Is the Atomic T2 Reg as good as they say?

[dpthdiver]

It was a spur of the moment 20' dive and some how, one of my stage bottles got disassembled and placed with my air tanks. Normally I check them before going, but it was rushed and only 20'.

There is no such thing as a voided warranty for bad O rings. That was the only thing that happened to the reg.

 

[alo100]

Folks, if you believe in standard test, here is a quote from the DIVER magazine for the regulator ANSTI test. I'm not gonna put eveythiing here, just the top 3 performers among the regulators under test...

Atomic Z2 work of breathing, 0.72 J/L
Subapro Mk17AF/S555 WOB, 0.74 J/L
Apeks XTX 200 WOB, 0.95 J/L

all are top performers... I think all of them are good.
In particular, if there is a plan to get Atomic regulators, I don't think performance is an issue, is it easy to find maintainence at your place? If yes, that's good enough.

 

[AdamLytle]

Atomic regulators are at the top of their game, however of interesting note, all atomic regulators, from the B2 to the T1 and 2 all breathe nearly identically. Sure going for titanium parts all around offers you some added resiliance to corrosion, but as far as ANSTI is concerned they all breathe nearly exactly the same, inhalation and exhalation effort differences between their models is negligable. Basically my point is go for the "Cheap" B2 and you will be just as happy with preformance as you would with the more expensive T2

 

[alo100]

Atomic regulators are at the top of their game, however of interesting note, all atomic regulators, from the B2 to the T1 and 2 all breathe nearly identically. Sure going for titanium parts all around offers you some added resiliance to corrosion, but as far as ANSTI is concerned they all breathe nearly exactly the same, inhalation and exhalation effort differences between their models is negligable. Basically my point is go for the "Cheap" B2 and you will be just as happy with preformance as you would with the more expensive T2

Agree. I assume that $ may not be an issue for people who has determined to buy Atomic regulators... so "Cheap" B2 is a good choice, probably within the lowest WOB too.

On the other hand, sometimes I ask myself, why not Mk17? The regulator is relatively new, but so far, it does win the $ for value.

I am using Apeks, but I am sure there are a lot of good regulators around.

 

[SDAnderson]

Caveat:
I work (sales and repair) in a store that carries Atomic, Apeks and ScubaPro, along with a half-dozen or so other lines of regulators. I might be biased or I might know what I'm talking about, yours to decide...

Performance:
To my knowledge, nothing outperforms the Atomics B/T2 first stage. Of course, the same is true for the Apeks XTX series and the ScubaPro MK17. The performance characteristics between all three are indistinguishable.

Titanium:
It's won't corrode as easily as brass and it's lighter - though I don't know how important that really is. It's more brittle than brass and there is a small chance that it will catch fire in high (beyond recreational) O2 environments. My personal opinion is that it's mostly a marketing gimmick but the marketing guys disagree...

Serviceability:
Unless you service your own, I don't know why anyone would care but thanks for asking. The Atomics can be a little bit of a PITA but that might have as much to do with the fact that I don't see as many of them as I do the Apeks and ScubaPro.

Dealer/Service Network:
The list of dealers that carry Atomics is a fraction of those that carry Aqualung/Apeks and/or ScubaPro. The number of technicians qualified to work on Atomics is even smaller. If you travel, this might be a concern.

Service Interval:
Atomics recommends an inspection every year and service/parts every two years - and you pay. Apeks requires an inspection every year and service/parts every two years and pays for the parts. ScubaPro requires service/parts every year and pays for the parts. I'm old-school enough to believe that regs should at least be inspected and cleaned every year and experienced enough to believe that, if you tear a regulator apart, you should replace the soft parts, which drives up the TCO of the Atomic and Apeks regulators.

Reliability:
I don't see a significant difference between Atomics, Apeks and ScubaPro. Bad things sometimes happen but no more frequently with one than the others.

Manufacturer:
Atomic, Apeks and ScubaPro are all serious companies that work hard to make good products. If it matters, ScubaPro is arguably the best innovator in the bunch, willing to try new ideas and explore different ways of doing things. I don't intend this as a knock against Atomics or Apeks/Aqualung but ScubaPro has a long and almost freaky reputation for going the extra mile to make sure that their customers are happy.

