New diver buying 1st reg, Deep 6 or Hog?

[Bowers]

I dive the hog d3 with zenith seconds, my wife dives d3 with classic 2.0 seconds, and my students dive hog d1 with classic 2.0 seconds. All combos work great for cold and deep. The reason i choose d3 is its better for sidemount and the zenith is better in heavy current.

 

[NothingClever]

Not sure about HOG, but Deep6 require you to take the course in order to get parts kits. They changed this. Before you could buy the kits online.

Now that royally sucks. <various expletives escaped> I feel like I need to go back and edit all of my posts commenting on the fact that they believe their customers have intelligence. <more expletives escaping>

Are you guys sure about all this? I know I don’t have all the facts.

But if I have to take a course or provide a certification of other regulator training to get D6G parts, that seems like a pretty low bar to jump over. In spite of what you guys wrote above, I still see D6G is all about closing the gap between manufacturer and the end user.

As a vignette, I just got back from Saudi Arabia where all the usual variety of big name regulators are available for purchase but the situation for regulator service is problematic (parts availability, technician competency, unreliable scheduling, a shop standing behind one’s work, etc). It’s common for expats to send their regs back to the EU for servicing and folks often end up taking a couple of months off while waiting.

Although I wouldn’t characterize shore and boat diving in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea as expeditionary, it’s far more on that end of the spectrum than diving in the US where there’s an abundance of parts and LDS talent. So the ability to order D6G parts, pack them along with me, service my own regs when and where I need to with the ability to call D6G for assistance if I have questions is supremely attractive to me.

Maybe some of you seasoned veterans can get that out of the major brands but I can’t and that’s why I chose D6G.

 

[Tournesol2000]

Are you guys sure about all this? I know I don’t have all the facts.

But if I have to take a course or provide a certification of other regulator training to get D6G parts, that seems like a pretty low bar to jump over. In spite of what you guys wrote above, I still see D6G is all about closing the gap between manufacturer and the end user.

As a vignette, I just got back from Saudi Arabia where all the usual variety of big name regulators are available for purchase but the situation for regulator service is problematic (parts availability, technician competency, unreliable scheduling, a shop standing behind one’s work, etc). It’s common for expats to send their regs back to the EU for servicing and folks often end up taking a couple of months off while waiting.

Although I wouldn’t characterize shore and boat diving in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea as expeditionary, it’s far more on that end of the spectrum than diving in the US where there’s an abundance of parts and LDS talent. So the ability to order D6G parts, pack them along with me, service my own regs when and where I need to with the ability to call D6G for assistance if I have questions is supremely attractive to me.

Maybe some of you seasoned veterans can get that out of the major brands but I can’t and that’s why I chose D6G.

Unfortunately, I am sure about this. Direct experience. Although it in of itself is not an issue, what is for me, is that when they launched, that was a big bonus selling point, and now they back track! That is never a good thing in as far as I am concerned.

 

[abnfrog]

yes bob it does ..........think i said that on your course

 

[abnfrog]

or you just have back up 1st and second stage regs that get used while the others get worked on ....im not losing a half a season of diving for a few bucks , considering what we all have invested in gear computers etc

 

[rsingler]

It’s common for expats to send their regs back to the EU for servicing and folks often end up taking a couple of months off while waiting.

True? Can't be "often", but even "sometimes" is unbelievable.
Haven't heard a better argument for DIY in my life. And yeah, learning it from a book with no prior is just insane. Not too much to ask to travel for a course. As has been said in so many other contexts, "you don't know what you don't know." Took me several years and some dumb mistakes to learn that even though I'd HAD formal tech training. Now picture that out in Saudi Arabia where you're the only one to fix your gear, and the only course you ever had was a video.

 

[NothingClever]

or you just have back up 1st and second stage regs that get used while the others get worked on ....im not losing a half a season of diving for a few bucks , considering what we all have invested in gear computers etc

Yeah, I’m blessed to be able to afford redundancy but others aren’t.

 

[Ryebrye]

I actually talked to Landon about this. He says that the Deep6 policy on service kit availability hasn't changed - they include the first ones with the regs so you can take them somewhere to service them (or, if you are qualified, do it yourself) but to get subsequent kits they just want to double check that someone who knows what they are doing is going to be servicing them. (And this hasn't changed)

"knowing what you are doing" does not require you to take their course if you meet the qualifications in a number of other ways.

If you have questions about it, you should reach out to them.

 

[lexvil]

I actually talked to Landon about this. He says that the Deep6 policy on service kit availability hasn't changed - they include the first ones with the regs so you can take them somewhere to service them (or, if you are qualified, do it yourself) but to get subsequent kits they just want to double check that someone who knows what they are doing is going to be servicing them. (And this hasn't changed)

"knowing what you are doing" does not require you to take their course if you meet the qualifications in a number of other ways.

If you have questions about it, you should reach out to them.

When they first introduced these wasn’t even a manual let alone a course, the kit came with the regulators and they would replace the kit when you sent it in for the first service, in the broader sense it doesn’t seem like a change unless they no longer supply the kit if you sent it to them for service.

 

[NothingClever]

I actually talked to Landon about this. He says that the Deep6 policy on service kit availability hasn't changed - they include the first ones with the regs so you can take them somewhere to service them (or, if you are qualified, do it yourself) but to get subsequent kits they just want to double check that someone who knows what they are doing is going to be servicing them. (And this hasn't changed)

"knowing what you are doing" does not require you to take their course if you meet the qualifications in a number of other ways.

If you have questions about it, you should reach out to them.

Good info, thanks for getting to the facts.

I guess I’m a bit simplistic on the whole matter.

Generally speaking, if there’s a course I can take for kit that my life depends on and that enables me to self-support with maintenance, I’m taking the course.

My new Signature regs will be here sometime in the next 3-5 days. I’m not sure when I’ll take the course but when I do I intend to do as many services as I can to develop muscle memory and technique recall.

I think we have a tendency on SB to make things harder than they really are.