Mares regs for deep?
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IndigoBlue
Contributor
You may want to consider posting a survey in the tech section to see what regs everyone there uses for extreme diving. That would at least give you a survey.
The two regs that I see the most on tech boats are ScubaPro and Apex. What I would do is to try out a few yourself, at your own extreme air limit, since air is the toughest mix to breathe at depth that you will ever be using. As someone else said, helium mixes are easier to breathe.
What I would not do is make your choice based on price or bargain element. Medical costs can add up quite fast if you have a big problem down there. Thousands upon thousands. And that would be only if you even make it back. The average funeral costs about ten thousand as well.
NO no no Indigo, don't you know.......everybody uses Mares regs now for extreme diving!!!
C'mon man get with the program
heheheh
Yup, you're right, everybody but these 3 or 4 fine gents use Scubapro or Apeks (Honourable mention to Poseidon).
It's great being wrong with the crowd......kinda makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy.
hehehheh
Mares FIX:
We've found that eliminating the seat in the Mares 2nd stage fixed the "brick" breathing altogether.....problem is now, it doesn't leave more than 3 or 4 minutes of bottom time with an ALU80.
heheh
C'mon man get with the program
heheheh
Yup, you're right, everybody but these 3 or 4 fine gents use Scubapro or Apeks (Honourable mention to Poseidon).
It's great being wrong with the crowd......kinda makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy.
hehehheh
Mares FIX:
We've found that eliminating the seat in the Mares 2nd stage fixed the "brick" breathing altogether.....problem is now, it doesn't leave more than 3 or 4 minutes of bottom time with an ALU80.
heheh
eod
Guest
Why not make the choice based on price _IF_ the products are comparable in performance (as they seem to be according to the breathing aparatus measurements)?
Or is the Mares products known for low quality?
Or is the Mares products known for low quality?
Greg Barlow
Contributor
Eod,
Some people are willing to pay top dollar for an item due to the fact that it seems to be the "choice of experts". I worked for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine for a few years and can assure you that Mares makes very high quality equipment. Their regs may not have all the "fancy features" of some other models, but they offer great performance for a fair price.
BTW, as far as only 4 or 5 of us using Mares regs I believe this to be a bit of a stretch. A good friend just got back from Florida where he finished his full cave certification courses. His instructor is out of Cave Excursions. Cave Excursions is a full line dealer of many different regulator brands. YIKES!!!!!!! The instructor uses nothing but Mares regs. His advice to my buddy was that Mares regs offer great gas delivery with a simple, robust design. His term was "bulletproof reliability".
Even George Irvine III told me that Mares regs are very dependable and simple to maintain. You might also like to know that GI quit using ScubaPro regs because of the frequent HP seat failures that he was experiencing. Jarrod Jablonski was having custom seats made for his ScubaPros a few years back. I can tell you that if I ever switch reg brands, it will be to Apeks. Apeks regs are still fairly simple to service and the high pressure seats are the most dependable in the industry. Not even the most ardent ScubaPro fans can intelligently argue that point. What's more, I do believe that ScubaPro makes their regs a bit more complicated than need be.
Best Wishes,
Greg Barlow
Some people are willing to pay top dollar for an item due to the fact that it seems to be the "choice of experts". I worked for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine for a few years and can assure you that Mares makes very high quality equipment. Their regs may not have all the "fancy features" of some other models, but they offer great performance for a fair price.
BTW, as far as only 4 or 5 of us using Mares regs I believe this to be a bit of a stretch. A good friend just got back from Florida where he finished his full cave certification courses. His instructor is out of Cave Excursions. Cave Excursions is a full line dealer of many different regulator brands. YIKES!!!!!!! The instructor uses nothing but Mares regs. His advice to my buddy was that Mares regs offer great gas delivery with a simple, robust design. His term was "bulletproof reliability".
Even George Irvine III told me that Mares regs are very dependable and simple to maintain. You might also like to know that GI quit using ScubaPro regs because of the frequent HP seat failures that he was experiencing. Jarrod Jablonski was having custom seats made for his ScubaPros a few years back. I can tell you that if I ever switch reg brands, it will be to Apeks. Apeks regs are still fairly simple to service and the high pressure seats are the most dependable in the industry. Not even the most ardent ScubaPro fans can intelligently argue that point. What's more, I do believe that ScubaPro makes their regs a bit more complicated than need be.
Best Wishes,
Greg Barlow
kingprawn
Contributor
I have a 7' hose on my Abyss. I do not notice a difference in performance between long and sort hose. Then again I have a very low SAC rate. The Abyss uses a 1/2" hose on the primary. I'm sure that helps.
Mares does not advertise itself as "Tech" gear. They are known for making good quality gear. The Abyss is a good high performance reg. Their web site does say 100m on trimix.
Scubapro, Apex and others compete for the Tech market, and many of the people on the tech forums will have their gear. There have been several reg polls, and Mares shows up on all of them. Maybe not top listed, but then again, tech is not their target market.
