Looking for First Reg Recommendations

[jerlane]

Hi there,
I am a relatively new diver. I was certified in 2004 and now have about 20 dives under my belt. I am really enjoying it and hope to make one trip a year. I live in Minnesota so it will usually be a warm water destination in the winter and typically go to the Carribean. While I can't say for sure that I will never dive here, it seems less likely in the near future. I am looking to get my first set-up and could use some reg recommendations. I'm hoping to spend less than $300 for my main and octo. I would prefer to buy new, but if folks think it makes more sense to go used and get more bang for my buck, I'd be open to that. I will go talk to my local LDS, but want to be informed before I do.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Stu S.]

We have a bunch of regulators in the family. The Oceanic Alpha 7 is the one we prefer. It is quiet and an easy breather. And, it is one of the lowest price regulators there is. Works well at 120 feet. I prefer it over a reg I paid twice as much for. The "Alpha 8" is the latest version.

I find these to be simple, efficient, and robust. Good luck with it.

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/sear...=fromSearch&txtsearchParamTxt=alpha&Submit=Go

 

[Jimmer]

Stu makes a good suggestion for a nice easy breathing, affordable and reliable reg. Plus you can get the Alpha 8, with the CDX5 first stage, which is suitable for ice diving to the tropics, for $145 at scubatoys.com right now.

 

[Stu S.]

Hey, Jimmer. Does Scubatoys still give the 10% discount to Scuba Board members? My experience with them has been excellent. If that price was from anywhere else, I'd think something was fishy.

 

[Jimmer]

Oceanic Alpha 8 CDX5 regulator reviews and discounts, Oceanic

As far as I know, ST still does the 10% thing, but this is a sale price, so that might over rule the 10%. Hell of a good deal tho. If I didn't already have my stage/deco regs purcahsed, I'd be buying two of these.

 

[v--Locke--v]

Another option is the Oceanic CDX-5 with GT3 reg or even the Delta 4 w/ dx10. Dolphin Scuba Center has the GT3's for cheap. These are both environ sealed.

 

[jerlane]

Thanks for the replies so far. These are the regs I had been thinking about. The GT3 is about twice as expensive as the Alpha 8. What would I gain with that? Just the ability to dive cold water? Is there any reason I should look at other brands?
Thanks again!

 

[diveandclimb]

Zeagle makes a nice reg. I think you can get the Rezort for not too much. You might also want to look at the Mares Rebel.

 

[Isaac-1]

There area a lot of things to consider when purchasing a regulator in your situation. You are in the northern US, if you are going to to be doing cold water diving (the kind that needs full wetsuit, gloves, hood, etc at a minimum) there are some special considerations that I will leave to those people that live and dive in those conditions. If your going to be a summer only/tropical diver these are not concerns, in this case then almost any name brand regulator made today can be considered good and for the vast majority the more you pay the better the regulator. More important than the regulator itself is the matter of support, both from the local dealer and from the manufactuer. In terms of long term support for discontinued products, etc. the two companies that most stand out in my mind are Scubapro and Aqualung, of course this comes with a certain price premium. In the case of Scubapro they have a lifetime warranty for free parts, but to qualify you must have the regulator serviced every year by a scubapro shop and pay the labor charge, how strictly they enforce the service period varies from shop to shop. Don't under value local support when you start looking at these online bargins, add up how much you will likely end up spending on shipping for service each year if there are no local dealers (or local dealers that will charge extra for gear not bought at there shop when it comes time to service). Having said this, for shopping in this price range I would go to the local shops and see what sort of deals they may have on closeouts, demo, ex-rental gear, package deals, etc. In most parts of the U.S. this is getting into the slow season for dive shops, and they are much more likely to cut deals.

Ike

p.s. be ware of most "old" regulators, and some of the newer ones like Dacor for parts availability (Mares recently bought out Dacor and discontinued support for models that were only a few years old).

 

[jerlane]

Your points are well taken. It brings to mind the question: do you have to have any reg serviced EVERY year, even if you've only been on one trip? Is it simply a matter of time? Does this have to be done professionally or can a technically inclined person do this on their own?