I narrowed down and got confused...

[Wayward Son]

I like the hose routing options on my Mk25 better than my wifes Mk11, which is just a Mk17 without the environmental seal. But I don't dive in water cold enough to matter. We have G250V and R109 2nds on them & both sets breath great.

 

[wunat]

If you see yourself diving cold water, avoid MK25 and Atomic regs. As previous posts mentioned, go with MK17 for Scubapro.

Consider the serviceability of the choice of reg................

 

[scubafanatic]

If you see yourself diving cold water, avoid MK25 and Atomic regs. As previous posts mentioned, go with MK17 for Scubapro.

Consider the serviceability of the choice of reg................

if diving 'cold', all Atomic models are capable of having an 'environmentally sealed' 1st-stage installed, so 'cold' isn't a problem for Atomics.

 

[scubafanatic]

Brishar, I think you might've missed this part:


I don't know many new divers who service their own regulators.


Out of the brands on your list, this is also what I would recommend. At least swap out the first stage to the sealed MK17. Alaskan and Canadian waters mean you should get a real cold water regulator, and that means a sealed first stage. The MK25 doesn't have a sealed first stage, and of course none of the Atomics do.

YMMV, but I base that solely from my personal experiences with a dive buddy's freeflowing regulator with unsealed first stage that froze up during a cold water dive.

The other thing that seems to be glossed over in this discussion is whether you will be able to get this reg serviced (i.e. repaired) in the places you plan to dive. The budget brands are definitely cheaper, but will someone in Manado or Bali know what to do with them if you have a problem?

It would appear, especially for anyone with enough $ to plan to dive in 'exotic locations', that the simplist option is to bring 2 reg sets for redundancy, that way you can dive whatever you want without worrying about if you can get your favorite reg serviced in 'Outer Mongolia' or not.

 

[John_B]

if diving 'cold', all Atomic models are capable of having an 'environmentally sealed' 1st-stage installed, so 'cold' isn't a problem for Atomics.

The Atomic "environmentally sealed kit" basically involves packing the innards with grease.

It would appear, especially for anyone with enough $ to plan to dive in 'exotic locations', that the simplist option is to bring 2 reg sets for redundancy, that way you can dive whatever you want without worrying about if you can get your favorite reg serviced in 'Outer Mongolia' or not.

The other side of that coin says that if you are going to take some budget one-off-design regulator with you to some exotic location then you probably ought to take a backup. But at that point, where are the cost savings?

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

All the posts have really good points. I'm a real ScubaPro fan. I have three, that I dive in cold water. Never a problem. I use:
1). MK25-A700 for my primary.
2). MK10-G250 dedicated on my doubles isolation manifold (it's 20 years old and perfect).
3). MK2Plus-R295 for my sling bottle.

Both my BC's have AIR2's on them. I use them all in 40 degree F water.

I know the HOG is really good. So is the Apecks, along with the regs people have mentioned in this post. It's down to personal preferance, but I'm a poster boy for ScubaPro.

 

[Splitlip]

I always put this out there for consideration:

Do you have someone local to service whichever reg you choose?

How about Bali? Manado? I am pretty sure ScubaPro and Aqualung/USD have service centers in both locations.

 

[Splitlip]

if diving 'cold', all Atomic models are capable of having an 'environmentally sealed' 1st-stage installed, so 'cold' isn't a problem for Atomics.

They just pack the piston with grease. As far as I know, that also adds to service cost.

Better off I suspect with a properl sealed diaphragm first stage.

 

[hypertech]

Have you considered Apeks?

 

[Gerbs]

Here in cold-water-diving Germany, it's Apeks, MR22/Abyss and a Poseidon all round (with a few Beuchat and Scubapro, and some other brands as well)

If you are in the market for a reg... Take heed Splitlip's advice. You want someone to be able to service it wherever you are in the world (means a world wide dealer network or being able to get the service kits to take with you... you usually find a competent mechanic more easily than a parts dealer)

There are few 'bad' regs on the market nowadays. Borrow for testing if you can...

Gerbs - EN250 cold water certified regs owner