Please advice me on purchase. Down to four regs!

[dirthead]

Of the ones on your list I would choose the Legend also.

However, if it were me, I would get an Apeks ATX50.

 

[aquaoren]

Well, I dove the Mares Abyss for couple hundred dives from the Red Sea to the North Atlantic in the winter. It always performed flawlessly without even a hickup and I was able to service it without any issues. I actually like them so heavy. Gives me a feeling that I really have a solid piece of gear in my hands. You could use it as a hammer to put some nails in the wall and later go diving with it.
Nevertheless, I recently bought me a pair of Apeks DS4/ATX50 for my doubles. I thought it will be an "upgrade" but guess what, the first stages were leaking already twice within 40 dives and it does not breath as nice as the Abyss. If it continues like that, I see myself ditching those damn Apeks and buying me another Abyss.
Until now I wasn't able to hear anything concrete against the Mares regs beside the fact that people don't like what happened to Dacor. To be honest, I couldn't care less what happened to Dacor. Scubapro made the same crapp with the Uwatec computers and I don't see anyone bashing Scubapro or discouraging people from buying their regs.
Oh and BTW, Lifetime warranty and free parts are only valid in North America AFAIK and the original poster is from the Netherlands.

 

[mart1]

I am surprised at this list, guess it reflects the shop you asked.
But out of this list I would say Legend or Abyss, avoid the proton at any cost!

ciao, maarten

 

[CaptainNemo]

Been doing a lot of reading here on ScubaBoard and have visited three LDS's over the past two days. I'm going to buy my first reg. I want to have one of my own which I trust and know has been serviced etc.

I narrowed down my choices to:

• Mares Metal Tech Limited Edition
• Mares Abyss 2005
• Aqualung Legend LX Supreme
• Mares Proton ICE

They all range in about the same price-catagory. I will be diving and in the Caribean and also in The Netherlands (cold water). I'm also thinking about deep diving in the future so I want a reg that's prepared for that too.

The Abyss 2005 has the disadvantage of the heavy first stage but I can get it for a good price, but then again the price is not that relevant here. I tend to go for the Metal Tech Limited Edition, not because it's limited (I don't care about that) but the second stage is 60% less heavy than ordinary stages. For the Aqualung I also heard tremendous stories and the guy which runs my dive-club uses it. He seems very pleased with it.

As you can notice I'm a bit confused and am having trouble deciding which one to buy. Please help me out!! Can I go wrong with either one of them?

HELP I'M LOST! :06:

Greetz!

Sjoerd

I don't want to confuse you because you narrowed down to the four for a reason. I went thru this a few months back. I have owned USD and Dacor which is now owed by Mares. I went back and fourth and ended up with an Atomics B2, $488 plus tax from Sub Tropic Scuba in Key West. It lists for about $695. I couldn't be happier. It is everything it was reported to be which is unusual in todays advertising. It is super lightweight and the comfort swivel is the best improvement I have seen to date. You almost forget you are using it underwater. Effortless. Just my 2 cents worth. I think most all regs todays are far better than what we had a few years ago. Good Luck.

 

[84CJ7]

Figured id add my 2 cents, for regular service kits Mares is as good as any of the others in parts availability id say. I have however been waiting for months on a new purge cover for an axis (not axis pro). They are back ordered to the point of discontinued and there must still be a zillion in service as rental regs and such, its not that old at all.
I have an abyss 2000, which is the model before they made it look like it went through an emergency redneck field repair involving a screen door. The proton ice really only has the v32 first stage as an advantage over the abyss (the small size is nice but causes other problems), but the mr22 that comes with the abyss can be easily modified to accept the spherical core seat from the 32 if thats what you want. And yes, the mr22/abyss must be the heaviest combo ive ever seen, you really could hammer nails with it, but then i would also feel safe accidentally dropping a steel 100 on top of it and then diving with it. Also the 1/2" primary hose is a little stiffer than an ordinary one and can be a little annoying when its new.
I dont know much about that limited edition one so ill skip that.

Aqualung had its bad period for awhile where they fell behind the others, but theyre back among the top makers again now and you wont be dissapointed with the legend supreme. I think Aqualung is much less corporate oriented from what ive seen than Mares too and its easier to get parts and customer service.

 

[TekDiveGirl]

When I am about to replace my regs -- it will be with the Legend LX Supreme --

Maybe Santa will be good to me this year.

Kimber

 

[xiSkiGuy]

I think Aqualung is much less corporate oriented

Have you seen how many companies are under the Aqualung corporate banner or read an Aqualung dealer agreement lately?

 

[drew52]

Dude lose the mares

Personal bias from a regulator tech, stay away from mares regulators your repair tech will appreciate you more.

My opinion I would look at Scubapro or Apexs regulators instead of the four you have mentioned. But go with what you feel comfortable with and what you can get serviced.

JUMBO

yes and in south africa any way mares service kits are really expensive.

another good thing about ScubaPro is that there regs etc are backwards compatable. in other words even if the regulator goes off the market the service kits for the new model that replaces the old one will continue to work in the older models.

ScubaPro have factories in the states and europe so you should never have hassles getting service kits for them. from my experience ScubaPro are a slightly more expensive product (again in SA) but their service kits are generally the cheapest. this means the longterm costs are better.

My MK16/S550 is an awesome regulator and handles both warm and cold water diving. we dive in temperatures of around 8degrees in summer

 

[rescuediver009]

Nevertheless, I recently bought me a pair of Apeks DS4/ATX50 for my doubles. I thought it will be an "upgrade" but guess what, the first stages were leaking already twice within 40 dives and it does not breath as nice as the Abyss. If it continues like that, I see myself ditching those damn Apeks and buying me another Abyss.

I would think that the first time there was a leak in the first stage (obviously whoever set it up for you just pulled it out of the box) youwould have had it fixed by now.... I have never heard of this nor have I heard any other complaints of this nature about the apeks regs.

 

[Geniuz]

Thanks guys for all your advice and suggestions.

Out of my four choices popped up another one: the Apeks.

Still I decided to go with one of my innitial four choices and I'm going for the Aqualung Legend LX Supreme.

The main reason is the positive reply's to this regulator. Second (but important) reason is that I can have it serviced at my local dive-club (also LDS) which is official dealer for Aqualung.

But again thanks for all your imput. It has been real helpful!