Piston Vs. Diaphram

[Nolly67]

I want to purchase a regulator but don't know which is better, a piston or diaphram reg. I live in Florida and don't plan on doing any cold water diving. Any suggestions or insight???

 

[jbd]

Have you checked out the section on regulators? There should be plenty of discussion there about the pro's and con's of the various regualtor types.

 

[DIR Tec Diver]

This is covered in a lot of detail in the regulator section, but in short diaphram regs tend to be more balanced and give less resistance with breathing, and resist freezing, but there are really good piston regs out there too. Just do the research and pick the reg you feel most comfortable with and works best for you.

 

[TaMe]

just find the one that feels the bst in your mouth

 

[rickydazla]

Balanced (or over-balanced) diaphragm regulators are better in that they offer less breathing resistance than piston regs and the effort required does not change with depth and/or decreased tank pressure. And there is a noticeable difference.

However, that is not to say that breathing from a piston reg at 30m is going to be like sucking treacle through a cocktail straw. You would probably have no issues at all with a piston reg and you could spend the money you save on other bits and bobs but you would exclaim a little at the difference when sucking on a diaphragm reg after using your piston reg for a while.

I personally use piston regs or very simple diaphragm regs like my old Conshelf 14 and newer AquaLung Titan but simply because I can get parts cheaply and service them myself. I'm the same way with cars. Might feel differently if I drove and dove in Michigan though.

 

[Damselfish]

just find the one that feels the bst in your mouth

not the way to pick a reg - if it doesn't feel right in your mouth, maybe try a different mouthpiece.