Newbie with questions about Regs & computers

[xrayiis]

Hi-I picked up some used equipment for a good price-at least I think its a good price-and was wondering if I could get some input on which REGs and computer is best. I will be diving mainly in cold California. The Reg's are: Mares MR 12 III ,SeaQuest Mirage, Seaquest Cryo , Tulsa Imprex first and second stage, Oceanic Alpha Octo.
The computers are a Mares Divemate,Suunto Favor, Suunto Favor air and a Oceanic Datamax Pro.
I also wanted to say that I have been lurking in the shadows and reading this board for a couple weeks and have picked up more info then I did in the books! Thanks
Wendy

 

[divinginn]

take them to a pool and try them out and see which you like best

 

[DiveMaven]

"Best" is subjective...kinda like asking which car brand is best (Ford, Dodge, Chevy, or Saturn). Do some reading on the "regulator" and "computer" sections of the board and see what others think of the gear you're considering. Try them out for yourself in a pool and/or run sims on the computers in the dive shop. Decide what fits best with your budget and the kind of diving you're going to be doing, and buy it.

Unfortunately, it is never easy.

 

[rawls]

Hi-I picked up some used equipment for a good price-at least I think its a good price-and was wondering if I could get some input on which REGs and computer is best. I will be diving mainly in cold California. The Reg's are: Mares MR 12 III ,SeaQuest Mirage, Seaquest Cryo , Tulsa Imprex first and second stage, Oceanic Alpha Octo.
The computers are a Mares Divemate,Suunto Favor, Suunto Favor air and a Oceanic Datamax Pro.
I also wanted to say that I have been lurking in the shadows and reading this board for a couple weeks and have picked up more info then I did in the books! Thanks
Wendy

Wendy I'm not going to say it's a matter of this or that. I will give you a specific regulator to look at because I think that is the help you are asking for.
Take a look at the Zeagle Envoy Deluxe. It had a score of 20 out of 20 in simulator performance testing. No regulator came close to this score. It has a resistance knob that you can adjust depending on diving conditions. Every one of Zeagles regulators have work of breathing scores that are less than Navy standards. They are great for cold diving conditions. The higher end models all have anti-freezing features which make them perfect for ice diving...although I know you probably won't be doing alot of ice diving even in cold Cali water. They are also manufatured in the United States. The Envoy Deluxe is around the $300 price range which is pretty much unbeatable. Just a suggestion...Good luck, have fun and dive safely....

 

[SmileMon]

I'm with rawls, although I didn't try any other reg (except for the scubapro R190 I have on my pony and the oceanic octo I have on my main), I will say the Zeagle is easy to breath off and to me it feels almost natural underwater.

The only thing I have to add about it that it needs break-in dives, after 2-4 dives, take it back to the dealer for recalibration.
or at least mine needed, just a little twist and it becames as good as new and stays like it.
Mine has 10 dives on it and every dive feels more natural (breathing wise) than the one before it.

Sometimes if I breath heavily it makes my face like a pufferfish face, but I guess its because my knob is open all the way to ease my breath.