jrtonkin once bubbled...
When I asked one of the LDSs for recommendations, this was what they suggested. However, it doesn't seem to be one of the popular makes/models on the board, so I was wondering what people had to say about them.
Currently I'm a beginning diver, but eventually I figure I'll be diving very cold (since it's ice-diving, or relegate scuba to a summer-only sport), and possibly deep (where most of the good wrecks seem to be), and not having to replace the reg would be a nice thing.
Thanks for any opinions and advice,
Jamie
I've heard that this reg is either a re-stamped Oceanic Delta or that Oceanic makes these regs for Genesis.
Genesis stuff is probably ok (just like Oceanic stuff). You don't hear a lot of bad things about them but you don't hear much good about them either. In fact you don't hear much about them at all outside N. America. I'm a Canadian too and I live in Holland. In Europe, Genesis scuba simply doesn't exist and it's next to impossible to get thier stuff serviced. I have a Genesis computer and when something happened to it I had to mail it back to Calgary to get it serviced (had *major* problems with Dutch customs) because nobody here had a clue what it was or what to do with it. If you're planning on ever traveling with your stuff, then you should look at serious global manufacturers like Scubapro, Aqualung or Apeks (or even Oceanic, Mares etc). Getting Genesis equipment serviced over-seas is difficult and if you want warranty service then it's impossible.
Aqualung, for example, (I'm biased, I've been using Aqualung regs for a dog's age), is a serious world player who makes a really good range of regulators including ice models. Their regs start from simple, indestructable and affordable and cover the whole range up to and including some of the best regulators ever made.
I haven't tried everything on the market yet but I have a few more opinions for you:
Scubapro also has a history of excellence. They make some good regulators and even some truly outstanding ones but their most recent designs are more full of O-rings than the space-shuttle. They can have little irritating IP creep problems and are harder than Aqualung regs to service yourself if you do such things.
Sherwood are also well known in Canada but I wouldn't buy one as a primary reg. The Sherwood 1sts are as solid as a hammer. I use a Sherwood with a detuned Maximus as an octopus for that very reason (I use a Y valve) but I personally can't stand the Sherwood 2nd's lack of adjustability for a primary reg. Even their Maximus (their best 2nd) isn't as good as some of Aqualung's mid-range 2nd's.
Apeks make excellent regulators but they breathe wet, as in gargle-in-your-reg wet, if you turn them upside down. I'm hard to please on this front but Aqualung regs don't do this and it made the choice between Apeks and Aqualung easy. Moreover, I personally can't see any logic or line of reasoning in their product line. It seems random to me and there doesn't seem to be much difference between their various products (which are, admittedly, all very good). It makes it hard to choose the "right" Apeks reg unless you already know a lot about them. Many of the posts you read about Apeks regs seem to revolve around this issue, so I can't be the only one.
Aside from this there are lots of regs I've never tried. I wouldn't write off anything I didn't mention. It just means I don't know anything about it.
R..
