Is a sherwood maximus reg a good reg??

[Scotty]

The dive shop I get my stuff from only deals with sherwood now. What is a sherwood maximus regulator like???

 

[Diver0001]

The dive shop I get my stuff from only deals with sherwood now. What is a sherwood maximus regulator like???

It's a good reg. It's not as light to breathe from as some of the other the top of the line regs but it does have a cracking adjuster to compensate for the unbalanced 2nd. The 1st stage is easy to service and highly reliable. The 2nd stage is a bit of a pain to service because you only have a single adjustment but a good tech will be able to manage. I also find the 2nd stage a little bit wet for my liking but I'm kind of picky about that.

R..

 

[scubafanatic]

Hi Scotty,

I have very limited experience with the Sherwood.......on one of my 2 Cozumel trips last summer, I did the buddy-breathing thing off the divemaster's octo for maybe 3 or 4 dives, probably didn't exceed 60 at that point, as I did this towards the middle to end of the dives as we were gradually staging up by then.

(he typically let me buddy-breathe for somewhere between 10--15 min on each dive, to extend the group's bottom time....typically when I was down to 900---1000 psi we'd share air, then he'd put me back on my own air supply to finish the dives.)

I'm not sure which Sherwood he had, I think it was a cheaper model than the Maximus, as I did notice it didn't have the underarm hose routing of the Maximus.

At any rate, we were fairly shallow, as just gently drift diving with the current, exerting almost no effort, and even under such favorable conditions the reg was much harder to breathe than my Mares or Poseidon regs......I didn't have to pull really hard to get air, but there was definitely some pull needed...my Mares Voltrex and Poseidon Odin regs, on the other hand, once the valve is cracked, pump out air very easily.....the air 'wooshes' in on inhale.

In all fairness, I'm sure the divemaster's Sherwood gets a LOT of use, it's probably hard to keep it in peak condition all the time......and we did have 2 divers breathing off it......and Sherwoods are probably relatively easy to service, even in remote, third-world-type places.

I remember doing one dive where we fought a massive current for maybe 5--10 min at the start of the dive (was using my Mares Voltrex) and we were burning through air like we were running a marathon, the Voltrex never missed a beat....had I been air-sharing on that dive with the Sherwood I think I would have easily over-breathed the Sherwood.

Be aware the Sherwood 1st stages need to be hooked up to a tank and pressurized before soaking/rinsing in water......they have a dry-bleed system that will flood your 1st stage if it's immersed in water with zero air pressure in the system, so it's vital they be kept pressurized whenever they're underwater. If you forget, you will have to rebuild your 1st stage at a minimum, and it may even cause your 1st stage to fail underwater.

For what it's worth, I see lots of Sherwoods in use, so while they're not really considered among the best regulators, they seem to be adequate for recreational diving in milder conditions, and you'll probably be just fine with a Maximus......I'd recommend 'upgrading' to one of the better brands/models if you plan to do more 'advanced' diving ( ie cold water/ deep water)).

If possible, try to test dive (rent/borrow) a Maximus before buying, that's the only sure way to make a good decision.

Karl

 

[aquaoren]

Hi Scotty,

I have very limited experience with the Sherwood.......on one of my 2 Cozumel trips last summer, I did the buddy-breathing thing off the divemaster's octo for maybe 3 or 4 dives, probably didn't exceed 60 at that point, as I did this towards the middle to end of the dives as we were gradually staging up by then.

(he typically let me buddy-breathe for somewhere between 10--15 min on each dive, to extend the group's bottom time....typically when I was down to 900---1000 psi we'd share air, then he'd put me back on my own air supply to finish the dives.)

I'm not sure which Sherwood he had, I think it was a cheaper model than the Maximus, as I did notice it didn't have the underarm hose routing of the Maximus.

At any rate, we were fairly shallow, as just gently drift diving with the current, exerting almost no effort, and even under such favorable conditions the reg was much harder to breathe than my Mares or Poseidon regs......I didn't have to pull really hard to get air, but there was definitely some pull needed...my Mares Voltrex and Poseidon Odin regs, on the other hand, once the valve is cracked, pump out air very easily.....the air 'wooshes' in on inhale.

In all fairness, I'm sure the divemaster's Sherwood gets a LOT of use, it's probably hard to keep it in peak condition all the time......and we did have 2 divers breathing off it......and Sherwoods are probably relatively easy to service, even in remote, third-world-type places.

I remember doing one dive where we fought a massive current for maybe 5--10 min at the start of the dive (was using my Mares Voltrex) and we were burning through air like we were running a marathon, the Voltrex never missed a beat....had I been air-sharing on that dive with the Sherwood I think I would have easily over-breathed the Sherwood.

Be aware the Sherwood 1st stages need to be hooked up to a tank and pressurized before soaking/rinsing in water......they have a dry-bleed system that will flood your 1st stage if it's immersed in water with zero air pressure in the system, so it's vital they be kept pressurized whenever they're underwater. If you forget, you will have to rebuild your 1st stage at a minimum, and it may even cause your 1st stage to fail underwater.

For what it's worth, I see lots of Sherwoods in use, so while they're not really considered among the best regulators, they seem to be adequate for recreational diving in milder conditions, and you'll probably be just fine with a Maximus......I'd recommend 'upgrading' to one of the better brands/models if you plan to do more 'advanced' diving ( ie cold water/ deep water)).

If possible, try to test dive (rent/borrow) a Maximus before buying, that's the only sure way to make a good decision.

Karl

Karl is right.
The only way to see whether you like the Sherwood is trying it out. I would recommend trying couple different brands and models so you'll be able to compare them.
Oren

 

[rescuediver009]

Maximus is an ok reg as far as reliability goes. great first stage. You won't be disappointed if you get one. That is the only brandof regs your LDS has? I don't know if maybe you should look somewhere where there is a little more variety and options. But honestly i think other would agree that there are many other adjustable regs that you would prefer. Also, the much famed Apeks has the same price tag with much better performance

 

[Jetwrench]

I have about 200+ dives on my Maximus with no problems and am quite happy with it. It gave me all the air I needed for a sprint I had to make to stop a diver who missed the exit point and heading downcurrent. Coming back(upcurrent) I was sucking hard til I realised I had not opened the second stage adjustment(I like just a little resistance normally). Then it gave me all I needed. Cold water diving? Most of my diving is in cold water. Many ice divers here also have them. Rugged and ease of service is a plus. This is just my personal experience. What works for you may be different, so try as many regs as you can. There are many fine regs out there but each has its +'s and -'s Price, performance, feel, servicability, and the type of diving you are doing and plan to do in the future are the main points you will want to consider. If you do decide on a Maximus, you should be pleased with it. M2C.