HOG Comparable Regs

[JohnoAU]

Hi All,

I'm looking at purchasing my first set of regulators, and was hoping for some help comparing regulator features etc, forgetting price for the moment, so I can better evaluate my options.

HOG Gear is getting very good reviews here at SB, but may be a little difficult for me to get serviced locally or while traveling (likely SE Asia).

So what regulators from the brands that are stocked locally are comparable to the HOG D1 Cold First Stage and HOG Classic Second Stages?

Locally stocked brands: Apek, Atomic, Halcyon, Oceanic, ScubaPro

Thanks for your help.

Johno

 

[rsingler]

Hi All,

So what regulators from the brands that are stocked locally are comparable to the HOG D1 Cold First Stage and HOG Classic Second Stages?

Locally stocked brands: Apek, Atomic, Halcyon, Oceanic, ScubaPro

Thanks for your help.

Johno

Apeks for the first stage and Scubapro for the second stage are the closest in design from your list.
HOG is popular on this forum because it caters to divers who like to take apart their own gear. I own HOG, among about six other brands. It's fine, but the build quality and thickness of the plastic in the second stage is a little light. But it works fine.
If you're going to fix your own stuff (NOT something I would recommend to you) then HOG is great because you can get parts without going through a local dive shop.

But in terms of choosing quality gear, each of Apeks, Atomic and Scubapro are great. Looking long term, and I'll catch some flak for this, I'd say Atomic is on the rise, Apeks is stable and dependable, and Scubapro is a little overpriced and has pissed people off in the last decade, despite its quality.

If you dive water that sometimes goes below 50F, buy Apeks. If you want great quality for a reasonable price, but an Atomic Z2.

But then, in about the next 5 posts, you'll get 5 different opinions.

Bottom line, I'm not convinced that my HOG second stage will last the 25 years that my Scubapro G-250 has.

Have fun choosing! It's all good!

 

[Centrals]

Apeks eg. DS4/XTX50, the 200 series is expensive and not offering any improvement over its cheaper brother.
Easy to service(DIY).

 

[Fishpie]

The HOG is a faithful copy of the Apeks DST ATX50.

 

[robertarak]

Hi Johno,

If you, "forgetting price for the moment", it takes away HOG's advantage. All the regulator manufactures you listed build great regulators. HOG stands out, IMHO, due to their value and customer service. They are just as well made, as good, reliable, (insert adjective) as any other major brand regulator (ok, there are some bench reports the suggest the new HOGs are just a tad better the others), but simply do it for less money.

I own Apeks, Atomic, and HOG. Check out ebay soon for my listings of my Apeks and Atomics.

 

[chrpai]

Can you get a MK19 in Australia or is that Europe only?

 

[bumcikaz]

Hi Johno,

If you, "forgetting price for the moment", it takes away HOG's advantage. All the regulator manufactures you listed build great regulators. HOG stands out, IMHO, due to their value and customer service. They are just as well made, as good, reliable, (insert adjective) as any other major brand regulator (ok, there are some bench reports the suggest the new HOGs are just a tad better the others), but simply do it for less money.

I own Apeks, Atomic, and HOG. Check out ebay soon for my listings of my Apeks and Atomics.

What models of aa and apeks u will be selling?

 

[robertarak]

ATX 40/50, DST. Several of each. Used for stage and deco regs.
For the AA, I have a few. Z1, Z2, B2, M1.

Switching everything to HOGs

 

[muzikbiz22]

ATX 40/50, DST. Several of each. Used for stage and deco regs.
For the AA, I have a few. Z1, Z2, B2, M1.

Switching everything to HOGs

ATX40/50 2nd stage only ??

 

[JohnoAU]

Can you get a MK19 in Australia or is that Europe only?

AS far as I can tell, no. MK11, MK17 and MK25s