Is Poseidon worth it

[rhwestfall]

not wrong, just more better...

I started my diving career in the Great Lakes diving non-SPEC (undealed) Mark-5/10 pistons and 109/156 seconds, and never had an issue. I watched "hot rod" new MK-20/25 and "fantastic plastic" seconds have issues (either tuning or diver error), and I wouldn't buy them. Later in life, I felt it prudent to do something to even increase the odds, and that put me to MK-17 fully sealed firsts. The only problem I ever had was due to me ignoring the signs and delaying a rebuild. It gave me great fun at 135' when it started to FF.....

I still see pistons behaving badly in cold Tobermory waters and i just don't want anything to do with them (Sherwood SR2 excluded)...

I also picked up a second hand Poseidon XStream setup for my doubles (at a very nice price of $500). They have never given me an issue with anything I have thrown at them....

 

[rhwestfall]

I don't know if I'd spend some of the crazy prices I'm seeing for new gear.... I thrive in the used market...

 

[BoltSnap]

not wrong, just more better...

I started my diving career in the Great Lakes diving non-SPEC (undealed) Mark-5/10 pistons and 109/156 seconds, and never had an issue. I watched "hot rod" new MK-20/25 and "fantastic plastic" seconds have issues (either tuning or diver error), and I wouldn't buy them. Later in life, I felt it prudent to do something to even increase the odds, and that put me to MK-17 fully sealed firsts. The only problem I ever had was due to me ignoring the signs and delaying a rebuild. It gave me great fun at 135' when it started to FF.....

I still see pistons behaving badly in cold Tobermory waters...

I also picked up a second hand Poseidon XStream setup for my doubles (at a very nice price of $500). They have never given me an issue with anything I have thrown at them....

My experience with SP started with the MK20, NEVER any issues with cold or ice diving, not for me or anyone else I know that used them. Any issues with any regulator it is always issues in the second stage due to user errors on the surface. I have many friends in the Great Lakes that are SP users and that's what they have used there for the last 25 years at least.

I have used, owned and serviced Poseidons and they were pain in the budonkas far more than even Sherwoods.

 

[Bigbella]

I don't know if I'd spend some of the crazy prices I'm seeing for new gear.... I thrive in the used market...

I have several friends who regularly buy their gear from Europe, at a fraction of the cost of the US.

I was just blown away by the price that the former Leisurepro was charging for the Poseidon Atmosphere (first and second stages) —2299.95 (2082 euros), a colossal ripoff! I never paid anything remotely like that, years ago, even adjusted for Bidenflation — and we’ll be the f***ing Weimar by next year.

In a revised response to the OP, Poseidon ain’t worth that!

A German dealer, whom I’ve dealt with, from Hamburg, offers it, new, both stages, on eBay.de, for 827.00 (749 euros) — far more in line with reality. Get a free shipping address at Mailboxde.com; add the additional shipping address to your eBay account; and have it shipped there, often, gratis; then have it forwarded to the US, etc. with a number of shipping options. I have used that service; they deal with all of the Customs b.s. — all in English, if needed — to ship hard to find widgets, which local shops often claim are impossible to find, from overseas, for years, without fail . . .

 

[owenfred18]

I am a military diver and have dove under the ice all around the world. Most extreme situation was up in the North Pole camped out on a floating glacier. We dive Poseidon xstream 1st stage reg with an OTS ffm primary reg and a Poseidon as our backup octopus reg. I have been in water temps all the way down to the low 20s and never had an issue. I whole heartedly trust the Poseidon Regs with my life, literally! Just my 2 cents. Cheers
-Owen F.

 

[BoltSnap]

I am a military diver and have dove under the ice all around the world. Most extreme situation was up in the North Pole camped out on a floating glacier. We dive Poseidon xstream 1st stage reg with an OTS ffm primary reg and a Poseidon as our backup octopus reg. I have been in water temps all the way down to the low 20s and never had an issue. I whole heartedly trust the Poseidon Regs with my life, literally! Just my 2 cents. Cheers
-Owen F.

Have you used any other brand of regulators to compare or just one brand one model experience?

 

[Bigbella]

I am a military diver and have dove under the ice all around the world. Most extreme situation was up in the North Pole camped out on a floating glacier

Yow!

I only made it to the far more tepid North Sea and the Oslofjorden (Nakholmen) — truly, the kiddie pool, but with the added risk of a really nasty ice cream headache, heh, heh, heh.

I salute you!

 

[Byrdie]

Been diving my Poseidon regs and Drysuit in cold water for about 15 years. They work for me.

 

[Fishdip]

For give my ignorance but what is this?

this however is my preferred cold/ice diving regulator:

View attachment 715349

 

[Fishdip]

So I have never been able to clear by blocking my nose its always swallow or yawn! With that said I also now have the “bad habit” of breathing out my nose as it is lol. Not sure if this will bite me long term when I go deeper but it keeps the mask nice and clear due to not being clean shaved all the time. I will be doing a FFM class in 2 weeks just to see if I will even like it.

"Is Poseidon Worth it?"

As of this year, I have been using their gear for forty-five years, and never once saw a reason to ever switch anything out, having had ample opportunities to use any number of other brands over the years. The regulators are almost "overbuilt" -- and the Swedes, to their credit, know a little something about cold water . . .

In answer to your question, you're thinking of the "Poseidon Atmosphere," which I have used for years -- both for the cold and for "suspect" waters while collecting samples. It is near-impossible to flood and it delivers air without fault, under both ice and "balmier" conditions, such as Nanaimo (British Columbia) Winter waters of 5˚ C and elsewhere.

There are a number of threads which mention the Atmosphere as well as the larger topic of full face masks, which are a real subject of its own; and may be an acquired taste, for some, as well as require some specialized training.

Equalizing may take some getting accustomed to, since the mask has a "nose-block" instead of having your nose easily available for Valsalva. The mask is pressed against your face and you blow through your nose against the adjustable block to equalize. Also, there is a potential danger of having to remove a FFM under very cold water conditions (the topic of bradycardia is mentioned, at some length, in a number of SB posts).

The Poseidon mask is fitted with an altered Jetstream (the so-called PP, swapped with the similar guts of an XStream second stage) and is positively-pressurized; that is, it is intended to slightly free-flow into the mask, which serves to offer a positive seal; to continually defog the thing, and to further vent any potential CO2 build-up. It is usually mated to an XStream first stage (which is great under the ice, right out of the box, and requires no further environmental futzing), though I initially used them with the 2900s (the Odin, in the US), years back, along with either a metal or rubber environmental cap, filled with either vodka or a tasty alcohol and glycerin combo.

The Atmosphere will also require a hood, intended for FFM diving, with a neoprene skin, for the FFM to seat, since it doesn’t seal well against typical wetsuit nylon; and it cannot be worn under a hood, due to the positive pressure and potential buoyancy issues that would created. It can also easily be fitted with communication devices, if so desired.

Ballasts may also be required, for shallower waters, in the form of weights (see photos) that can be mounted to the mask itself, on its "rail,” which are now on the expensive side, but can easily be cobbled together, as we did, for years, from rubber bicycle tubing; lead shot and cable ties . . .