Mares rover 2s VS Beuchat Vrt30 VS Seac P-Synchro ?

[alfred1]

Hello,

I'm thinking about buying a full 1st + 2nd stage + octopus regulators set.

Unfortunately I'm in a budget and this is probably one of those outdoor activities in which you can't really say to be on a budget since everything tends to cost quite something (depending on paychecks).

Also I didn't want to consider used gear since I fear there's just so much that could be worn out that for the saving I get at first I'd then need to get everything serviced or worse and quickly climb up to the new-in-box price.

Talking about recreational diving on air, nothing technical or deeper than 30 meters.

I've been considering between those three, all piston 1st stage and balanced 2nd stage:
Mares rover 2s
Beuchat Vrt30
Seac P-Synchro

They're all around 210-270 USD/set (200-250 EUR).

At first thought I'd have chosen the Mares since it is the most affordable of them and I have known and heard about the brand for quite some time, though I recalled some complaints going on about the usual "things aren't built like back in the days".

I've just recently heard about Beuchat (might just be a thing of mine though) and heard good things about Seac, though I know this is about as unprofessional and brand-sold ideas as one could get.

Considering not a lot of dives (maybe 30/year or I'd have to get a 9mm wetsuit to dive in winter at around 15°C or lakes at 10°C and stay on budget without a drysuit) and that prices being about the same, should I expect about same quality between them or do I have to look after something going wrong within their lifetime, which I (may wrongly) expect to be 10 years if properly cared for and serviced?


Any thought is welcome

Thank you

 

[runsongas]

the synchro is not a balanced 2nd stage, it is a downstream 2nd stage. not sure about the mares but it looks like it probably is as well. the beuchat is a balanced 2nd, so might be the best performing. service is hard to find in the US, not sure about europe for beuchat. the beuchat vrt30 iceberg looks to be pretty cheap at scubastore.

 

[ams511]

The Mares is an unbalanced piston first stage and an unbalanced second stage. The performance of this will be ok. The main advantage is that the parts kits are cheap and the design is simple. I am fairly certain the SEAC is the same. I agree with Runson that the Beuchat would be the best performing out of the three because both the first and second stage is balanced.

As far as build quality goes I would rank them all the same. As far as service goes I would give Mares the edge because it is a bigger player and has more dealers. However, if you have someone that can service the SEAC or the Beuchat then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[alfred1]

Thanks for your suggestions

I'm in Europe so it should be fairly common to find service points for these brands, don't know about parts though and if it's a wise idea to stock them up for the years to come (if they'll come out of production) to extent their lifespan (how many working years may I expect from those relatively cheap sets?).