Help me pick a regulator

[SterlingDiver]

I have dived and owned several brands of regulators. I have settled into very comfortably Apeks. For most, the XTX50 is a great choice. The XTX 200 is a wonderful reg., but not worth the extra investment for a rec. diver, in my opinion.

My .02. Good luck in your deliberations.

Dave

 

[Miller64]

I decided to get into diving awhile back,and even tho I plan on and am in the process of taking a few extra training classes,I will in most likely hood,be a recreational ,warm water,>55 degrees diver.For now,couple of years.I will be mostly in the southern states lakes and quarrys,ARK,ALA,TENN... and starting out a few Florida ocean dives..Anyway,I decided to get in not cheap,but not all out expensive either and found what I considered a good package deal .The BC,reg,octo,and Aeris XR2 console.
It's the AT400 reg (1st stage)with ,what it says on the housing,Atmos Sport second.the mouth piece.I guess thats how Aeris put this package together as mated reg and second.I see alot about the other higher end regs,not much about the seconds tho,and I was just wanting to see if this is a decent,reliable setup.I;m just getting used to using SB,to finding threads already there,without asking the same questions over and over.I thank you for your opinions and info.Seems the AT4oo is a good reg for me right now,and hope the second that came with it is as good.But,,do you think I might want to upgrade to a better second? ..thoughts,,ideas?
And while I;m here,I gotta ask,,,,when you buy a regulator,be it Apeks,Zeagle,ect,does it always come with a hose and matched second,is that always part of it? Again,thanks

 

[martzak]

Most regulators come in a matching set of 1st and 2nd stage. But you can also buy a 1st or a 2nd stage by itself at some LDSs and online stores in which case you can mix and match the 1st and 2nd stage. If you're a beginner, I would advise not to do the later. The reason being the IP on the 1st stage may not match your 2nd's spec'ed IP for optimum performance. In my setup, CDX-5 and aqualung LX second, I got lucky and my second stage works great, although it may be more prone to free-flow as the IP on my CDX-5 is set pretty high, 145psi. But that's beside the point.
If the package you're looking at has an Aeris 1st AT400 coupled with an Atmos sport, it will work just fine for the places you plan to be diving. I can assure you that unless you're planning on doing any winter diving up north, or tech diving this regulator will do the job very well.
The best thing for you to do is to start diving as soon as possible, so you can find out for sure if this is something you really want to get into, before you drop a boat load of money on gear...just a friendly tip.
Happy diving.

 

[Miller64]

Thanks,,that answers my questions.I had already bought the Aeris package before I started OW class.Thought I would need my own and liked it that way. As everyone knows,The LDS was not happy.I used my own equipment for the ow cert dives and everything seemed to work great. have done a couple of dives since,down to 40 ft,but mostly alot of pool practice til better weather gets here and it all works well.My main question was ,is this a good,reliable reg and second and now I have the answer and I thank you.And yes,,I plan to continue diveing and I;m sure later I may move up to more,or better,,,but for now this is fine.Thanks agin for your info and opinion....

 

[martzak]

No problem. I'm glad I could help. Have fun diving.

 

[Miller64]

keep checking back,,,I'm sure I;ll have more questions and opinions and advise from / for you

 

[msg]

I dive with a Scubapro MK20 with a D400. Like the reg and have had no problems in the four years that I have had it. It was given to me by a dive instructor that had put lots of dives on it. I have also had the priviledge to use the Atomic reg with the B1 second. It is a nice reg, performs well. Used it in water down to 48 degrees -- no problems.
Good luck in sorting through all of the opinions.

 

[Miller64]

My job allows me plenty of time off and alot of places kinda close to me,so when the weather gets better,I'll have time to put what I have to much use.From what I have been told,it is adequate for my needs and diving for now.Just fun and learning,nothing serious for awhile.I wont be doing any 48 degree water for awhile,by then ,I will hopefully have more knowledge about regs and such.Thanks for the info ,it,s names I hear alot,so some are sticking in my memory for later considerations.But more opinions and such are still welcome,like to hear more on what I have ,if anyone else has or uses it,,,,what anyone uses,from new to experienced.I know there are many threads on this and I try to sift thru as much as I can.

 

[martzak]

will do.

 

[Miller64]

you ever get to mermet? quarry?