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fairly new diver and am looking for a regulator for use in new england during the summer (May-August). is a cold water regulator necessary? Would the oceanic alpha 8 be ok? or should I look at the sherwood blizzards?
In May you can certainly get in to cold regulator conditions and for the slight cost premium it would be a mistake to limit yourself by buying a warm water regulator.
Blizards serve us well, I can't speak to the others.
Yup. I live in Virginia and had to sell my Atomic Z1. I would recommend Apeks but there are a lot of people here who have used HOGs and have been very happy. Hog is cheaper.
I would go with a cold water regulator and also NE waters can be kinda dirty sometimes so also look for a sealed regulator. I would take a look at HOG regulators
I've used SP Mk5's for >40 years in NE an open / "warm water" regulator. I dive year round and have used it for ice diving a few times. IMO the need for cold water regulators is overrated. Look for a regulator that is rugged and breaths well; treat it good, regular rinses and service it'll serve you well for years to come. Don't breath from it on the surface when it's cold.
I dive off of Cape Ann in Massachusetts from May through the end of October. I own an Alpha 8 and an old Sherwood Oasis. Neither has frozen up on me.
The Alpha manual recommends it be used above 50 F. The first stage (mine is a balanced piston) is not environmentally sealed and could, theoretically freeze up early in the season.
The Oasis piston first stage is designed with a slow insignificant air leak from the piston chamber that allows it to be isolated (by the air) from the water, but still respond to ambient pressure changes. The Oasis first stage has a series of plates that encourage exhaled moisture to be retained resulting in humidification of the dry cylinder air for greater comfort. Since I acquired the Sherwood, I have used it whenever the water is cold enough for a drysuit (and have added a drysuit inflator hose to the regulator).
The Blizzard uses the same first stage design as the Oasis, but the second stage has a different plate design to minimize the likelihood of ice formation. It's a good solid regulator design in my opinion which should work well throughout the dive season you describe.
I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're looking for a Blizzard, give Jim at Boston Scuba (bostonscuba.com) a shout. I believe he has some deals on Blizzards.
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