just got into diving would appreciate some help

[diver 85]

Why don't you give the guys at ScubaToys (they are a Texas LDS after all) a call? They help tons of people on this board and they will talk to you on the phone.

I usually recommend Atomic, Scubapro, Zeagle, Sherwood, and Apeks...I hear Oceanic regs are somewhat well regarded as well.

What exactly is your budget?

Cheers.

-J.-

Oceanic is a very good reg..Had to go to it(my wife's--1st & 2nd stage) last week @ the Flower Gardens when my Scubapro 1st stage dust cover broke off the rubber holder while putting together my equipment before leaving the dock(never made a dive with it that trip)....

It had been a while since I used the Oceanic but it performed perfectly...No wonder she has never complained to me about it...lol.....

 

[johnny_bravo]

And what is environmentally sealed? Is that just for cold water diving?

This means that the first stage of the regulator is sealed from the water...preventing freezeup. Atomic for example uses silicone or Christolube to seal their first stages.

Or Sherwood. I have been reading they are a great low maintanence reg, but a lot of people do not like the dry bleed system. I am not sure exactly what that is or what part of diving it affects.

Sherwoods are workhorses...on Ebay you will see 20 year old Sherwoods on sale that still work flawlessly...the drybleed is just their way of preventing freezeup in the first stage with a tiny minute stream of air...why don't people like this? Are they delusional in thinking they are losing air they could be breathing?

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[Texas_Aggie06]

Are you trying to outfit yourself completely including suit, bc, regs, etc.

Scubapro, dive rite, halcyon, OMS, and many others make grat gear. no one company makes everything and no one company makes the absolute best quality of the things they do make, IE scubapro makes great regs but they no longer make back plates or wings and I dont care for the scubapro SMB's and other trinkets.

yea, I trying to get there. i've been researching bp/w as well. i am not sticking to one company that's for sure. i do however want to get my reg from my lds because of the periodic servicing that has to be done.

 

[diver 85]

yea, I trying to get there. i've been researching bp/w as well. i am not sticking to one company that's for sure. i do however want to get my reg from my lds because of the periodic servicing that has to be done.

See you are from Houston.......Have you gotten familiar with the 610 Loop yet???...........GEAUX TIGERS..............

 

[stever2002]

I'm a big believer in trying before buying - esp when it comes to regs.

Find a shop with a pool, bring a suit, towel (and credit card ) and try 'em out.

Long story short - thats what I did - and I ended up buying something that I wasn't even considering after pouring over the websites and magazines.

...steve...

 

[scubapatton]

Sherwood are not only low maintenance, but alos low cost on the maintenance. The parts to rebuild Sherwoods are pretty inexpensive. I have had my Maximus since 2000 and it has proven very solid. I recently bought an AquaLung Supreme ACD for my wife and she likes it a lot. I have an Apek on backorder for myself with the Maximus becoming my Pont bottle reg soon. So I do like the Sherwoods. The regs that get the most acclaim in reviews (I think) are Apeks, AquaLung, ScubaPro, Atomic. I know there are 4 top rated manufacturers... not sure if Apeks and AL are combined though off the top of my head. Other manufacturers have their strengths, but those 4 are the year to year top rating getters.

You have SO many options and as long as you can buy a quality one now, it will last you several years. So do some research here, at local LDS in your area and try calling Scuba Toys. Wherever you buy from, make sure at least the Reg setup is fully warrantied. LDS and Scuba Toys honor manufacturer warranties, but many web sites do NOT. Also buying "new" on eBay will not include a warranty for most of the brands noted earlier.

You are doing the right thing by researching thouroughly in advance. Try going to the local bookstore and read a few diving magazines for reviews as well. The articles often clarify things like environmentally sealed, over-balanced, etc.

 

[jefffalcone]

I have a Sherwood Blizzard, and after only 40 dives I find myself wanting to upgrade. The problem with Sherwoods is that the second stages are fairly cheeply made. The tend to breathe wet, especially upsidedown. I've only experienced the slightest trickle of water. Just a minor anoyance. Also I tend to have a very minor freeflow at the surface. Just a very slow stream of bubbles. It is an intermitant problem. I had it looked at and it is tuned properly - no IP problems or anything like that. The tech showed me that the IP is right in the range it should be, and he showed me that the pressure needed to breathe (I think they call this cracking pressure) is right on also.

