Regs Please Help Some impartial advice

[Honkeye]

Hi could any one give me a straight answer on which reg to buy been to to many shop to mention each one stating that the reg they are selling is the best and has this advantage and so on. Sort of eliminated it to two.

Marez Abyss
Scuba pro MK25 S600

Both are the same price so that is not an issue. Scuba pro is "so i am told" nitrox ready up to 40% out of the box although this is not stated.

I want a reg that will eventually do deep diving i will do most my diving in England of the South coast.
And dont want to upgrade next year when i fing i made the wrong choice.

Thanks in advance.

 

[large_diver]

Honkeye,

Surprised you're not considering Apeks.

Prices from simplyscuba.com in the UK (not including shipping)
TX-100 -- £239.95
ATX-100 -- £279.00
ATX-200 -- £289.95

Mares Abyss -- £259.00
Scubapro Mk20 S600 -- £319.00

Apeks makes great regs and they are based in the UK.

The Abyss and S600 are both good regs.....I don't think you will go wrong with any of these choices. Some folks say scubapro is not the best choice for coldwater diving...others say they are fine.

Hope this helps.

 

[Walter]

Honkeye,

I don't know anything about the Marez Abyss, I know the Scubapro is excellent. As for being nitrox ready out of the box foe mixes up to 40%, that is true. Of course it's also ready for every regulator made. There is no need to O
2 clean anything unless it comes into contact with mixes higher than 40%.

DSSW,

WWW™

 

[Fishkiller]

Originally posted by large_diver
Honkeye,

The Abyss and S600 are both good regs.....I don't think you will go wrong with any of these choices. Some folks say scubapro is not the best choice for coldwater diving...others say they are fine.

Hope this helps.

The V22 Abyss beter all around even in the cold.

 

[Lost Yooper]

Honkeye,

If I had to pick between the two regs you have there, it would be the SP for the worldwide servicability factor. However, the ultimate reg combo, IMO, would be an Apeks TX50, TX100, or ATX200 second with a DS4 first stage. Apeks regs are extremely tough and reliable, and the sealed first stage significantly reduces the probablity of free flow in cold water. Apeks regs are arguably the most trusted regs in the extreme technical diving community, and the breathability can't be beat. Best of all, you can get an Apeks for less money than either the SP or the Mares.

Take care.

Mike

 

[ckharlan66]

Howdy,

I use the SP MK20 S600 and I love it. As far as inpartial advise. When I was looking for my regs I found that you aren't going to get a reg that isn't pretty decent. What you are shopping for mainly is servicability, size, features,and price. You want one that you can get worked on locally, that has a second stage that is confortable and that you can afford. I choose the S600 because I liked the size and the annual service is covered by ScubaPro therefore it will save me money in the long run. ScubaPro, however is not the only company that provides this service but they are the only one that I can get serviced locally. As far as features go you have to decide how much you want to to be able to adjust the reg without having to get invasive about it(ie knobs on the side)

I know that this rambles a bit but I hope it helps.

Chad

 

[SubMariner]

Both Pearce & I switched to Mares Abyss earlier this year from (respectively) our old USD Arctic & Sherwood Blizzard regs.

I don't know how cold they are rated, but thus far I have been in 55F water with them and had no problems.

They seem to be "easy breathers" regardless of depth or orientation: upside down, right side up... breathes the same.

The only "con" is the short exhaust T that seems to encourage some bubble interference. Only a a bit of bother when taking u/w pics, but otherwise not much impact on real life diving.

Good luck in your quest!

~SubMariner~

 

[Ontario Diver]

They (SP, Mares, Apeks) are all top of the line regs. You aren't going to gor wrong (safety and breathability ) with any of them.

Have you tried them out? If you can borrow/rent each of them for a day and do a few dives with them - you can see how they feel u/w. Things like positions of knobs, and hoses are important too (and not covered in most Magazine reviews) They are different when they are on a tank and on your back.

Also it makes sense to buy the one that you can get serviced the way you like.

By the way - I'm trying out an APEKS this weekend. If I like it, that's my christmas present from my favorite person - ME!

 

[Tavi]

Originally posted by Honkeye


I want a reg that will eventually do deep diving i will do most my diving in England of the South coast.
And dont want to upgrade next year when i fing i made the wrong choice.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Honkeye,

Apeks regs have been to 833fsw. Is that deep enough? They also cover lifetime parts.(I'm not sure if that is through Apeks or Seaquest/Aqualung).

I think I tried 7 different regs before buying my Apeks.

Try as many as you can, and buy what you like best.
At first it seems overwhelming with so many choices. If you got it down to two, your almost there! :

I don't know if there is any "Impartial" advice around here, We all seem to be partial to what we like. But we're not trying to get you to spend your money here.

 

[silverfish]

Tavi,
I am looking for a regulator and would like to hear your opinion on the Apeks after you use it.

Thanks.