Mares 22 navy ii

[whippo]

I am thinking about upgrading my 16 year old regs to a mares 22 navy ii. Any reviews or suggestions on something comparable, prefer cold water setup.


thanks in advance

 

[ams511]

What are you trading up from?

 

[Is_907]

Also curious what you have today.

I have Abyss 22 (not the "Navy" edition.) I love it. It breathes very well.

 

[whippo]

I have a mares 12 voltrex nikos which i plan on keeping

 

[whippo]

I am adding to the list the apeks xtx50 & 200

 

[BoltSnap]

I would consider any of the Atomic regulators before I'd even think about Mares.

 

[ams511]

I have a mares 12 voltrex nikos which i plan on keeping

I have no first hand knowledge of Mares regulators, so I did a quick search and recommend you do the same. The Voltrex and the Abyss use the same second stage, the difference between the regulators is the first stage. Your Voltrex uses an MR-12 while the Abyss uses the MR-22. The MR-22 is a better first stage, but the question is will you perceive the difference. The MR-22 has 3-3/8" LP ports, 1-1/2" LP port, and 2-HP ports. I believe your MR-12 has 4-3/8" ports and 1 HP port. You may want to PM Greg Barlow, he seems to be the Mares expert on DB. I have the older Apeks models, the TX and ATX series and are very happy with them.

 

[KenGordon]

I have a mares 12 voltrex nikos which i plan on keeping

I have a previous model abyss 22 which I now use as a stage reg while I use Apeks atx40/ds4 or xtx40/DST on a twinset.

The Mares was an excellent regulator out of the box, but it is cold here and once I had the cold water kit (quite hard to find) fitted it was never the same again in a hard to explain way, regulator performance being very subjective.

The big bore LP port is a hassle. It has a tube inside it which makes blanking it off almost impossible, so as a twinset regulator your hose routing options are reduced. I use an adaptor down to a standard hose so there isn't even the theoretical advantage.

All regulators are now pretty good. Local factors like servicing are probably more important than apparent performance differences.

Ken

 

[whippo]

Thanks guys

 

[Ouvea]

I have used/owned quite a few Mares regulators with various first stages (MR12DFC, V16, V42, MR-42) paired with their plastic or metal second stages (Navy, Epos, Abyss, Orbiter, Proton). I believed I preferred the V16 Orbiter the best and found the Proton LE Metal disappointing, as it didn't feel any different from the Orbiter.

However, not one matches the ease breathing of my current Atomic regulators (Z2 & M1) or my Scubapro MK25/G250V regulator. I just find that these are easier to initiate breathing and require less effort to maintain the flow (if that makes sense). I've had a chance to try an Apeks XTX50 and a Hog D1. IMHO, they both breathe easier than the Mares.

Out of curiosity, from which regulator do you intend to upgrade?

O.