I thought MK25 was better for cold water than MK17? Anyway, I'm just wondering if there's really much of a difference between the two for my purposes?
--Kyle
The MK17 is a better cold water reg than the MK25, but unless you have a drysuit, you won't be in water even near the temps that would give the MK25 any trouble. Similarly, 120-130 ft is not considered deep in terms of placing a demand on regulators. I've used the MK2/R190 at that depth with zero problems, and that's the lowest-performing SP reg.
You might be overthinking this a bit; I suggest you go for the best deal. ALL regulators made and sold from major manufacturers are more than adequate for any recreational diving. If you don't want annoyances, please get the simplest set up you can; no swivel hose attachment, no anti-set feature, and definitely do not buy a DIN reg for the diving that you have described. That eliminates HOG, but their 'edge' line would be fine.
In terms of emergency service while on vacation in the caribbean, I believe that mares would be a good choice; there's a mares distributor on roatan and a large mares shop on cozumel. Generally speaking, I'm not familiar with specific mares regs.
In terms of service at home, please forget about the free(well, not really free) parts nonsense, forget the warranty, and just get the reg serviced when it needs it; probably about every 4 years for someone who takes a couple of trips a year, and cleans and stores the regulator well. Annual service on any decent reg is way overkill for a typical recreational diver. If you're doing 100+ dives/year, that's different.
The traveling issue is an interesting one. First and foremost, I believe you should choose dive gear based on how it performs while diving, not how it fits in luggage. I get a real chuckle out of someone who spends $1000 on a titanium reg with the 'reasoning' that they'll save $50 on baggage fees. How about taking one fewer pair of shoes instead, or ditching the 10lb suitcase for a light duffle? That said, it is nice to have a compact gear bag. Substituting braided hoses like miflex can cut down on the weight and bulk a bit. Buying a reasonable BC, like a small BP/W or one of the zeagle soft pack harness (tech express or something?) can help quite a bit too. And they're WAY better to dive with than the stupid life-jackets-with-tank-straps that populate most dive shops.
