There are Aqualung dealers in Greatfalls, Missoula and Bozeman - which puts Helena pretty much squarely in the middle where you have to drive 80-100 miles to anywhere else. But it is really pretty there.
Not all Aqualung dealers sell Apeks regs or service them, so I'd call them each before going if your heart is set on Apeks. Personally, I am not overly enamored with Apeks regs as the "overbalanced" feature is both BS and an artifact of a design flaw in the dry sealed chamber design. If a reg has adequate flow rate in the first place, boosting the IP slightly at depth will not provide any noticeable improvement. What it will do is either require you to detune the downstream design balanced second stage at shallower depths so that it does not freeflow at depth with the increased IP, or reduce the degree of downstream nias in the design - which can cause safety problems in the event your unused back up reg has a leaking HP seat.
That said if I coud not get a Scubapro Mk 17/G250V, I would consider an Aqualung Legend or an XTX50 in that order. Aqualung uses a poppet in the LX that is almost a clone of the the old Scuabpro two piece plastic and metal poppet, but it is made out of one piece of molded plastic, similar to the new and much more streamlined Scubapro S-wing poppet, so it breathes a lot like a G250 with the older poppet installed.
I like the concept behind the Tec 3 set (dedicated to doubls applications with 3 LP ports per side of each first stage) but on the other hand I prefer to swap my primary and secondary first stages mid season to even out the cycles and wear and that is not an option with the Tec 3 system.
There is also a Scubapro dealer in Missoula.
Gull Dive Center
2601 W Broadway
Missoula, MT 59801
Phone: (406) 549-6169
My preference for technical diving is the Scubapro M17 G250V. I switched to the Mk 17 3 or 4 years ago when they first came out and I have had zero problems with any of the three I own. Scubapro tested the Mk 17 at 165 ft with high flow rates in 35 degree water for 200 minutes with no freeze up or failure and it was the only reg of any brand to complete the test. Based on that
and on my extensive deep and cold water expience (western SD and Great Lakes) experience prior to transfering to VA 18 months ago, it is I think the best cold water first stage currently available. Here in VA 46 degrees counts as "cold" water but it is not in the same leaque as a 32degree ice dive or a 150' dive where the bottom temps are 35 degrees in mid summer.
I used (and still use) the older G250 second stage, long regarded as superb bretahign second stages, but recently bought two of the new G250V second stages. They are the same classic G250 metal air barrel design with some detail improvements to further improve cold water performance. They are exceptionally good second stages.
Any of the three first stages (Mk 17, Legend or XTX50) offer more than enough performance for technical diving and offer similar hose routing that works very well for doubles. With any of them, you can mount the first stage on its side and route the hoses straight down for very clean hose routing.
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I agree that the Dive Rite regs and their clones look alike, but I have noted qualitative differences between the DR regs and the clones and have heard similar comments from other techs. So they may or may not be made in the same production facilities, but the quality control standards that are maintained are potentially different. So be careful.
I would avoid the Poseiden regs. The upstream design is ok and they deliver lots of gas, but they require an OPV built into what becomes an expensive and hard to find hose. The dealer network is also much smaller and service can be hard to obtain in many areas (like MT). The second stages are also simple in design but adjusting them is a bit tricky as there is a very narrow sweet spot so finding good service can be even harder.
I like their stuff. I just got my transplate recwing setup today and will dive it in seattle this weekend.
