Opinion on Mares 62X with Dual Adj. 2nd and Octopus.

[RoscoeRedThree]

I am thinking on purchasing the Mares 62X with Dual Adj. 2nd and Octopus to replace my virtually unused Scubapro R380 and R190 (both primary 2nd stages while the R190 is used as an alternate 2nd stage. I am looking for a light setup for frequent travel used maybe a dozen to 20 times a year. What does the crowd say?

 

[Mobulai]

2nd Stage faking to be an Octo

What do you mean? An „Octo“ is a 2nd stage

What first stage do you have, and why are you considering a switch?

 

[RoscoeRedThree]

What do you mean? An „Octo“ is a 2nd stage

What first stage do you have, and why are you considering a switch?

Let me re-phrase that I have two primary 2nd stages. Where I learned diving, an Octopus is a cheap, alternate 2nd stage and usually yellow (I guess) but mine is a primary 2nd used as a secondary, if that makes sense. No clue about the 1st stage, it is the one that came with the R380 20 plus years ago. I was told my regulators are old as crap, though they have only been used 3 times before I stored them. He told me he had a hard time servicing them because the parts are not freely available where I live.

 

[Mobulai]

Let me re-phrase that I have two primary 2nd stages. Where I learned diving, an Octopus is a cheap, alternate 2nd stage and usually yellow (I guess) but mine is a primary 2nd used as a secondary, if that makes sense. No clue about the 1st stage, it is the one that came with the R380 20 plus years ago. I was told my regulators are old as crap, though they have only been used 3 times before I stored them. He told me he had a hard time servicing them because the parts are not freely available where I live.

Ok let’s address this bit by bit:
An Octo is just a cute nickname given to a safe second; dive schools that rent out gear generally choose the most economical option which is a cheaper yellow one

You have 2 close matching in performance ones, why ever downgrade?

Just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s crap, or not serviceable
My favorite (and best performing) regulators are 20-40 years old (older than me, some are even 50+)

Scubapro second stages are very tough btw, they have a special polymer that makes them the best out there
I personally prefer balanced 2nds (the R series isn’t)
If you have that paired with a unbalanced 1st (like mk2), might be best to upgrade either

Show us a picture of what you have and we can tell you what it is

Also, you can mix and match brands as long as operational range/specs match

It sounds like the shop you went to doesn’t deal in Scubapro regs (because the R series parts are easily available) — so it’s either they are trying to upsell you, or don’t have SP access, or don’t know what they’re talking about

 

[RoscoeRedThree]

Ok let’s address this bit by bit:
An Octo is just a cute nickname given to a safe second; dive schools that rent out gear generally choose the most economical option which is a cheaper yellow one

You have 2 close matching in performance ones, why ever downgrade?

Just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s crap, or not serviceable
My favorite (and best performing) regulators are 20-40 years old (older than me, some are even 50+)

Scubapro second stages are very tough btw, they have a special polymer that makes them the best out there
I personally prefer balanced 2nds (the R series isn’t)
If you have that paired with a unbalanced 1st (like mk2), might be best to upgrade either

Show us a picture of what you have and we can tell you what it is

Also, you can mix and match brands as long as operational range/specs match

It sounds like the shop you went to doesn’t deal in Scubapro regs (because the R series parts are easily available) — so it’s either they are trying to upsell you, or don’t have SP access, or don’t know what they’re talking about

Ok, I just checked. The regulator is a Mk16 T.I.S. My 1st stage is a R380 and the 2nd is a R190. The problem is, I live in South Korea and Scubapro Korea does not have the repair kits anymore, so my dealer cannot get them either. I was trying to buy one from a US Scubapro dealer, but was told we only sell to qualified dealers.

 

[Mobulai]

The regulator is a Mk16 T.I.S.

that makes sense now — afaik the mk16 kits have been deprecated everywhere; there is an upgrade kit (10.116.030) that changed the orifice so that you can use mk11 service kits after that
Your dealer in korea should be able to get them, check this thread

Just checked with the Technical Department SP here about the 10.116.030 MK16/18 to MK17/19 HP Tech Kit.
They don't include any diaphragm or washers anymore ( the kit includes only the HP Seat, the orifice and the 01.050.317 o-ring), because it seems that for MK16/18 a change of the diaphragm ( and washer) is not considered as necessary ( that's what the Chief Technician told me).
They just want you to change the valve configuration it seems for the MK16/18.
There is no separate Service Kit available, only the 10.756.045 as we know it.

The US is the toughest place to get SP parts, check in the EU it should be easier to find without restrictions