Poseidon XStream Duration - anyone tried them?

[antonybates]

Hi there,
I'm upgrading to a twinset at the moment and used to use ScubaPro R190/Mk2+. I'm thinking of putting two set of Poseidon XStream Duration (as I wanna do Nitrox diving aswell) as I've heard good reviews about them. Has anyone tried these? How are they in different conditions? And how much would the breathe from them differ to that of the ScubaPro?

Cheers for any help,
Tony.

 

[rab]

I can't help with a comparison to ScubaPro, but the XStream Dive model works/breathes great for me. I had it in ~40F water, but the Poseidon is supposed to be great in really cold water.
-Rob

 

[Viscya]

I have a number of friends that have them, and love them.

 

[rescuediver009]

I have not tried the Duration but I have used the original Xstram deep several times. I think that it is a great reg! It breathes awesome and is designed for the cold. The small size and high flow rate help too. I cannot say enough. It is designed so that it doesn't need an environmental kit but is great in the ice (I have used it here).

Even better is the internals. I don't know if you are familiar with reg design and the conventional HP seat, but this one uses a steel ball so that there is no chance to failure or wear. Outside the price of the thing, it is a great reg in design and functionality. Go for it.

 

[fdog]

Just used one of these a couple weeks ago. Went diving with some of our clients and used their gear, which was the Poseidon XStream.

Can't address the cold-water performance, as we were diving in Malaysia, but I can compare it to my Atomic B2 as far as breathing effort and quality goes.

I was disappointed. The cracking effort was reasonably low; however it insisted in providing "hurricane" airflows at the drop of a hat. It was almost impossible to take a "normal" breath. It was pretty much a letdown from the smooth breathing of the B2.

And the exhaust. Annoying bubbles in the face most of the time.

I used two different copies of the XStream. Unless they were identically misadjusted, this appears to be common of the model type.

These may have a special mechanical reason to buy them, but outside of that, the XStreams' breathing characteristics are poor for me.

All the best, James

 

[VeniVidi]

Just used one of these a couple weeks ago. Went diving with some of our clients and used their gear, which was the Poseidon XStream.

Can't address the cold-water performance, as we were diving in Malaysia, but I can compare it to my Atomic B2 as far as breathing effort and quality goes.

I was disappointed. The cracking effort was reasonably low; however it insisted in providing "hurricane" airflows at the drop of a hat. It was almost impossible to take a "normal" breath. It was pretty much a letdown from the smooth breathing of the B2.

And the exhaust. Annoying bubbles in the face most of the time.

I used two different copies of the XStream. Unless they were identically misadjusted, this appears to be common of the model type.

These may have a special mechanical reason to buy them, but outside of that, the XStreams' breathing characteristics are poor for me.

All the best, James

Hi James

Interesting perception you have about the breathing characteristics. Personally, I do not have the impression of the hurricane-effect you describe as it rather delivers air "on demand". Yet I agree with the bubbles. Although the producer brings up the side exhausts as a sales argument for non disturbing vision, it does actually the contrary - and I think it does for 90% of the world population. Interestingly enough, it is not an issue for most of the time because one is more focused on other things than concentrating on the bubbles.

More annoying is, when you own two side mounted versions for double rigging. In my opinion, the hose outlets (IP ports) are only optimal for the right post, the other does not allow a neat hose routing - Poseidon should have developed a "mirror version" for the side mounted models. Looking back I should have bought the bottom mounted version which is standard for the Xstream Deco.

 

[rescuediver009]

These may have a special mechanical reason to buy them, but outside of that, the XStreams' breathing characteristics are poor for me.

All the best, James

I would say that the 'mechanical reason' for buying it is that it will breathe the same down to 300ft. whereas your B2 won't. Also the construction of the poseidon is of servo assisted rather than the traditional demand valve like your B2 While it may not have the cracking resistance, it surely does have th performance, it is just of a different construction and design of your B2

 

[fdog]

Just reporting my experience, nothing more.

All the best, James