Quality, low-priced regs (cheap regs)

[Los36]

This is my first post! I've been lurking around here for about 10 months, so I pretty much know what to expect from this thread title:
Spend as much as you can,
Apeks / Scubapro / Zeagle or you'll die,
buy local or you'll die ...

I've already got my choices narrowed down and I know where I'm going to purchase from, so I've got that covered. FYI: Even the cheap Zeagle/Apeks/SP stuff IS out of my price range for now, so don't bother trying to convince me. If I need to upgrade, I'll deal with it then.
Here's what you need to know about my diving to help me:

Experience:
My wife and I were certified in September. We were married in November, and dove on our honeymoon (Turks and Caicos) with Caicos Adventures (thanks to the reviews on this site). Yes, it was awesome! I think we have around 12 dives in our logs, including cert dives.

Diving Plans:
Warm water! We have a 3-day vacation to WPB planned with Pura Vida (again, thanks to SB) in July. We'll probably dive in the Dallas / Austin area occasionally. Probably about 25 dives per year, all together. Oh yeah...we'd like to have the option to go Nitrox.

Past Equipment:
The stuff we dove with during our certs was pretty bad. I believe they were Sherwood Bruts. They were cosmetically in bad shape, so I assume that they were not well cared for(so I'm not saying Sherwoods are bad). Breathing was very labored and unnatural feeling. I did not like them at all.
In Turks, we dove with Aqualung Calypso's. They were much better than what we used on our cert dives. I don't have enough experience to know how good they were, but atleast they didn't have me worried at depth.

What I want to spend:
I'm buying reg/oct/gauge/bc/computer for two people, so splurging that extra $50 for the better reg adds up. I'd like to spend $225 or less (not including octo, gauges, ect.).

Here's what my store stocks (or can get) and the questions I have of each:

Oceanic Alpha 8 PX3
I have read (here and elsewhere) that the Alpha 7 was above average in this price range. I like that Oceanic has a large distribution, parts are cheap and probably easy to find. Anyone seen or have one?

Cressi Ellipse w/ piston 1st stage
Looks neat. Not alot of info on SB. Anyone with personal experience?

Mares V16 Proton (it's on sale)
Supposedly a good price on a reg that was once priced aroun $300. Lot's of negative comments on this board about Mares...why? The V16 first stage has a Ti valve...does this mean it will not handle Nitrox? Personal experience?

Mared MR12 Proton
Looks OK. Balanced diaphragm 1st stage. Like the Cressi, I haven't seen much info on it here.

That's all for now folks! I'm looking forward to lots of good info and maybe even a hijack or two!

Thanks!

 

[cmalinowski]

Nice post. I can't wait for the answers. I think my next purchase is a new reg. I have a zeagle right now. Not unhappy with it, I just think there is better, and I don't like some aspects of it. But I'm never worried at depth (or any other time).

 

[halocline]

I'd suggest the SP MK2 R190. It's basically bullet proof, and I'd bet you would never notice any difference between it's breathability and that of a more high performance reg at the depths/conditions you'll be diving. The fact that it's unbalanced, despite what many people will say, will not negatively impact your diving. What will happen is that you'll notice a slight ( note; slight!) increase in breathing resistance when your tank gets to 300PSI, which is not a bad thing for divers with not a lot of experience; if you're still in the water at that low tank pressure, it will give you a reminder that it's time to surface. (You should not ever need that, but if for some reason you ignore your guage or it fails mid dive, it's pretty nice to have some warning before your tank is completely empty) Plus, if you eventually want a higher performance reg, for tech diving as an example, you'll still have use for it as it makes an ideal deco stage or pony reg.

Another good thing is that it's probably the most easily serviced reg in most parts of the world, in the extremely unlikely event that anything goes wrong with it. There are lots of these regs around from 25-30 years ago; that should tell you something.

Edit; I just noticed you're in Dallas. You're very close to scubatoys, an excellent shop with a large selection and great customer service.

 

[Creed]

Get a set of used Conshelfs. They are tough and easy to have serviced. I have 4 complete sets, and I have never paid over $20 + shipping for any one of them. If you aren't doing drysuit dives or whatnot(and thus have no need of more than 1HP and 3 LPs), then even a Conshelf XIV rig will do you fine. If you have the stomach for it, ebay is great for these. They generally go for $30-50 for a first and second stage. Just keep your head, and don't bid on shady looking stuff.

