Preferred deco bottle reg?

[mmadiver]

my money no object deco reg is a Poseidon Xstream Duration MK3. Super small, integrated OPV if you put an inline shutoff on your deco regs, really simple, and a lot less violent of a gas path than most first stages. Reg is reversible if you like to put your deco bottles on the right *which I do*, and the breathing is super nice. They are also very difficult to get to start freeflowing which is a common issue when on DPV's with "normal" looking second stages.

I second the Xstream for all the reasons listed, great reg.

 

[stuartv]

Atomic M1, 100% O2 ready out of the box

That's not what the Atomic website says.

 

[stuartv]

So, nobody seems to really care about having a swivel turret?

And some people are fine with having the reg stick straight out of the valve, but Tom is the lone dissenter on that?

 

[JohnnyC]

Turret first stage, nice breathing second. Something like an Apeks DST or the Deep6 regs are great. They allow better hose routing, and a 5th port is always a nice option.

 

[stuartv]

That was kinda my thought about the swivel turret. No bend in the hose when stowed and also none when deployed.

I have a pair of Dive Rite XT1/XT2 reg sets. I was thinking I would sell them, buy new back mount/side mount regs, and also buy deco bottle regs. Maybe instead I should just make them into my deco bottle regs. Sounds like there's no downside to that idea.

For what I could sell the DRs for, I don't think I would pocket a huge amount even if i replaced them with the 1st from Piranha and a decent 2nd (plus hose and spg).

 

[Centrals]

Have been using one of this for umpteen years: Apeks DST.
Swivel!!!!

 

[uncfnp]

Stuartv. As you know my use is not truly tech/deco and my answer is influenced by my experience having the MK 25 O2 cleaned. It cost me almost 200 for the set and was the impetus for learning to do it myself. But the kits are still pricey.

The turret of the MK 25 is nice but the MK 2 is so simple and easy to clean and costs next to nothing. So for me price and ease of maintenance was the key factor, especially for owning multiples.

 

[Caveeagle]

So, nobody seems to really care about having a swivel turret?

And some people are fine with having the reg stick straight out of the valve, but Tom is the lone dissenter on that?

Not sure what you mean by "stick straight out".

...but I do really like how some of my Poseidon regs 1st stages are more compact, and how the 2nd stages are ambidextrous, and stow very well when not in use. The Xstream is just an amazing allaround reg.

I have a cyklon 300 that I use on both a 50% bottle and a safety/buddy bottle. That's about as compact of a 1stage as you could hope for.

View media item 203552

 

[tbone1004]

@Caveeagle that one is still smaller than the MK2 though which helps.

@stuartv i don't really prefer the swivel turrets for deco regs because I have never had an issue with 40" hoses. I.e. they're not enough of a benefit for me to sell my fixed turrets and buy swivels. If I were buying new, and the price were about the same though, then turrets all the way *which is why I have 4x Scubapro MK10's for deco/stage regs and 2x MK20's for my primary first stages right now in sidemount*.

If you already have XT's that you were thinking of relegating or selling, then just use those. If not, that $100 MK10/G200 is going to be about as good as it really gets and they are super cheap to maintain

 

[BoltSnap]

That's not what the Atomic website says.

It says 80% officially but it is 100% as long as you keep it dedicated to 100% O2.