Quality, low-priced regs (cheap regs)

[Amphibious]

Scuba equipment is life support equipment. DON'T BUY CRAP


Mares... errr, well, it is decent kit. Oceanic? Cressi? um... we don;t even use that crap for rentals. low ebd, poor service support.

if you;re into 4x4ing... do you buy a jeep or a Lada?

as was said above - find a nice Conshelf. they are bombproof workhorses. not a day goes by I don;t regret selling my 3 off.

or better yet - save your money untill you can aford some good kit. Scuba equipment is an investment. buy wisely.

 

[Los36]

I've done search after search on this subject. Using that knowledge and my experiences, I came up with the choices that were best for me. I thought I made my first post concise enough...
The replies are about what I expected. Thanks to everyone else!

 

[Creed]

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.

I replied as I did specifically because he said this:

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.).

Within such a tight budget, a used "workhorse" reg is his best bet, IMO. I mean, look at this quote:

Even the cheap Zeagle/Apeks/SP stuff IS out of my price range for now

If money is that tight(and believe me, I know how it feels), then a used pair of regs might be exactly what he was looking for, and didn't know it.

Just another opinion.

 

[scubapro50]

The problem with Mares/Dacor is finding parts. There have been many posts about them not supplying parts for their older models (some regulators were only 6 years old and the dive shop couldn't get a yearly kit for it). Many have suggested that it may be a problem with the local shop because others (like SCUBATOYS) carry over $25,000 in parts to service the regs they sell. CRESSI makes a good unit but it's not in the same league with Scubapro or Aqualung. I have just purchase a Aeris BC and are looking at one of their regulators (they have a $100 trade in program going and I might dumb one of my older Dacor units on them).

 

[scubatoys]

Actually in the 225 range for just a 1st and 2nd stage, you could do a Zeagle Envoy, and have change back if you wanted to go with a scubapro mk2 R190, or a V16 proton. Then if you just want gauges and an octo, you be at about another $175 or so... so if your goal is to get a full reg set up under $400... Mid $300's depending on which reg - that is not hard to do with a pretty good 1st / 2nd.

 

[Hoosier]

If you get a Zeagle from Larry, you will be worry free for the reg. maintenance because Larry and Scott are always here, this board. They can't escape from any service problems. We are watching them.....

 

[Scottri]

The MR12 Proton and the Oceanic are both good regs. I never had problems with parts or service from either brand. Dacor regs are hard to get parts for but I've never had a problem with Mares. I have a PX2 Alpha 7 as my back up setup and it works great.

Scott

 

[SangP]

Hi Los36,

I would second what Larry has said as the Zeagle Envoy is a great buy for its features and you'll never have any problems with servicing. The Oceanic Alpha & comes really close and I like the fact it is easy to reassemble after cleaning, I don't know if the Zeagle is just as easy to reassemble.

I would not get regs through ebay unless you are able to service them and LDS often hit you hard if the regs aren't from them, paying $100 for servicing sucks. I'll never buy Scubapro regs online for that reason.

Good luck,
SangP

 

[Nemrod]

Get yourself the cheapest Mares sets you can find. Get brand new ones for a dive sho or online store. Even when you upgrade--if you do--- these will make nice back up units.

 

[Los36]

Just as an update: Larry set my wife and I up with a couple of Envoy Deluxes. We're going to try them out this weekend @ CSSP in Terrell.
Yeah, I spent more than I had planned to when I originally started this thread, but I had already decided that before I stepped into Scubatoys.
I gotta thank Larry for his patience, suggestions and service!