New tech reg suggestions

[bmoore_cave_diver]

Ok,
Time for a new tech reg again. I have been a die hard scuba pro fan for 25 years and used to service this brand back in the 90's. I need a replacement for my aging MKV
I have just converted my Mk25 to din but it is a few years old and I want a brand new one for my two post manifold.
Suggestions? apeks, scuba pro poseidon? I want a new first and second stage, din and it needs be extremely reliable (gotta take it to 200-300 feet and into caves) and breath well at depth. Poseidon is tempting but I am worried about parts, heard good things about apeks but have never worked on one or breathed off one. Well, I know the ole scuba pros like the front or back of my hand.

Any suggestions folks? It is to be used in fairly warm water, North West Florida but deep.

 

[sphillips3]

For warm water - ScubaPro Mk 25
For cold water - ScubaPro Mk 17

Either will give you plenty of air. The Mk 25 give you slightly better hose routing. The MK17 is more resistent to icing in very cold water and is a few less $$$.

If you are interested in servicing your own regs, try the Dive Rites - you can get the service kits with no trouble.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I agree that either the Mk 25 or Mk 17 would work great with the Mk 17 being preferable in cold or dirty water.

I differ on the hose routing as I like the hose routing for doubles with the Mk 17 with all the hoses running straight down. It is in my opinon just as streamlined but more organized and less cluttered looking.

Service wise you'd be more familiar with the Mk 25 and parts show up more often on e-bay. But the Mk 17 is not hard to service and is pretty intutitive if you have ever worked on a conshelf or just about any other diaphragm regulator.

The G250V would be my first choice for a second stage.

It is true that some brands of regulators have parts that they will sell directly to the end user - but that would be pretty far down my list as far as selection criteria. Annual service is just that - a one time per year event - while you dive the reg each and every dive, so the reg's performance should be the primary consideration not annual service parts availability. In general, SP parts are easy to find on e-bay and are actually much more common and easily obtained than most other reg parts, even from companies that do not officially control their distribution.