stage plastic, then connected further to Dive Rite regs, but all our seconds are different plastic than Dive Rite seconds. You won't break our seconds dropping when cold, unless you dipped them in liquid nitrogen first.

My experience with the chromed first stages was two regs where the chroming was chipping off around the LP ports. Not sure if it was a different model or what it was, maybe poor maintenance, but thats how it appeared to me.
My link to the second stage was simply that I see lots of regs that work well in warmer waters, like in Florida, and get away with a lower quality material, but do not work well in northern waters. The DiveRite was an example, where they are well used in Florida but the combination of cold and dropping makes them a bit of a liability up north.

I'm happy to hear that the 1st and 2nd stages are of a much higher quality than I first experienced.

 

[Bald Wookie]

It's interesting that they said that.. because they are really good at that. I have a couple of sets that I use on bailout and they are really good. The thing that would make them perfect is if the second stage was reversible.

I agree, nice small form factor.

 

[cerich]

My experience with the chromed first stages was two regs where the chroming was chipping off around the LP ports. Not sure if it was a different model or what it was, maybe poor maintenance, but thats how it appeared to me.
My link to the second stage was simply that I see lots of regs that work well in warmer waters, like in Florida, and get away with a lower quality material, but do not work well in northern waters. The DiveRite was an example, where they are well used in Florida but the combination of cold and dropping makes them a bit of a liability up north.

I'm happy to hear that the 1st and 2nd stages are of a much higher quality than I first experienced.

chips around the LP ports, on any brand reg is virtually always somebody using a fat adjustable wrench to put hoses on or take off, or just careless. The same folks also normally overtighten the hose, thinking the oring works by compression.. hint, it does not.

It's super common. I have seen thousands of regs with chips around ports in my 27 years in the industry. I have never judged build quality by it however.

 

[reefrat]

In reference to the weight of the second stages I have been told that the D6 Signature second stage is 285 grams. This is fairly substantial but not overly heavy- the same as a HOG classic (not a coincidence!?) and selection of a good supportive mouthpiece goes a long way to resolving second stage comfort issues. I have personally found "comfobites" from Aqualung (not Apeks) and the DGX moldable mouthpiece to work well with HOG second stages and I expect they would also with the D6.
I don't know what the XL4 weighs but it looks light, maybe as light as my old Aqualung Titan LX which is the most comfortable second stage I've ever owned- including an Atomic T2X.

 

[Bald Wookie]

chips around the LP ports, on any brand reg is virtually always somebody using a fat adjustable wrench to put hoses on or take off, or just careless. The same folks also normally overtighten the hose, thinking the oring works by compression.. hint, it does not.

It's super common. I have seen thousands of regs with chips around ports in my 27 years in the industry. I have never judged build quality by it however.

I've seen it on other regs too. It was notable for these because the owner had other regs that weren't damaged, they were all serviced by us, and both first stages were damaged in the same place.

Just an observation I took while servicing.

 

[NothingClever]

Fan of the Comfo-Bite, all my regs.

Haven’t noticed my Sig Series weighing any more than my DR XT and Zeagle regs.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Others have mentioned the service thing already so it's up to you self service (deep 6), local ( apeks) mail in (either one) unlikely when traveling you can get kits for deep 6 but chance destination shop won't touch them.

If you are on vacation and your reg needs services, assuming that they have a service kit, are you going to trust someone with whom you have no history to work on your regs? I'd rather bring a backup set.

 

[scubadada]

If you are on vacation and your reg needs services, assuming that they have a service kit, are you going to trust someone with whom you have no history to work on your regs? I'd rather bring a backup set.

Oh, come on man, how many of us take a backup reg set on a vacation? I guess you do, is that right?