...from my point of view
Start with performance, and there are two angles here that I consider
One is how easy it feels to breath, it needs to do so easily. We all have slightly different tastes in how that ease of breathing is delivered, some like major venturi, others not at all. I like a small amount of venturi but must be smooth, not harsh.
Other than WOB (work of breathing) I consider the gas flow, it affects WOB but a GREAT design will simply have the ability to move gobs of gas, as much as a tank valve will give it (something some manufs tend to avoid when touting their flow ability... LOL)[
Then I start to look at build quality, I want the thing to last and hold up to marine use, there are some brands that have a great look and performance that can't last 5 years in average use... that is wrong.
I then make sure I can use pretty standard tools, the goal is to make a great reg, not a complicated one. I admire people that can do complicated stuff..really. Not my approach however...
Thanks, you're the 1st(only) to try and answer the question, and you pointed in the direction one must look to determine what makes one reg better than another, all it's left is to quantify those areas, work of breathing, gas flow(quantity), gas flow turbulence(how harsh or smooth), moving parts(as in reliability), quality of materials used.
I believe the MK25/S600 is set to about 145 ip with a cracking point at 1.1 - 1.2 on the work of breathing, whatever those numbers means, and it has a flow of 300 ft3/min if I'm not wrong, that's a starting point, there are many other things we can measure.
Before the haters get all riled up and start jumping up and down, let me say that I picked the MK25/S600 simply because I know the numbers on that one and simply because Scubapro is the only company being picked on in these debates of reg quality, please feel free to insert your reg of choice there and we can start from there.
cerich, I must apologize to you, It is not my intention to do any harm to your company, I have no agenda and none of my posts are directed at you or your busyness, I have never used any of your gear and can't comment on it, my questions are to the people who make posts like
"you can buy (insert company name here) regulator
which is just as good as (insert company name here) regulators for half the price"
That
red bit there is what bothers me, not because I need to discredit it, I can't, I haven't touched a Hog, I'm simply asking for people to provide the basis for their claim, just as much of info on the one they are comparing it to, since they are agreeing on it being good, unfortunately, as someone pointed out, Hog owners get offended by it.
A valid reason I want to know this is that when I'm on a 300' wreck or several thousand feet back on a cave, I simply want to be on the best gear, if Hog is the best, I have no problem switching to it and would do it with no hesitation, some things, money can't buy.
To everyone - If you think I am trashing Hog, or defending Scubapro, please reconsider, I am explicitly saying that is not the case, it's simply a case of poor communication skills in my part, all I'm trying is to gather as much info to assist myself in better choices, that's all.
