Guide to Mares regulators from 2000-2020

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I would hesitate on this particular listing. They look a little rough and this seller recently listed a regset with 2 Proton seconds that had completely destroyed faceplates. He not only failed to note the damage, he stated that he "did a simple operation check and checked for air leaks, but there were no problems."

Mine looks worse lol. Had a friend of mine take it apart and maintain it for me recently and I still love it.

I didn't see the seller's other listing though. Thanks.

 

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What's the eBay equivalent in the PI?

Would love it if I had such options...

 

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Actually, there's a chain retailer called Adventure Whitetip that really marks prices up and there's an actual Mares store a few hours away on Mactan Island not so far from the airport and they can get stuff and they do have people to service Mares equipment.

There are also two Spanish online retailers with very good prices who both ship (cheapish) internationally and tax free but the packages are then handed off to Philippine couriers who will have to pay import duties but they will almost always just let you pay that in cash upon delivery. Otherwise they'll contact you and give you options to pay it. Anyway they're called Diveinn and GIDIVE.

Half of Leisurepro's merchandise doesn't ship out of the US so I haven't checked with them in years. Shopee and Lazada are hit or miss on certain very popular items but generally don't carry much diving gear. Then there's Amazon which does work and will usually ship to the Philippines on most items but shipping can be quite expensive, however, they do charge the Philippine import duties right upfront and I haven't had problems when ordering from Amazon in the past such as getting shoes for my larger-than-Asian feet.

I have no aversion to ebay sellers like this.

 

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There's also a guy in Alona Beach who gets used gear, fixes it up, and sells it out of his shop for very reasonable prices.

 

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I think I can get a 15x/Dual in my hands for I think around 300 US dollars brand new, not that I am looking to buy it, just that is what the market looks like for me.

 

[Diver27]

Lets tackle your post section by section:

…

Hope that helps.

-Z

Definitely helping. Thank you very much. So for any air travel to nice and warm
places, the MR22 will stay at home, as already practised.

For the two second stages I will swap them regularly to just see if I may observe any difference (not expected by reading your post) or which one feels more comfortable.

Apart of that I‘ll stick to my two sets.

As English is not my mother tongue I am unfamiliar with the expression „workhorse of regulator“. What would be a non workhorse?

 

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Definitely helping. Thank you very much. So for any air travel to nice and warm
places, the MR22 will stay at home, as already practised.

For the two second stages I will swap them regularly to just see if I may observe any difference (not expected by reading your post) or which one feels more comfortable.

Apart of that I‘ll stick to my two sets.

As English is not my mother tongue I am unfamiliar with the expression „workhorse of regulator“. What would be a non workhorse?

It basically means reliable but not fancy and in general I find a lot of overlap between "workhorse" items and items you see being used as rental gear by diveshops. It's just descriptive and a generalization. It might even be endearing and I think something non workhorse would be an item you have a reason not to use such as wanting to put it in a display case or saving it for a special purpose or it being a piece of junk.

With that said, I use an MR22 abyss heavy type like yours in a warm place almost everyday and have been for years. I actually prefer it precisely because it is heavy. I find that by using rather heavy gear and a neutrally buoyant wetsuit I am able to reduce my need for removable lead weight down to a single 1 kilo on the waist strap of my harness. I use a Diverite bp/w with a steel bp and Mares avanti quad fins. The difference between my gear and my wife's gear is a few kilos but it doesn't really change how I travel.

I'm not suggesting you use your gear like I use mine unless you want half of Scubaboard criticizing you and calling you a cowboy, or maybe they won't, I don't really know or care. I don't exactly set my gear up according to what I learned in PADI courses but it is honestly the only difference I have ever seen that amount of weight making.

 

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In this context, workhorse means "something that is markedly useful, durable, or dependable".

This certainly applies to the 22 Abyss.

 

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From left to right: pre-2008 MR22 (Abyss), MR42, MR32. The MR32 with very minor changes became the post-2008 MR22.

 

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Actually, there's a chain retailer called Adventure Whitetip that really marks prices up and there's an actual Mares store a few hours away on Mactan Island not so far from the airport and they can get stuff and they do have people to service Mares equipment.

There are also two Spanish online retailers with very good prices who both ship (cheapish) internationally and tax free but the packages are then handed off to Philippine couriers who will have to pay import duties but they will almost always just let you pay that in cash upon delivery. Otherwise they'll contact you and give you options to pay it. Anyway they're called Diveinn and GIDIVE.

Half of Leisurepro's merchandise doesn't ship out of the US so I haven't checked with them in years. Shopee and Lazada are hit or miss on certain very popular items but generally don't carry much diving gear. Then there's Amazon which does work and will usually ship to the Philippines on most items but shipping can be quite expensive, however, they do charge the Philippine import duties right upfront and I haven't had problems when ordering from Amazon in the past such as getting shoes for my larger-than-Asian feet.

I have no aversion to ebay sellers like this.

Have you ever looked at yahoo.jp? Here's a current listing. I searched "Mares Abyss"

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/1114163999

FWIW, leisurepro had rebranded itself as scuba.com. They do a lot of selling over Amazon so you can go that route. But they've given up on grey market stuff entirely so no longer have unusually low prices.