Inexpensive Cold Water Reg Recomendation

[Bowzer]

My brother has decided to start diving again. During the Christmas holidays, he handed me his reg, a Dacor Quantum, to see if I could get it serviced for him.
Given the status of Dacor Quantum it appears a new reg is in his future. I am looking for suggestions for an inexpensive Cold Water reg (he has had two previous ones freeze up) He will be diving off NYC, Lake George, and 1000 Islands. We dive Zeagle dx-50z but these are out of his price range. Price, Service and maintainability are more important to him than easy breathing. He is not interested in a reg that requires a CW conversion kit. I am thinking of suggesting he buy a Sherwood Blizzard, but my only direct experience is with their Brut. The other consideration was the ScubaPro Mk2Plus/R190 but I am unsure of it's CW performance. Any advice would be appreciated

 

[markfm]

I use Sherwood -- Maximus, Shadow+, just added an Octo (for training). They're popular where I dive, including DS/ice people. They're used by US Govt. for Antarctic diving -- if that isn't good enough, beats me.

 

[Hoosier]

How about MK2/R190........depending on how cold you are referrring to though...

 

[spectrum]

My wife and I each dive 2005 Blizzards and are happy with them. I'm likely to take mine under the ice this winter and into 30 something water as soon as this darned cold clears up.

I've been down close to 80 feet and the thing breathed just fine. There are easier breathers I've been told ( and I believe) but I was assured by other divers that for typical recreaional diving I'd be content, and I am. So is my wife who has mild controled asthma. I bought one first and had her dive it figuring she'd be the canary in the mind. She likes it fine.

Reliability, service availability are as good as it gets.

The Brut is an unbalanced first without the refinements of the Blizzard second stage so don't let that detract. I trained and did some of my cert dives on Bruts and they were OK. They are the work horse of the rental industry.

Pete

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Mk 2 R190 has excellent cold water performance.

We sell a lot of of MK 2 R190's to local divers and most of the local diving here is cold water diving with bottom temps in the 30's and 40's in the deeper alpine lakes. The shop also uses M2 R390;s as the rental reg and we have not had any renters come back with reports of freeflows in cold water.

One of my frequent dive buddies uses a MK 2 R190 on dives to 130 ft where the bottom temps are in the upper 30's to mid 40's depending on the season she has never had a free flow. We also have ice divers in the area who use the Mk 2 R190 or R390 with no problems with freeze flows in water in the 34-35 degree range.

In terms of simplicity it's as simple as it gets, and is easy and inexpensive to service.

 

[Dive1Dennis]

I'll put in a vote for Sherwood. Great cold water regs, and reasonably priced. I replaced my Dacor with Sherwood and have not had a free-flow since.

 

[do it easy]

I vote for the Mares Abyss. I dive mine in 38f water with no problems. I heard about a Dacor trade in program, but I'm not sure which regs are eligble...

EDIT: Larry has them for $299 with trade in and you get a free reg bag! The MR12 is $149 with a trade in. I have both, but I prefer the Abyss for it's bulletproof simplicty.Scubatoys Abyss

 

[aquaoren]

Mares Abyss.
Trade the Dacor in and you'll be able to get it for roughly $300 as do it easy said.
Dove with it regulary in the winter in Nova Scotia where the salt water freezes and the great lakes. Never even had a hick up regardless how deep or cold.
You'll have difficulties finding a better deal concerning price, performance, reliability and cold water suitability even without a CW kit in one reg.

 

[SubMariner]

I vote for the Mares Abyss. I dive mine in 38f water with no problems. I heard about a Dacor trade in program, but I'm not sure which regs are eligble...

Is the Abyss actually known for being a cold water reg? I've only had mine down as low as 54F. However, when I lived in TGWN I dove a Blizzard (lowest temp 34F).

There are pros & cons to both regs.

Blizzard: definitely cold water rated. Heat sink & moisture retention fins in the 2nd stage return moisture as you breathe to help eliminate dry mouth. Also, positive pressure bleed from the 1st stage means they are basically environmentally sealed. The exhaust T also seems to do a good job of easing bubble interference. You can also find parts just about anywhere for them. However, even though they are balanced regs, they are not high performance & you can over-breathe them at depth.

Abyss: breathes great at any depth & any orientation. However, some people find the 2nd stage a bit heavy (I'm not one of them). And the short exhaust T does give you some bubble interference. Mares claims it is a good performer "even in very cold water", but as I indicated, mine has only been down to 54F.

Now if I could just get the moisture retention feature in the Abyss that would make it my dream reg. But in the meantime, I'd still take it over my old Blizzard.

 

[Bowzer]

Thanks all for the information. My guess is that he will look into the Sherwoods as there are a lot of dealers for them up here.