Input on regulator

[herman]

Don't get hung up on buying a reg you can grow with, it just not worth worrying about at this stage of your diving. Tech diving reguires a lot more gear and you will be buying several more regs if you do go tech, no way around that and odds are you will want 2 identical regs when you go tech so unless you buy 2 now, you will likely have to buy 2 more later anyway. That nice simple mid range reg you buy now can become your stage bottle reg later on and if you don't go tech, you still have a good reg to dive with. Pretty much any of the brands you named as well as HOG and Edge will fit the bill for now. The one thing to consider as much as brand is the location and quality of the service shops in your area. You will want a reg that can be serviced locally by a good tech unless you don't mind shipping it off for service and all the hassel that goes along with that.

 

[t-mac]

I agree with herman. Get a reg you are happy with and make sure you really enjoy diving and don't worry about what you will be doing a year or more from now. If you do like it you will find plenty of excuses to spend money on more gear later and this will seem inconsequential. Only bit of advice based on your cold water usage would be to make sure you get one that is environmentally sealed. Other than that the brands you name are fine. Read reviews, pick your price point and go dive.

 

[Dawghouse]

Thanks for the input will check Hog out keep the info coming !

 

[Centrals]

Apeks DS-4 with XTX-50(x2).
The 20 and 40 series are not for cold water while the 100 and 200 series are expensive and no better than the 50.
Even better if you can find TX or ATX models. The working parts are the same except the appearances.
Both my DS-4 are over 12 yrs old and still going.

 

[hongrace]

Apeks DS-4 with XTX-50(x2).
The 20 and 40 series are not for cold water while the 100 and 200 series are expensive and no better than the 50.
Even better if you can find TX or ATX models. The working parts are the same except the appearances.
Both my DS-4 are over 12 yrs old and still going.

The XTX40 is cold water compatible. The only difference between a 40 and 50 is the lack of adjustable cracking control on the 40's.

 

[Centrals]

The XTX40 is cold water compatible. The only difference between a 40 and 50 is the lack of adjustable cracking control on the 40's.

Silly me, my TX-40 does come with an heat exchanger!!

 

[j2s]

Use to be a long time Apeks user....Moved to HOG/Edge for the following reasons...Quality, self-maintenance,[easy to rebuild ]..... Aqualung [Apeks and other brands] won't sell even the smallest part or rebuild kits to divers...HOG has classes and will sell parts/kits and the biggest is price.....Check out the price difference of Aqualung, Apeks, Scubapro -vs- HOG/Edge......And don't let anyone tell you the quality isn't there....HOG has better quality parts.....I have no complaints about Apeks, but Aqualung [the parent company] used such heavy-handed tactics and price fixing that they actually did me a favor driving me to HOG :O!!!!.......