New to diving, need some help on buying a decent regulator.

[Colliam7]

Realistically I'll be diving 1-3 times a year, I live in central Florida (Tampa to be exact) so I'm close enough to the water but I don't see myself diving much outside of the Keys. Meaning I'll have to make a vacation out of it which limits the amount of diving I can do per year.

The statements don't add up. Why are you restricting your diving to the Keys, for instance? If it really turns out to be no more than 1-3 times yearly, I agree with several posters - RENT, don't buy.

From some research/lurking I've been doing it seems Scuba Pro regulators are the tried and true industry standard?

Scubapro regs are good, but by no means the 'tried and true industry standard'. I am curious - why did you conclude that? Why limit yourself to only SP regs? There are MANY good regs out there, that will last a long time. That doesn't mean they are better than SP, rather that means you have a much wider range of options on Craiglist (or eBay) than you would if you stick with only one brand.

Do you guys consider regulators an item that should only be bought new, or are these ok to be bought used?

Used is fine. I have 22 regulators. I bought (only) 6 of them new. Everything else was purchased on eBay (and work very well, BTW).

I'm figuring by the time I buy a used one and get it inspected, possibly rebuilt I could have bought a new one.

Not really. Actually, not true at all.

 

[Egkid]

Wow! You guys are awesome. I never would have expected to get this much info so soon.

Alright, I definitely hear you guys on renting being WAY more cost effective but at the same it's just nice to have your own gear. I'll be renting for a while but I like to keep an eye open on craigslist and just needed a starting point on what to avoid and what to jump on if a deal comes up.

There's no particular order on what gear I want to buy first, there's just sooo many regulator options I couldn't even figure out where to start. Everything else (gear wise) I think I should be able to figure out using Google I actually find it to be good entertainment. I could be way off too but nothing else seems to be as intricate as regulators, BCD's just seem to be what people find most comfortable. A wet suit is actually the next thing I'm purchasing but they're not too expensive so I'm not putting too much thought into one, I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas at the end of October so I'm thinking a 5mm for the colder water(I froze in 78 degree water snorkeling in Key Largo last year).

I've wanted to scuba since I was a little kid and was infatuated with the ocean as far back as I can remember. I started keeping saltwater reef tanks about 8 years ago and have a gained a real passion for corals and reefs in general. So at this point in time I want to focus on diving natural reef environments, to get a glimpse at what I've been trying to recreate in my little glass box. As far as I'm aware The Keys are the only place in the continental U.S. that I can witness this habitat. and luckily only a 6-8 hour drive. I'm still guessing with gas, lodging, rental gear, charter boat that each of these trips will cost about $400-$600 hence why I think I'll be diving only a few times a year. I did my open water dives at the Devil's Den, and the Blue Grotto and while I'll never forget these dives they just weren't awe inspiring for me, I felt like I saw everything within the first 30 minutes at these locations. To me it was like a visit to a museum, where reef diving is like a trip to the zoo.

From what I observed it seemed like all the Scubapro regulators that were listed for sale always got a lot of good praise and didn't last long before they were sold, that's why I figured they were the "old faithful" I'm open to all suggestions though. Apeks and Hog look like very good considerations and that's the whole reason I asked you guys. To get as many different opinions as possible, and luckily for me you guys aren't tossing out 50 different suggestions.

Kind of unrelated, but is there any advantage to a din vs yoke regulator? Hog offers almost all of their regulators in DIN but most used equipment I find is setup up for a yoke regulator. I prefer yoke as it seem to be the more common of the two, but I was just curious as to why a company would focus on a din regulator.

 

[BugHunterNY]

I've wanted to scuba since I was a little kid and was infatuated with the ocean as far back as I can remember. I started keeping saltwater reef tanks about 8 years ago and have a gained a real passion for corals and reefs in general. So at this point in time I want to focus on diving natural reef environments, to get a glimpse at what I've been trying to recreate in my little glass box. As far as I'm aware The Keys are the only place in the continental U.S. that I can witness this habitat. and luckily only a 6-8 hour drive.

Do some more research. There are plenty of great reef environments much closer to you. In fact pretty much everywhere in between Jupiter and Miami has great, well some better than others, diving. Jupiter probably being the best of all.

The diving in Jupiter is particularly great for reefs, turtles, sharks and all other marine life. You would be able to do weekends, or even day trips to Jupiter and get really incredible dives.

Yoke are more common with rental tanks, although many outfits will have both Yoke and Din. Tech divers prefer DIN as they can handle higher tank pressures, and provide a more streamlined attachment to the tank, among other benefits. Especially in Jupiter, the main shop rents both DIN and Yoke, so you won't have a problem there...

FYI, I dive the MK25/S600 setup and I've tried dozens of regs. There are plenty of exceptional regs out there by Apeks, Hog and others, but from my own test dives, the mk25s600 is hands down my favorite. Breaths smooth and easily from the surface down to 200 (haven't been deeper), inverted and even if I'm really working, the change in air delivery is almost non-existent.

I would advocate trying a few different regs, but ultimately buy them sooner rather than later. While rental regs are fine, I've had past bad experiences with them breathing "wet" or difficult, since they see a lot of use, and not all shops maintain them as well as they should... That's not to say they're all bad, but for my life support, I'd rather know exactly where it's been and how it's been treated.




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[yardpro]

if you are renting tanks get a yoke. they are by far the most common setup.

aqualung is a brand that i don't see people recommending. they are one of the top brands. the old conshelf is identical internas to the new titans, and the service kits can be found everywhere in the world.
they were the military spec'd standard for years as they were bulletproof top performers.
i use conshelfs and i have borrowed, tried, and rented new scubapro stuff.. mine breathes every bit as well and cost me under $100.00 including console.

i now use a r109 as an octo... it has been converted to a balanced and breathes great...

---------- Post added September 9th, 2014 at 08:38 PM ----------

i agree get a wetsuit first

 

[Scubatude]

Scubapro makes good regs but they are expensive. For value, the Hog D1 with some classic 2nd stages are hard to beat. You can find the hog regs on DRIS (dive right in scuba), Divers Supply, and Cave Adventurers.

you can sometimes find bcd's in good shape for sale used, but a backplate and wing is sometimes the same price or cheaper. Dive Gear Express currently has a bp/w package for 320 new. You could save a little bit by keeping an eye out for a used wing and getting a plate off DGX.

if you only plan to dive 3 times a year, just rent gear. it doesn't make sense for you to own gear unless you plan to use it regularly.

..... or at Scubatude (www.scubatude.com)

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