As the more level headed people on this post have stated, if you already have an Abyss, stick with it. If you find that the performance does not meet your needs below 130, then I suggest trying out some other regs before buying.
Greg Barlow
Contributor
Whatever we "techies" like to believe, the dive industry itself is rather small in economic terms. The tech segment of it is even smaller. Even Dive Rite has branched out in the more recreational market.
Which, brings up an interesting point...
The Dive Rite RG1200 is very similar to the Apeks regs, albeit at a much lower price. Perhaps this is a reg that can meet the needs of "extreme divers".
I'll just keep using my Mares regs until I feel the need to switch to Apeks or "brand A".
Mares regs in my mind are very high quality, simple, robust, and affordably priced. True, some high end models of balanced second stages may offer easier inhalation effort but mine breathe just fine. I've used many regs over the last four decades and am quite content with my current MR12's.
As they say, "to each his own".
BTW, I am still waiting for someone to tell me what is so inherently bad about Mares regs. Not a single tale of a poor breathing example, but some real objective data.....
A quote to end my ramblings. This is credited to either Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain, but the origin is still a mystery:
"It is far better to be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubts."
Best Wishes and Safe Diving,
Greg Barlow
Which, brings up an interesting point...
The Dive Rite RG1200 is very similar to the Apeks regs, albeit at a much lower price. Perhaps this is a reg that can meet the needs of "extreme divers".
I'll just keep using my Mares regs until I feel the need to switch to Apeks or "brand A".
Mares regs in my mind are very high quality, simple, robust, and affordably priced. True, some high end models of balanced second stages may offer easier inhalation effort but mine breathe just fine. I've used many regs over the last four decades and am quite content with my current MR12's.
As they say, "to each his own".
BTW, I am still waiting for someone to tell me what is so inherently bad about Mares regs. Not a single tale of a poor breathing example, but some real objective data.....
A quote to end my ramblings. This is credited to either Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain, but the origin is still a mystery:
"It is far better to be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubts."
Best Wishes and Safe Diving,
Greg Barlow
MAK52580
Contributor
I had a question sort of related to this thread. I currently have a Mares MR12 Axis as my main reg. It works great down to 150 and I have not tried taking it deeper than that. I am looking into getting into extended range and eventual tech diving, staged deco, etc. For this I was planning on purchasing a Poseidon reg. My question was whether or not it would be advisable to attach the Axis to a pony or deco bottle as a backup, and whether it would work for any amount of time below 150' I do have the cold water, environmental seal kit on the 1st stage so freezing is not expected as it would be with an unsealed MR12 Axis. Let me know what you guys think. I am just throwing it out there.
Marc
Marc
Greg Barlow
Contributor
Marc,
First of all, I'm glad that you like your Axis. Secondly, I have been diving for many years and have made many dives of the type that you are interested in.
I personally would not dive deeper than 150' on air. Irregardless of who tells you, nitrogen partial pressures of this level are not safe. Too many things can go wrong in technical diving and the intoxicated state of nitrogen narcosis can only serve to make things worse. MUCH worse.
If you are making such divers then the only safe way to do them is with the proper training/knowledge and gear. As far as using a pony bottle on such dives, you would be better off with a set of doubles. A pony bottle should be viewed as a bail-out option for times when doubles are not feasible.
The Mares MR12 Axis makes an excellent deco bottle reg. It is very easily converted over to deco mixes and is very reliable.
Poseidon makes excellent regs. The new Xstream appears to be loaded with great features. It is a simple design first stage which should be reliable in nature. Many divers do not care for the positive pressure breathing characteristics of the Cyklon and Jet Stream. I suggest that you borrow one to try out on some dives. You might also read the reg test articles found at www.scubadiving.com and www.divernet.com. They have many pieces on Poseidons along with other manufacturer's models.
Greg Barlow
First of all, I'm glad that you like your Axis. Secondly, I have been diving for many years and have made many dives of the type that you are interested in.
I personally would not dive deeper than 150' on air. Irregardless of who tells you, nitrogen partial pressures of this level are not safe. Too many things can go wrong in technical diving and the intoxicated state of nitrogen narcosis can only serve to make things worse. MUCH worse.
If you are making such divers then the only safe way to do them is with the proper training/knowledge and gear. As far as using a pony bottle on such dives, you would be better off with a set of doubles. A pony bottle should be viewed as a bail-out option for times when doubles are not feasible.
The Mares MR12 Axis makes an excellent deco bottle reg. It is very easily converted over to deco mixes and is very reliable.
Poseidon makes excellent regs. The new Xstream appears to be loaded with great features. It is a simple design first stage which should be reliable in nature. Many divers do not care for the positive pressure breathing characteristics of the Cyklon and Jet Stream. I suggest that you borrow one to try out on some dives. You might also read the reg test articles found at www.scubadiving.com and www.divernet.com. They have many pieces on Poseidons along with other manufacturer's models.
Greg Barlow
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