MK25EVO + A700. Thoughts on this?

[noj3333]

@beaverdivers or @guruboy may have some offerings...

 

[noj3333]

In practice, both are great regs.

+1

 

[joe10540]

Check your local dive shops yearly gear sale. They often will sell the used regs after a year and replace them with new. That’s how I got my Mk25/s600s and I love them. I have 5 sets of them now and buying them used you definitely can’t beat the price!

 

[nicole2]

You may want to do a bit of research, MK25 Evo is their flagship piston reg, MK17 Evo is their flagship environmentally sealed diaphragm reg. Both are updated. It is a matter of piston vs. diaphragm and whether environmental sealing has benefits depending on the water you dive in and the ability to rinse thoroughly/immediately etc.

The layout can also be a factor, some like the swivel turret on the MK25, others like myself have no use for it and prefer a smaller unit.

In practice, both are great regs.

I just did some research and read that MK25 works really well with tec diving and MK17 works well with cold water. I'll be diving in California so I guess MK17 would work better for me!
thanks

 

[nicole2]

@nicole2, when diving a plastic regulator it wasn't uncommon for me to finish the dive and have my mouth feel all dry on the inside. It's my understanding this is due to the dry air in your tank, and volume of air used on deeper dives. With an all metal regulator this is a non issue, for me.

I think SP markets the MK25 as their 'premium' first stage, but it's my opinion the MK17 is superior, a superior design and very 'tried an true'. As far as the Evo versions go, I think that's hype, with not much added value.

If I were you I'd keep and eye out for used regulators, it's not uncommon to see them trade for less then half of retail. Buying used has allow me to dive 'premium gear' (ie expensive stuff) for a reasonable price... In my opinion, once serviced, by a competent tech, used regulators as just as safe as new stuff right out of the box...

Wow. I never thought dried mouth is due to a regulator I used! I always had cotton mouth then..
I just did some research and MK25 seems to work better with tec diving. MK17 works better with cold water. Both are good ones but they work in different ways!

thanks for the advice

 

[nicole2]

Check your local dive shops yearly gear sale. They often will sell the used regs after a year and replace them with new. That’s how I got my Mk25/s600s and I love them. I have 5 sets of them now and buying them used you definitely can’t beat the price!

You have 5 sets of MK25/S600 ??
Why would you need so many? Do you think I'd need to get a spare reg set for traveling?
I'm thinking about getting MK17+A700 and replace the octopus with S600 regulator.

 

[tridacna]

I just did some research and read that MK25 works really well with tec diving and MK17 works well with cold water. I'll be diving in California so I guess MK17 would work better for me!
thanks

In California, you would not see any difference between the MK25 EVO and the MK17. The Mk17 would be better suited for ice diving.

 

[nicole2]

In California, you would not see any difference between the MK25 EVO and the MK17. The Mk17 would be better suited for ice diving.

Okay! I only dove in the Red Sea and the water temperature was much higher than in California. Either one would work well then I guess...!!!

 

[noj3333]

Agreed with what's said above... likely you, or I, or 99% of the diving population wouldn't notice the difference if their 1st stage, when tuned properly and used in recreational depths.

The MK25 is liked by tech divers due to the fact it has a 5th port, coming off the bottom, this allows some different hose routing options that tech dives would take advantage of. Both regs would be fine for the diving you do... CA is not cold enough to cause issues.

As far as an octo goes, I use a R195. It's fine for me... save the money over the cost of a S600 and go out to a nice dinner, or better yet, go diving!

At any rate is sounds like you're learning a lot and enjoying the process!

 

[joe10540]

You have 5 sets of MK25/S600 ??
Why would you need so many? Do you think I'd need to get a spare reg set for traveling?
I'm thinking about getting MK17+A700 and replace the octopus with S600 regulator.

I have 5 sets because I dive caves and can have with me 4 tanks at any one time. I have one open water reg set up so that I don’t have to monkey with anything when I’m single tank diving. And they are all the same so that I can swap any part from any reg if there is ever a problem it also makes service easier as there is only one type of first stage and one type of second stage to service. Someone recommend the R190 and that is a great simple octo that I have used and would give a second vote for.