First Regulator after Certification

[salub2007]

HI
When you buy your first rig after certification what is the best regulator
to buy. Aqualung was suggested to me by my local dive shop, but for the money
does anyone have a suggestion. Don't just tell me which one to get, but why.
I am concerned that my reg. will be inferior even though I will only be going on 15-40
foot dives my first year. Well update me please with what is out there, I can special order anything through my shop for a discount. Thanks, Good Luck, and safe diving.
Best Wishes for 2009:cool2:
MJB

 

[Couv]

HI
When you buy your first rig after certification what is the best regulator
to buy. Aqualung was suggested to me by my local dive shop, but for the money
does anyone have a suggestion. Don't just tell me which one to get, but why.
I am concerned that my reg. will be inferior even though I will only be going on 15-40
foot dives my first year. Well update me please with what is out there, I can special order anything through my shop for a discount. Thanks, Good Luck, and safe diving.
Best Wishes for 2009:cool2:
MJB

Hello MJB,

Shortly, you will be swamped with advise about buying a regulator, mostly by people who own a brand and are very fond of it. One thing to keep in mind about regulators is that most are great at what they do. So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? That won't be easy, but it will be fun and entertaining. Soon you will find out there are quite a few gurus on this board in each section. It's helpful to pick out a few of them and read lots of their post and you will be off to a very good start. In the regulator section I can highly recommend the post of (in no particular order) Awap, DA Aquamaster, Captain, Pescador775 and Luis H ©Õhere are lots of others but that will keep you busy for a while.

At any rate, you want a regulator brand that has a good track record for keeping parts available for each model. Of course unless you intend to DIY, you also want a regulator that can be serviced by your local dive shop and lots of locations in the world. The two best companies in both regards are Aqualung and Scubapro.

My recommendation for the average recreational diver, i.e. not freezing water, 150 feet or less, is a simple non balanced piston 1st stage such as the Scuba Pro MK 2 (or Aqualung Calypso, Mares R2, Sherwood Brut and a few others.) This simple design is usually inexpensive, nearly bullet proof, easy to get parts for and easy and inexpensive to service. It is also easy to DIY because it requires only a few o-rings and a seat. Yes, the unbalanced design will increase the breathing effort at low tank pressure, but I view this as a good thing especially for new or inexperienced divers. See this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/87374-scuba-pro-r190-2.html

Additionally, if/when one wants to start more advanced diving where high concentrations of oxygen will be used this type regulator can be moved to that application.

For a second stage I like an adjustable and balanced unit. This allows the regulator to be tuned to minimum inhalation resistance with the option of the diver increasing the resistance it if he/she finds the need to. Having said that, a straight forward classic downstream design with a simple to replace set of o-rings and generic soft seat can be highly recommended; it is a tried and true design, parts are usually available and almost anyone can service them.

It is a good idea to have the same manufactures 1st and 2nd stage to make getting service less complicated.

For more demanding diving and high end/higher performance (higher price) regulators see the following link for DA's excellent advice.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/181745-advice-regulators.html


couv

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board, I would add Couv to the above list.

 

[kirikuru]

it all boils down to budget and serviceability. how much are you willing to spend and how easy it is to get it serviced. for a leisure diver, there is not that great a difference. it's a academic which 1st stage can support 20 or 75 ppl breathing from it .

sure, some are obviously smooth than others, there is no debate there, but at what depth and in what conditions? I agree with the above post on the MK2, - simple, easy to service, cost-effective, but go with your LDS to see what they use and service, that would be a good starting point.

do not get too hung up on the technical marketing literature. go with your intended path - nitrox? technical? doubles? etc. that is a better way to shortlist what you can get that will last you thru your diving life

i would also suggest testing as many options as you can get your hands on (rentals, loan from friends, etc) to get a good feel of what you like in reg. different ppl have different needs so it is best to find one that you are comfortable with and not what someone else loves.

good luck on your reg hunt

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

What price range are you looking at? You could probably get a regulator that would be safe and acceptable for as low as around $200.

I personally just bought this one: Zeagle Flathead VI Regulator reviews and discounts, Zeagle
Definitely more than you need as a beginner (although the easy breathing should make dives a bit more ejoyable), but it's an awesome price for that model (on closeout) and I figure then I won't need to buy a new reg for a long time.

Which model will largely be based on what individual posters like. Most brands seem to have solid reputations (it doesn't seem like scuba has many brands that are junk). They all basically make high end regs as well as economy ones. So decide what features you'd want / need, how much you're willing to spend, and I'd make the brand one of your last decisions.

 

[tfsails]

Couldn't give any better advice here than has already been dispensed if I tried. Just remember that NOBODY makes a lousy regulator. They're all good. The worst one you can buy is a good one.

 

[salub2007]

Thanks Guys so much!!! Those are awesome, awesome, posts to my thread.
You've got the wheels turning now... I know way more about what to look for now, other than my scuba shops advice on an entry level reg. I will take this advice and use it wisely. Knowledge is power, and hopefull because of this post i will choose a better reg for me, reguardless of the price.
THANKS<
MJB

 

[fnfalman]

Buy the best that you can afford.

 

[Jimmer]

Like others have said, there really aren't any "bad" regulators out there. Any of them will be capable of delivering breathing air to you at recreational depths. What you need to consider is things like cold water readiness if you're going to be diving in cold water, or if you think you'll go down the tech diving route, if that reg is good for tech diving either as backgas or a deco reg.

Two of my favourite regulators just happen to be on sale right now. My favourite high end reg is the Zeagle ZX-Flathead VI, which can be had for as low as $360. I use these as my backgas regs on my doubles. My favourite affordable reg is the Oceanic CDX5-Alpha 8, which Scubatoys has on sale for $145. I have a couple of these for single tank/travel regs for myself and my gf.

Oceanic Alpha 8 CDX5 regulator reviews and discounts, Oceanic

 

[nereas]

HI
When you buy your first rig after certification what is the best regulator
to buy. Aqualung was suggested to me by my local dive shop, but for the money
does anyone have a suggestion. Don't just tell me which one to get, but why.
I am concerned that my reg. will be inferior even though I will only be going on 15-40
foot dives my first year. Well update me please with what is out there, I can special order anything through my shop for a discount. Thanks, Good Luck, and safe diving.
Best Wishes for 2009:cool2:
MJB

For your first regulator, I recommend a ScubaPro Mark 2 with the R295.

ScubaPro Regulators: Find, Compare, Read Reviews & Buy Online @ Yahoo! Shopping

Cost is normally around US$ 200 for both.

This gives you a great regulator that you can enjoy for the rest of your life.

Or if you upgrade in the future, you can comfortably move this 1st stage to your argon bottle or to a pony or stage as well.