Hey SCUBA gear heads - best regulator for under $1,000 = ?

[Darghu]

But where do you buy those parts - cause right now everywhere I check we need to be a Apeks / whatever Technician certified.
I made that for example :
http://prntscr.com/fr5tsb

I know which parts and can calculate how much I will need during 5 years for example, it would be better to service myself right ?

 

[oldschoolto]

But where do you buy those parts - cause right now everywhere I check we need to be a Apeks / whatever Technician certified.
I made that for example :
http://prntscr.com/fr5tsb

I know which parts and can calculate how much I will need during 5 years for example, it would be better to service myself right ?

Yes, learning to fix and tune is not the big part... Finding a source for parts is... that's why so many of us use regulators that are parts friendly on the open market.. Vintage Double Hose is very good at parts.. I don't have a Apeks regulator so I can't help with that.. Some guys have a in on factory parts and will slip some to the gray market or friends..

Jim...

 

[BoltSnap]

@Darghu I argue that the whole claim of worldwide service is bullsh!t. While it is true that Aqualung and Scubapro have a vast global network of dealers and service centers, the question I have is whether it is worthwhile to use them.
Do you pay a really steep premium for rush service?
Do you trust the people that are servicing your regulators in a rushed manner?
Will the shop have the parts in stock?
Are you going to lose a dive and/or have to rent a regulator in order to not miss the next days dive?

With all of that, buy a doubles reg set so you have an extra first stage. Bring an adjustable wrench and IP gauge with you when you travel. If your first stage decides it has had enough, then in 3 minutes you can have the reg purged, removed from the tank, the hoses swapped over and be ready to dive.

If you buy an Atomic, you don't have to worry about reliability or the need to carry spares

 

[tbone1004]

If you buy an Atomic, you don't have to worry about reliability or the need to carry spares

my Poseidon's have yet give me an issue that would require an immediate rebuild. No catastrophic failures, but it's cheap insurance policy

 

[Dave Bevan]

I just sold my atomics. i prefer the scubapro regs.

Also the thing about Halcyon regs is pretty pointless because they are the same price anyway so just buy the scubapro version.

 

[buddhasummer]

Every reg I've ever owned in almost 20 years I've been able to get official parts for from an LDS or online store. I once tried to buy some kits online was advised they were not allowed to ship to Japan, gave them a phone call, an international one, the staff member I spoke with removed the address block for 30 minutes to allow me to order the kits. The trick is to get to know them and them you, sound like you know what you're talking about and hopefully you do. Someone somewhere will sell you parts. Well, that's certainly been my experience anyway. There's always eBay but they are on my naughty list. Good luck.

 

[buddhasummer]

I will add only having one model of first and second or ones that share parts makes life a lot easier. I'm shopping all over the world to get the kits/parts I need. Last year my credit card was stopped by the company as they thought it was being fraudulently used given multiple international location purchases, I asked them if they'd heard of online shopping and the internet.

 

[Centrals]

But where do you buy those parts - cause right now everywhere I check we need to be a Apeks / whatever Technician certified.
I made that for example :
http://prntscr.com/fr5tsb

I know which parts and can calculate how much I will need during 5 years for example, it would be better to service myself right ?

Deepstop - Diveshop for scuba divers - Deepstop GmbH
The ONLY Specialist Apeks Site in the UK. In stock for fast despatch.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

So to be clear are Halcyon regulators just a re-stamped Scubapros?

R..

Halcyon and Scubapro developed an agreement several years ago where Scuabpro would sell rebranded Halcyon back plates (and wings, but Scubapro made some not so great changes to them) while Halcyon would sell the Mk 17 and Mk 25 first stages and the G250V and R390 second stages with some minor cosmetic changes.

Scubapro designs it's own regulators and holds the patents on them, but farms out the manufacturing of the actual parts to Tabata. That makes sense as Tabata has state of the art manufacturing facilities that would not be economical for Scubapro to acquire and maintain with the just the volume of Scubapro regulators that are produced.

There are in fact just a few companies that actually make scuba regulators. Tibet, Sherwood, Beuchat and Poseidon are three companies that come to mind that actually make their own regulators. Most of the rest of the brands either contract out the manufacture of their own designs, or sell someone else's design under license.

Tabata has made Scubapro regulators for 3 or 4 decades now. They were made by Beuchat in the early years of the company, and the Jet Fin was first made by Beuchat and sold under the Beuchat brand). As part of this arrangement, Tabata has from time to time produced Scubapro designed regulators with some cosmetic changes for marketing as TUSA regulators (TUSA stands for Tabata USA). The Tusa Duo Air is a great example as it was an Air 2 with a TUSA label and some re-stying - the internal parts were identical. The Mk 5 was sold by Tusa for years (and in fact the Mk 5 was sold by a number of companies and was one of the most prevalent first stages on the market in the 1970s and 1989s. More recently TUSA sold a rebadged version of the the Mk 16 R390.

Currently Tusa sells the RS-790 which is a rebadged MK 17, and the RS-700 which is a rebadged S-360. The R-1000 is a rebadged Mk 11, and the S001 is a rebadged R-390. The RS-812S second stage is a rebadged S-600, and the SS-11 is a rebadged C-200.

The arrangement between Halcyon and Scuabpro essentially means that Halcyon has Tabata make Scubapro regulators with some cosmetic alterations to market them as Halcyon regulators.

The H-75P is a Mk 25 (pre EVO) and the H-50D is a pre EVO Mk 17. The Halo second stage is a G-250V and the Aura second Stage is an R-390. The differences are minor cosmetic changes. The internal parts and servicing are identical, and the rest of the parts are fully interchangeable. That's good news also if you want a G250V as you can still get it through Halcyon even though it's been discontinued by Scubapro.

 

[Bob DBF]

Tabata has made Scubapro regulators for 3 or 4 decades now. They were made by Beuchat in the early years of the company, and the Jet Fin was first made by Beuchat and sold under the Beuchat brand).

And back when Scuba Pro was a Healthways reg, the parts, if not the whole reg, was manufactured by Sherwood. How little things change over time.


Bob