Cost:
The Atomics T2 is going to put a serious dent in your wallet. Some people consider that a negative, others not so much so. It has always struck me as slightly odd that so many of the people who buy an Atomic regulator are doing so, at least in part, because of the price instead of in spite of it.

Personal Recommendation:
I'm a pretty serious technical diver with lots of experience in cold and deep water, when I buy regulators I am more interested in performance than anything else. For what it's worth, a couple of weeks ago I went through much the same buying decision you are and added two MK17/X650's to my little fleet. You won't be disappointed in the T1, if that's the one you decide to buy, however.

 

[paulwlee]

The Atomics can be a little bit of a PITA but that might have as much to do with the fact that I don't see as many of them as I do the Apeks and ScubaPro.

Could you elaborate on this a little bit?
My experience is limited to attending a hands-on Aqualung/Apeks service tech seminar and quasi-servicing (cleaning/adjusting but reusing soft parts until they go bad) my Atomic regulators, and I've found the Atomics to be comparable to the Apeks in terms of serviceability?

 

[SDAnderson]

Could you elaborate on this a little bit?
My experience is limited to attending a hands-on Aqualung/Apeks service tech seminar and quasi-servicing (cleaning/adjusting but reusing soft parts until they go bad) my Atomic regulators, and I've found the Atomics to be comparable to the Apeks in terms of serviceability?

• There are far more elegant engineering solutions to sealing the first stage ambient chamber than Atomic has come up with. The goo-filled sealed chamber is a time-consuming hassle to work with, makes cleaning the reg much more difficult, almost always makes a %$#ing mess and is very expensive.
• The two swivels (one on each stage) are easy enough but take time that the other two ultra-high performers don't require.
• Because I don't do many of them, my comfort level isn't high and I need to be extra-cautious. Servicing an Atomic reg always starts with a reference to the service manual, that sucks time like a newby sucks air. This problem isn't Atomics fault but it is inherent due to the limited market penetration possible with a $1400 regulator.

 

[paulwlee]

• There are far more elegant engineering solutions to sealing the first stage ambient chamber than Atomic has come up with. The goo-filled sealed chamber is a time-consuming hassle to work with, makes cleaning the reg much more difficult, almost always makes a %$#ing mess and is very expensive.
• The two swivels (one on each stage) are easy enough but take time that the other two ultra-high performers don't require.
• Because I don't do many of them, my comfort level isn't high and I need to be extra-cautious. Servicing an Atomic reg always starts with a reference to the service manual, that sucks time like a newby sucks air. This problem isn't Atomics fault but it is inherent due to the limited market penetration possible with a $1400 regulator.

There are non-swivel Atomics that perform identically, but I guess the majority out there have the first stage swivel, so you're right, it's one more bolt to unscrew.
As for your third point, the Z1/2's, B1/2's and M1's are comparably priced with the Scubapro and Apeks, so the limited market penetration doesn't have anything to do with the price, it's more because they're the new guys. (Scubapro has a $1000+ regulator too.)
It's strange that you don't get that many Atomics, I guess it depends a lot on the locale as I see the owner of my LDS working on them all the time. But then again he does do a LOT of regulators.

I agree with your first point, and expected it to be the main PITA for you.
It is indeed a bit of a mess to service, and why with the sealed ones I got, I changed out the trim rings and got rid of the Christolube fill to convert them to unsealed versions.
BTW, I'm curious, what are the other elegant engineering solutions you mention? Will those work with a balanced piston first stage? The only other solution I know of is the dry-bleed system, and I'm not sure I like that, although I must say I never tried one.

 

[HybridDiver]

Hello

You should look into Oxy and salvo regs. I find they are really good regs, I matches my xtx200 really good. You get a high performance reg for only 280 for oxy regs at Golem Gear and 300 for Salvo regs at Salvo. I think you should take the time out and look before making a final pick, Dont listen to me or the other guys. Get out dive and dive, You can get exp sitting on this board. You may get some really good advice. Go to your LDS and test out some regs, talk to them. They are the pros, you dont know who is posting on this board. Talk face to face with the person.
Thanks Chris