Mares reg
- Thread starter divepiggy
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divepiggy:
Have used MR22/Abyss before. Using V32/Proton Ice now. V32 works great, more than enough air for two people huffing & puffing at 35m. Have never tried the Proton XL, my guess will be that it should not be too far off from the Ice. Ice breathes easy.
The V32 uses the same spherical Core Seat that is in the V16... Really their is little difference between the V16 Proton and the V32 Xl Proton... other than a pile of money. The inside guts are the same - they just made the V32 to look like a shrunken version of the MR22 1st stage - same angles, etc - but the MR22 used a flat seat setup - which can be converted to the Spherical Core Seat for about $50... but the V16 and 32 will be very comprable having that design to start with.
BlueDevil
Contributor
I got a Mares MR12 Proton recently. Have only used it on a shallow dive so far but found it very good. I have used other Mares second stages (Akros and Epos) on the MR12 first stage down to 60m depth. Their performance was virtually indistiguishable from my Mares Abyss. While the Abyss is a great reg I would save my money in the future by sticking to the MR12 first stage which works so well. I suspect this would also be the case with the other expensive Mares first stages. I am heading off for some deep diving in a few weeks and will have no hesitation using my MR12 Proton down to 60m. I am quite sure I will never be able to outbreath the MR12 regs I will be using.
I have used the V32 with the Proton XL and was disappointed. I purchased the regulator as a backup to my aqualung legend - primarily because the angled first stage allowed me to use my Vytec transmitter without any interference from hose protectors on the low pressure ports. When diving the reg, I noticed the diaphram in the second stage continually "popped" and the work of breathing was noticiably harder than my legend. I had my lds "tweak" the second stage twice and the popping still occurred. The final straw came at 80' when the diaphram again "popped" and shut off the regulator. I switched to my alternate, did a normal ascent, and went back to my legend. When I returned the Mares reg to the lds, they offered me another Proton LX regulator, placed it on their test tank, and lo and behold, that second stage also started "popping." They were kind enough to offer me an upgrade to the Mares Abyss which shares the same 1st stage design as the V32. The Abyss does not "pop" but I'm still using the Legend as my primary regulator and have the Abyss in storage as a backup unit.
Greg Barlow
Contributor
Frogman48:
I am concerned about the "popping", as it sounds as though the lever and/or diaphragm are in need of inspection. The Proton second stage is so simple in construction, that there is little that can actually go wrong. I'd be very interested in what the shop found to be the problem.
Greg
Mares technician
Greg Barlow
Contributor
BlueDevil:
I'm a big fan of the MR12 first stage, and currently own five of them. While I love the simplicity of the design, I really like the hose routing of the V16 first stage. The MR12 works fine on my doubles and on stage bottles, but when using all of the ports the hoses undergo some pretty tough turns.
Greg
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