poseidon or mares or scubapro?

[alemaozinho]

hi,your choice will depend on your diving,what you will use the reg for.If you will remain in asia and most of your dives will be there,then any recognized brand name regulator will do.If you go deep and or in colder water,then i recommend any Poseidon Regulator,i personally own a Poseidon odin and the x stream as well as the Atomic B1,any one of them is very good but if you need lots of air (deep,strong current)then any poseidon will outperform any other regulator brand.

 

[Bob3]

Going with whichever is the easiest to get serviced would make sense. That being said, I'm still partial to the Poseidon Cyklons, though the 1st stage of the Xstream looks like it would be at home in the Museum of Modern Art.

 

[anno]

thanks to all for your feedback and reply. i've finally narrowed down my choice to Mares regulators and will visit the LDS to take a look at both V16 and V32 tomorrow, if anyone has experience with both V16 and V32 with Abyss or Proton or Proton Metal, could you please share your experience about the performance different of them? thanks very much again.

 

[aquaoren]

thanks to all for your feedback and reply. i've finally narrowed down my choice to Mares regulators and will visit the LDS to take a look at both V16 and V32 tomorrow, if anyone has experience with both V16 and V32 with Abyss or Proton or Proton Metal, could you please share your experience about the performance different of them? thanks very much again.

Mares is a good choice.
I have the MR22/Abyss.
great reg, never regreted the buy.
I bought me a metal second stage because I dive in really cold water but I dont know whether you'll need it if diving in warm water.
I would have bought me a metal second stage anyway because I like solid things but this is personal preference.

 

[tndiveinstruct1]

thanks to all for your feedback and reply. i've finally narrowed down my choice to Mares regulators and will visit the LDS to take a look at both V16 and V32 tomorrow, if anyone has experience with both V16 and V32 with Abyss or Proton or Proton Metal, could you please share your experience about the performance different of them? thanks very much again.

Here is what I have in my kits:

Mares V16 Orbiter and Proton AAS
Mares MR12 Proton and Proton AAS
Mares MR22 Abyss and Proton AAS

The V16 Orbiter was my first regulator. Heavy 2nd stage, breathes as well at 5 ffw as 105 ffw and in any position. A little bit of a dry breather. Never freezes up. Coldest dive ever been on was 38 degrees Farenheit. Never free flowed in cold or in strong currents. The Proton AAS breathes as well as the Orbiter at depth. I don't really care for the purge button, seems a little bit harder than the Orbiter. But the up side is it's weight. Not near as heavy as the Orbiter.

The MR12 Proton is a student setup. Breathes as well as the Orbiter, and the MR12 1st stage is a good workhorse. Don't know how the MR12 holds up in very cold water.

My favorite of all of them is the MR22 Abyss. All metal, doesn't feel as heavy as the Orbiter, VERY flexible hose. The MR22 1st stage is much smaller than the V16, and the configuration for hose attachments streamlines it a little bit better than the other 1st stages.

Hope this helps....

Randy

 

[Greg Barlow]

While I certainly don't have the knowledge that many posters possess, such as Bob3, I've done my fair share of rebuilding regs over the decades. My experiences have shown that if one purchases a reg from one of the major players in the market then you can expect a quality product that meets the needs of 90% of the world's divers.

That being said....I own and dive Mares regs. I have also recently acquired an Apeks TX50/DS4 that I will soon be getting wet. While I'm not displeased with my seven Mares regs, I am merely trying the TX50 for some of my technical based dives to compare its performance and service to the beloved Mares models.

I like the rugged simplicity of the MR12 first stage, but have become quite enamored of the MR16/V16 first stage due to its superior hose configuration. The spherical core seal system is reportedly holding up longer than the traditional HP poppet system (a somewhat general consensus among Mares techs). I personally rebuild my regs when they have approx. 100 dives, but test them for proper operation at least every 10 dives. NOT once have I ever had a problem with any of them. I trust them completely whether I am gliding along over a reef or deep within a wreck at 150'. They are simple, robust, and perhaps most importantly, RELIABLE. The fact that they are simple, yet offer excellent breathing effort speaks for itself.

A reg such as the Apeks TX50/DS4 is a specialized tool. It does offer the adjustability that the Mares models do not possess. My dives have always been more than adequately met with the Mares models. My acquisition of the Apeks is not an admitance that the Mares regs are inferior. They fill the needs of my diving in a sufficient manner. The Apeks will most likely be used when helium based mixes are used, or when conditions are very demanding. The adjustability does play a role when the gas density is a factor.

Buy quality gear and maintain it well....It is life support equipment.

Greg
Former Science Editor for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine

 

[Sean326]

if you need lots of air (deep,strong current)then any Poseidon will outperform any other regulator brand.

I agree, I get to do a side by side test just about every weekend between a SP 250 HP and a Poseidon jetstream.
there is no comparison, The left post of my doubles has the Poseidon and the right post has the SP. when you go down to 150' (+-) and try both you will see that where they both work well but you definitely have to suck the air though the SP while the Poseidon shoves it down your throat. Yet my SP is the first one to free flow on an ice dive.

When your down real deep it's very calming and comforting to have the feeling that you've got more air than you need.

 

[mightygondola]

I dive the MK/25 with a 600 in kentucky. At depth we are 45 deg. F. I always free flow at depth, but i use alot of air. Something to think about for cold water.

 

[Sean326]

I dive the MK/25 with a 600 in kentucky. At depth we are 45 deg. F. I always free flow at depth, but i use alot of air. Something to think about for cold water.

Wow.... get that puppy looked at. I dive regularly at temps way lower than 45deg and while my SC 250hp will free flow it generally won't until I'm in below freezing air temp and near freezing water temp 33deg to 38deg. We are still getting bottom temps of 42 deg out in the wreck boats in the Atlantic and the quarry bottom temps aren't much warmer yet.
If mine free flowed regularly at 45 deg I would trash it.

 

[sndt1319]

How important is the adjustability of the breathing resistance of the second stage? I have been looking at getting a reg set and I am still trying to decide what to get. With the rebates going on I have been thinking of getting a Legend LX but for cold water recreational diving do I need all the bells and whistles? Or would saving some money and getting the Abyss be reasonable? I guess my real question is how to decide how much regulator you need? Right now I dive in the PNW so I know I need something for cold water but after that how much will a inexperienced diver benifit from something like a Legend or a TX50 over the Abyss? In a year I will get commisioned as an Officer in the Army so if I decide to expand my diving requirements I will easily be able to afford upgrading my gear. Right now I just need something for single tank diving that can be serviced anywhere in the world and handle any rec diving situation that I could incounter where ever I get stationed (looking in Korea or Germany's direction(assuming I don't just get deployed to Iraq or Afganistan)) .