Regualor quality?

[Michael Rutherford]

Hi, new member here.
I recently went to the Maldives and did three dives. I had not dived for about 10 years, and all was fine, except I found the breathing more physically demanding than I remembered.
Was this because I am less fit (probably)? I have a bit of asthma these days, though I was not affected at the time.
Was this because different regulators require more effort?
What I am trying to ask, I suppose is: Will buying an expensive regulator make my diving easier?
Thanks in advance.
Michael

 

[cayman diver]

yes well maby. the best thing is to find a lds with a pool and try some. I have zeagle mares and a posiden and the best for all round breathing is the zeagle (flathead vi) the mares has no adustment in the water (its an abyss) and although easy to breath from its not as good. The posiden is a great reg effortless breathing but I just dont like the position and design of it. For me it pulls from 1 side.

overall you get what you pay for but you still have to like the kit as well

 

[jdvaughn]

I agree, you should go test out some of the gear in the pool first. I love my mk25/g250 and I also have a mk15/s600. I believe that a quality reg can make all the difference at depth. You also may just be a little anxious underwater. Relax! have a good time diving...thats the idea right?

 

[cmalinowski]

Just because something is expensive does not mean it is dramatically better, but well built is important. But as for your experience, it could have just come from a poorly kept regulator. God only knows when they were last overhauled or even how well they were overhauled when they were. I know my regs pretty well. I know that they haven't been accidentally dunked in a rinse tank while dust caps off. I pulled them apart and looked at them and know that they are in good shape. And while I certainly don't suggest that everyone pull their regs apart, knowing them and keeping them maintained isn't hard.

Chris

 

[spectrum]

Michael,

You made a pretty good case for harder breathing so it's a pretty sure bet things were not as you remembered. Was your regulator a rental unit? These are often tuned to be very freeflow resistant at the cost of diver effort.

Better gear and frequent use are sure fire remedies.

Pete

 

[Michael Rutherford]

Thank you all for your replies.
Pete: Yes, the gear was rented. The reason for this question is to find out whether better gear can reduce diver effort (breathing). I now asume that this is indeed the case, but it is interesting that regulators can be adjusted to prevent free-flow so much that they are hard work.
I would like to invest in a decent regulator, octopus, etc, I think, even though I am only likely to use it a few times a year. Like us all, I like life to be as pain free as possible.

 

[Diver0001]

Hi, new member here.
I recently went to the Maldives and did three dives. I had not dived for about 10 years, and all was fine, except I found the breathing more physically demanding than I remembered.
Was this because I am less fit (probably)? I have a bit of asthma these days, though I was not affected at the time.
Was this because different regulators require more effort?
What I am trying to ask, I suppose is: Will buying an expensive regulator make my diving easier?
Thanks in advance.
Michael

Michael,

An expensive regulator can be tuned to breathe like a snorkel full of seagull poop and relatively affordable reg can often be tuned to breathe surprisingly well.

The point being that the idea that 'you get what you pay for' doesn't necessarly cover the balance of the issue you're bringing up.

Moreover, I personally have the opinion that your own physical fitness plays an important roll in your comfort while diving (and a million other things). You suggest that this might be part of the problem and regardless of which regulator you choose I would encourage you to address this point within the possibilities open to you as well.

R..

 

[djanni]

As with most things in this world you get what you pay for.

 

[matt_unique]

For the most part, it does not matter what you have until you are deeper than say 100'. Many rental regs are quick rinsed, thrown on the rinse bucket (often with not even a dust cap on), etc., etc. I wonder how much water was in the first stage of your rental reg?

Tough to guess without being able to compare your rental reg to another. "Easy" is of course relative to the person. Maybe there are other factors having nothing to do with the reg.

I agree you get what you pay for but you would not be able to tell the difference between a $1500 reg and a $200 reg at 50'.

--Matt

 

[SangP]

Michael,

You don't need to spend big bucks just to get a decent performing reg. And you don't always get more just cus you paid for it lOL!

Take for example the Apeks ATX200 vs the ATX50. The 200 costs a lot more then the 50 yet breaths the same... 78.5 vs 79.2 yet one cost $695 vs $547.
http://www.xsscuba.com/downloads/muscle_regs_11_05.pdf

If you are looking to get a great performing reg at a decent price the DS4/XTX50/ATX50 is a great combo. The scubapro MK17 is another great performing reg that isn't overpriced.

Cheers,

SangP