Octo. Buying Advice Needed

[tbone1004]

Also, still interested in what people think about compact octos vs. normal sized ones. Are they less reliable? Worth the extra cost? Any other general pros / cons on that front to know about would be great.

as a technical and cave diver, my secondary is MY regulator. It is there for me when my buddy or someone else has a problem. I don't believe in Air2's for that reason, nor do I believe in non-high performance secondaries. I want my secondary to match my primary, and the compact octo's don't do that. It also makes service more difficult if you DIY because you have multiple parts kits to deal with, and if you go to another brand, you have to make sure the shop can service both brands. It is always easier to have matching, and there is literally no downside to having matching second stages.

 

[Dermochelys]

Another option here, I'm sure it'll shoot up in price from where it is now. Could replace the hose on the ATX 200 with a yellow one and have 2 as suggested by some. As a bonus, comes with gauges that I like the look of. One thing I noted, this ATX 200 has a silver first stage and my ATX 200 is black. Is there any difference between the silver and black first stages other than cosmetics?

 

[tbone1004]

purely cosmetic. You can also replace the faceplates with yellow ones if you want, though there is research done that says the yellow hose does nothing. I would seriously read up on why the traditional hose routing is less than ideal and why primary donate is better. Whether that is from a 36" hose that bows out, a 40" hose on a swivel that comes under the right arm pit and up into the mouth, or a 5'/7' primary in a hogarthian loop with the secondary on a short hose on a necklace/suicide strap. It is a vastly superior regulator configuration when compared to the PADI/BSAC style of golden triangle with secondary donate. Primary donate is faster, easier, and a panicked diver is likely to grab the one out of your mouth anyway, so may as well plan for the worst and hope for the best, vs. the golden triangle whos theory only works if you are vertical and facing the diver in need, which is extremely rare if you are diving properly.

 

[Dermochelys]

I would seriously read up on why the traditional hose routing is less than ideal and why primary donate is better.

I'm somewhat familiar with this because when I was being certified my instructor really stressed that in emergencies that primary donate is better. I actually was trained on ScubaPro equipment with the integrated air systems, so in all of our practices we had to do primary donate, so to me that feels more normal.

 

[Dermochelys]

As the OP I just wanted to close out this thread. I was able to get 2 regulators as part of a package deal, both Apeks (ATX 50 and Egress octo).