I've used atomics, and they breathe like a dream. Havn't tried any of the other top tier regs, but I've heard you will be just as happy with any of them. I agree with you the scubapro has so many models and combinations that it is quite confusing. I can't figure out what features are actually usefull and which are just fluff designed to seperate the rich from disposible income. I've been reading up and heard that with Apeks, the XTX50 is the best value. It will breathe just as well as the more expensive models, just with less bells and whistles. The same is true for the Atomic Z2. These are the two regs I'm currently leaning towards. I havn't had time to figure out which scubapro reg I would want, but I'm sure I will.

 

[Dannybot]

I recommend going at least middle of the road, because as you will see in all the threads, if you go cheap, you'll be back for more, so it costs more in the long run to go cheap. I got a Sherwood Brut used for a steal, but by the time I added an octo and got it serviced, I could have gotten a better set up. the Brut works well on shallow dives, but when you go deep it's like breathing through a straw. I also rented Mares Rebel with the unbalanced first stage, it was a little better, but I'd have to say go the extra hundred dollars on any brand to get the balanced first stage.

My wife got an Aeris Atmos Pro (now it's the AT400 I believe), and there is little comparison between the two at depth.

I am also from Texas and only do warm water in the Caribbean, but I am looking to upgrade to something like an Aqualung Titan LX, or equivalent.

Just don't be too cheap... By the way, the Aeris stuff came from Scuba toys.

 

[halocline]

In that price range you could maybe get a MK17/G250. Hopefully they'll have the G250V (not the G250hp) by the time you buy; it would be worth waiting for. You could also maybe get a MK16 if they have any left (they're discontinued) and save some money without sacrificing anything except extra cold water reliability, like for water under 40F. So, ideally, your shop could sell you a discontinued MK16, maybe paired with the unbalanced R390, (or is it 380) then add on the new G250V. You'd get the MK16/R390 at the discount, use the R390 as your octo, and pay retail for the G250V, which would make a fine primary 2nd stage.

The MK25 is the top end SP 1st stage and is way more than any rec diver would ever need. To be honest, I often use my MK2/R190 (bottom of the line SP) and I really like it. It's totally reliable and practically indestructable. It does not breathe quite as smoothly as the higher end balanced SP regs, (like my MK15/G250) but it's perfectly acceptable, and you only notice a difference on direct comparison. Lots of Mares users swear by the abyss, and it's very easy to get serviced locally in most dive resort destinations. Dive rite regs have a great reputation too.

It would be much more difficult to buy a bad reg these days than a good one from any reputable company and/or dive shop. They're all more than up to the task of rec diving, like down to 120ft. You should see the cheap regs used by divemasters in many 3rd world dive locations, every day, dive after dive, and you never hear those guys complaining. The only possible thing is to get something that's easy to service no matter where you are diving....that favors SP and Mares of the brands you listed.

 

[squidster]

I am brand new to diving and trying to get my own equipment. I live in Texas, so no cold water diving for me. I want something that will last me a good while and will allow me to move on to Nitrox if I desire. I also do not have a limitless budget. I prefer to get it from my lds as they have been extremely friendly and have a great rep as far as maintaining diver's equipment. My lds carries Mares, Scubapro, Tusa, Dive Rite, Poseidon, Aeris. No Aqualung/Apexs or Atomic.

I can search on my own and look at them online, but I don't know what things are really important and what is fluff/advertising crap.

TIA

Scubapro is the way to go.you can get a scubapro Mark 11 balance diaphram first stage/s555 balanced second stage for about 325.00.-400.00
This reg is highly rated reg
Thats what i have and breaths good,i have done air and nitrox on it.
if you can spend up to 450.00 a Mark 17/s555 is the way to go ,very good for cold water.
plus they have parts for life program.