And get the metal 2nds. If you're going to have a hockey puck in your mouth, at least make it look good.

 

[lord1234]

umm...why not shop ebay?

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I've seen used AL/US Divers rigs with SEA / Cousteau first stages going for some low prices in the 'pre-owned' goods exchange forum mentioned above, as well as some rigs with AL Titan first stages at good prices.

Also, some Scubapro sets with MK20 first stages at great prices.

If you don't have to have this year's model of any brand, and you have time to watch for the 'deal' you want to come along, you can find some pretty good deals. You do have to pay for parts at service time with pre-owned gear as the 'free parts for life' offers aren't transferable beyond the original purchaser for any brand that offers this option. The 'free parts for life' thing has never been a deciding factor for me personally; I've picked up a significant amount of quality pre-owned gear, and a good shop will not charge exorbitant pricing on parts nor labor during servicing. The trick is hitting a good shop for service near where you live - I had two tries before I found this where I currently live, and drive over 100 miles one way to go to that shop - but they're well worth the drive vs. ones closer to where I live.

If you want brand new stuff, checking out Scubatoys and letting them know you're a Scubaboard member is an excellent suggestion above. And, if you live near Dallas, they would also be a good spot to ask about parts and labor costs for annual service.

 

[bnajdrovsky]

This is my first post! I've been lurking around here for about 10

Welcome!

Mares V16 Proton (it's on sale)
Supposedly a good price on a reg that was once priced aroun $300. Lot's of negative comments on this board about Mares...why? The V16 first stage has a Ti valve...does this mean it will not handle Nitrox? Personal experience?

I've no idea, 'cuz Mares makes some very fine regulators. I settled on a Mares Ti Planet after quite a bit of deliberation, and I've been thrilled with my purchase. I've got about 50 dives on it. It's an excellent reg, breathes just as well at depth as it does on the surface, even upside down. I've tried other high-end regs including the Atomic Aquatics T1, and my Ti Planet compares very favorably with them.

As far as titanium parts and Nitrox are concerned, as a recreational diver, you have nothing to be concerned about. My reg is all titanium, and I've gotten exactly the same feedback from several dealers, including Larry at ScubaToys. While it is true that titanium can react with oxygen and cause a fire, tiitanium regs are perfectly safe to use with 32% nitrox, which is what you will see 99% of the time at recreational dive shops. Mixtures above 40% could be hazardous to use with titanium, but you won't get those unless you get into technical diving, and by then you'll probably have more than one regulator anyway.

That's all for now folks! I'm looking forward to lots of good info and maybe even a hijack or two!

Thanks!

Since you're in Dallas area, I'd suggest you make the drive up I35 to Carrollton and talk to Larry at ScubaToys. His prices are extemely competetive, and he'll give you very good, honest advice. I think that many other folks on this board will agree with my sentiment.

 

[Poseidon8118]

Out of the choices you have for your budget I would go for the Mares V16. The V16 is a step up from the other regs you posted, and if you could get it for around the same price…go for it!!! The MR12 is a great entry level reg but my personal choice from your selection would be the Oceanic Alpha 8 / PX3. I started my son off on the older Alpha 7 / SP4 when he started diving last year and, it’s a great performer for the price. The Alpha 7 is almost identical to the alpha 8. All of the regs you posted should provide good to great performance for years to come.

 

[aquaoren]

The Mares V16 sounds best of your choices.
Good for travel as well as Mares is one of the bigger names in the Scuba industry and is popular all over the world.

 

[rescuediver009]

Hmm... I find it nteresting that after you specifically said that you have your options laidout, and you listed the brands the first 3 replies were the complete opposite...
I think that your best bet would be to listen to the guys that don't have a buyest opinion, that is dive one of the regs listed having never tried any of the others.
I think that your best bet is likely Oceanic. you will like the flow through piston design, and it is one of the best performers out of the bunch. Yes the parts are cheap.... free ! Your next best thing (because I don't know when the Oceanic will become available is likely the Mares V16. It is alot better than the MR12 and will last you longer as far as when you have to upgrade.

As for why not to take the Cressi. Because they have very poor parts support for the most part. It may seem well, however on the whole it is not good at all. As for the MR12 I have set some up and they don't not perform very well at the surface nevermind at depth (when compared to the others).

Hope this helps,
Make your choice before you get more confused.