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

[rhwestfall]

keep in mind, just spending money doesn't get you a great breathing reg. A competent tech to tune it properly is paramount. They don't necessarily always come from the factory correctly set up....

FWIW, at modest recreational depth, you should be hard pressed to really notice the difference on just about any main-line regulator out there.

I also wouldn't hesitate to go with Deep6, DiveRite, and HOG, and consider them equals to the high profile companies. The savings can be spent on more diving, which is the end goal.

 

[Scuba Scott]

The sky is pretty much the limit with your budget and everyone mentioned some pretty good choices already. You really need to consider where your reg will be serviced. I would not consider a regulator without a local dealer and that's how I would start to narrow your choices.
That being said, HOG is going to be the best bang for your buck. Great quality, great performance, great price. If you don't have a local dealer you still have the option of mailing them off for service. I prefer a local dealer.

 

[halocline]

I have no idea why a brand new diver would benefit from spending $1000 on a regulator. Actually that's my opinion for pretty much all divers.....

I use a MK10/D300 that cost $84 as my primary cave diving regulator. There is no appreciable performance improvement from that. New expensive regulators have one thing to offer, that's hype. But it's your money and spend it as you wish.

 

[kelemvor]

I would go Atomic over Scubapro. I bought scubapro and found that they decided to renege on the parts for life program they gave me with the regulator.

 

[guruboy]

Atomic doesn't give free parts either.

 

[Lorenzoid]

keep in mind, just spending money doesn't get you a great breathing reg. A competent tech to tune it properly is paramount. They don't necessarily always come from the factory correctly set up....

FWIW, at modest recreational depth, you should be hard pressed to really notice the difference on just about any main-line regulator out there.

I also wouldn't hesitate to go with Deep6, DiveRite, and HOG, and consider them equals to the high profile companies. The savings can be spent on more diving, which is the end goal.

This. I have never owned piston regs, so bear in mind I am just repeating what I've been told here. As it was explained to me, a piston reg is like a Ferrari--when it's tuned, its performance can't be beat, but it tends to go out of tune quickly--whereas a diaphragm reg is a less finicky workhorse like a classic Honda or Toyota.

As I have never owned or breathed a piston reg, I can't speak to whether I would notice the difference. I, too, have been led to believe I wouldn't notice a difference on a typical 60-100 foot dive. But if so-called work-of-breathing really is important to a prospective buyer, I would recommend trying out various regs and seeing for yourself if you can tell the difference. Don't do as I did and just make a decision based on what people repeat on the Internet!

 

[tbone1004]

@sarahlee first question. under $1k complete regulator system, or under $1k first and second stage? for regulator system, you aren't going to get most of the top end regs, especially with a matching octo

breathe like budda? feels like it isn't there? Argonaut Kraken. All in with secondary and SPG for $740. Has lower WoB than just about any reg on the market, is easily serviced, parts are available, and it looks bada$$. Downside? it's a double hose and people will probably look at you funny, but it's super slick.

For my money, right now. Deep6 gets the nod. I would get a doubles package since you have a spare first stage if you travel and something goes sideways. It's not that much more money, but it saves you from rush charges for immediate service and rental regs. Sealed diaphragm means more forgiving cleaning process for the salty stuff, and the reg breathes as well or better than any other of that style regulator I've tried, including Scubapro and Atomic. Apeks IME doesn't breathe as well as the others for some reason, but it may just be something in my head
Deep 6 Signature Double Tank Regulator Package - Regulator Packages - Regulators

@Lorenzoid on the piston thing. The first stages are going to flow more than the valves these days anyway. With a well tuned second stage you shouldn't be able to see any difference when changing from a high end piston to a high end diaphragm. Don't compare a MK2 from Scubapro to a Poseidon MK3, but if you compare a MK25 to the Deep6 regulators or anything like that you won't see any real difference so long as the second stages are tuned properly

My experience with pistons is that they tend not to go out of whack very easily. Parts are stupid expensive if you botch service or cleaning though, new pistons from Scubapro are $$$$ but they are not considered consumables

 

[KeithG]

As already hinted at: it's all about servicing. Cost, convenience and competence.

Do you want (are you capable? ) to service your own regs? If not, that's OK. If you do, then how do you get parts?

If not,Do not be blindly fooled by "parts for life" marketing. Make sure you understand the cost of compliance with these schemes.

There are lots of threads about people paying way too much for service. Some of the threads suggest it is cheaper to get new HOGs every few years and never ever service.

YMMV.

 

[BoltSnap]

I have never owned piston regs, so bear in mind I am just repeating what I've been told here. As it was explained to me, a piston reg is like a Ferrari--when it's tuned, its performance can't be beat, but it tends to go out of tune quickly--whereas a diaphragm reg is a less finicky workhorse like a classic Honda or Toyota.

Is this why the MK2, the lowest end SP piston regulator, is workhorse regulator for dive center since the 60's??

We have Atomic and SP regulators in our dive school training/rental equipment fleet and they are the best performing and most reliable regulators compare with the other brands that are diaphragm first stages. We are phasing out other brands from our regulator fleet.

 

[tbone1004]

@giffenk the hog regs were certainly the case when you could get a D1/Classic for $200 and couldn't DIY service for whatever reason. Those are no longer available.

The Deep6 DGX series is basically the same regulator and is $250 for the set. Parts to service that are $50. If you have to pay someone to do it, I've seen it as low as $60, or as high as $105 to service. I know that those regs can easily go 5 years between service so you may decide that at the end of the day you can sell those regs for $100 needing service, and pay $0-$50 to have a brand new regulator. The guy that bought the reg for $100 is probably going to DIY and he saved $100 on the cost of the reg so everyone is happy.